Atomic Bomb Dbq

In addition to the desire to end the war and thus the casualties to the American troops, Truman had other reasons for considering the approval of the atomic attacks. Truman was enlightened by Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson in a meeting on April 25, 1945 on the capability of the bomb, and the enormous expense incurred in developing it. This was one reason that Truman’s conclusion was to use the bomb against Japan, as there had to be a justifiable explanation for the expense incurred. Also, if he had not employed the use of the atomic bomb, he would not be able to justify to the American people why he had chosen not to do so, as there were so many American lives lost. It was alleged after the

As World War II was coming to an end during 1945, the creation of one of the most destructive weapons known to humanity occurred within the United States. This weapon, known as “the atomic bomb,” was used on the two Japanese cities: Hiroshima and Nagasaki, resulting in a death toll unprecedented by any military weapon used before and an immediate, unconditional surrender. Some historians believe President Truman decided to drop the atomic bomb in order to intimidate the Soviet Union whereas others believe it was a strictly military measure designed to force Japan’s unconditional surrender. In the Report of a Scientific Panel of nuclear physicists, some scientific colleagues believed the atomic bomb was a “purely technical

In the brutal and deadly Pacific Theater of World War ll, President Truman had to make a crucial decision on whether or not to drop the atomic bomb on Japan. Some believe that Truman’s actions to drop the atomic bomb were unethical and inhumane; however, Truman was justified in his decision to use the atomic bomb against Japan due to the fact that they are our enemy, saving American lives is the first priority, and the atomic bomb will ultimately prevent Russia from gaining control of Asia.

1. Long after World War II and the use of the atomic bombs against Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a great debate remains. It seems that there are two main potential arguments as to why the bombs were detonated and whether or not they were even necessary to begin with. The first theory surrounds the notion of the national security interests of the United States. In this theory essentially, Truman’s actions had been defended and justified as necessary in order to quickly end the war with U.S. causalities kept to a minimum.

During World War II, President Harry S. Truman ordered for an atomic bomb to be dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima on August 6th ,1945. The second and last atomic bomb to ever be dropped was in the city of Nagasaki on August 9th, 1945. Many Americans believed dropping the atomic bomb was necessary to end the war in a more timely manner, however, many others believed dropping the atomic bomb was too extreme of a measure to take against Japan. With the creation of the atomic bomb, the United States had a weapon of mass destruction that no one else yet had. Therefore, with the power the atomic bomb possessed, some people believed its use should only be used as a last resort. If Japan would not surrender during this war, then the United States would have a valid and necessary reason in using the power of an atomic bomb. For the other Americans that believed in the immediate drop of the atomic bomb, dropping it would end the war sooner, which would then decrease the amount American soldiers who would be killed during the war. Whether dropping the atomic bomb on Japan was the most ethical decision that President Truman could have ordered is still debated.

The United States decision to release the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was a way to intimidate the Soviet Union. The United States did this by revealing to the Soviet Union what they were capable of doing during war. According to Document 3, Dwight D. Eisenhower did not want the Soviet Union to enter the war. Eisenhower believed that the United States did not need aid from the Soviet Union during war. Also, according to Document

During 1941 through 1945 a war had occurred in the Pacific between the Americans and the Japanese this war was called The Pacific Theater. This war was also being fought during the duration of another World War against Germany and Japan but on May 8, 1945 Germany surrendered to the allied powers leaving Japan to still be dealt with. However Japan would not surrender even after the major battles between the Americans and Japanese in Iwo Jima and Okinawa. The Americans then came to conclusion to try and get to a new military weapon which then started the ManHattan Project. The Manhattan Project established a new powerful military weapon known as the Atomic Bomb. This new entirely militarized weapon was designed to force Japan into surrendering because Japan was still willing to fight even though they were on a brink of defeat and they were

The official reason given for dropping the bomb was to bring a quick end to tht war and save American lives. However, Takaki presents many different explanations as to why the decision to use the bomb was made.

The first reason as to why dropping the atomic bomb was the right decision is because it would end the war. Ending the war would be a good idea because at this time in the war, the United States along with many other nations have lost too many lives. This war was the most catastrophic war in history because of the number of casualties. “The most destructive war in all of history, its exact cost in human lives is unknown, but casualties in World War II may have totaled 50 million service personnel and civilians killed.” (HistoryNet) Other nations suffered losses including the USSR (42,000,000), Germany (4,000,000) ,

Therefore, The United States dropped it in order to finish the war. They wanted to prevent more deaths and if the atomic bomb didn’t stop them, nothing would’ve stopped them. For example, after Truman dropped the bomb he released a letter and sources from CNN quoted “that the decision to use the two nuclear bombs saved the lives of 250,000 Allied troops and 250,000 Japanese by helping to prevent an invasion”. Although it was rough because they didn’t know the long term effects on that the atomic bomb would have on the cities. If the U.S. didn’t drop the bomb the war could’ve gotten worse and be more deadly in the long run.

The U.S did have to drop the bomb to bring an end to world war II in the pacific. The bomb needed to be dropped to keep the Soviets out of the pacific, to demonstrate the power of bombs and the U.S., and the cost in the U.S. troops to invade Japan. The U.S. needed to drop the bomb so that the Soviets wouldn’t get into the pacific. If the bomb was not dropped in Japan Russia would have tried to invade and take over Japan and become closer to the US. Because the bomb destroyed Japan and most of its resources Russia had no reason to go to japan.

Although dropping the Atomic Bomb was detrimental to a group of Japanese citizens, it saved many American lives and ultimately ended the war. If the American Army tried to make a land attack against the Japanese they would have lost many American lives, and possibly many more Japanese lives. And there would have been a possibility of many more years of fighting. Also the Japanese were given fair warning, on July 26 the Japanese were given the chance to surrender known as the Potsdam Declaration. Even though many people see the dropping of the Atomic bomb as a good thing, many people were against it because it cost many civilians their lives.

“Truman stated that his decision to drop the bomb was purely military. Truman believed that the bombs saved Japanese lives as well. Prolonging the war was not an option for the President,” (ushistory.org 1). President Truman and the United States government made a fair decision by dropping the atomic bomb on the Japanese citizens in Hiroshima and Nagasaki during 1945. The bomb allowed the United States to appear more powerful and led to them influencing the rest of the world. The dropping of the atomic bomb was also a just response to the previous atrocities committed by Japan to other countries including the United States. In the long run, the bomb saved more lives that would have been lost in the war, since the bombs caused the

The spring of 1945 marked the completion of the atomic bomb. Created by Franklin Roosevelt in 1939, the Manhattan Project had used 2 billion dollars of taxpayer money to build the atomic bomb, equating to the most costly government project at the time. Political consequences of such wasted expenditures if the atomic bomb was never detonated justified dropping the bomb. When scientists finally witnessed its power in the demonstration at Alamogordo, New Mexico, newfound repercussions of this weapon of mass destruction propelled the subject to heated debate. Still, the majority opinion of government officials was to drop the bomb because it would reduce lives lost. Or at least that is what they told the American people. The alternative plan was invasions on Kyushu and Honshu, two strategic warfare locations of Japan which were to take place the coming fall and spring. There was no doubt that many lives would be lost through these invasions. Hisaichi Terauchi, Field Marshal of Japan, had already announced the execution of 100,000 Allied prisoners to deter any invasions from taking place. Extreme Japanese war customs also heightened Americans unwillingness to invade. Gyokusai, the Japanese term for suicide, was considered more honorable than surrendering. Committed to fighting to the death, Prime Minister Hideki Tojo, in 1944, declared 100 million gyokusai if circumstances were deemed necessary. The entire nation of Japan was prepared to die.

The decision to drop the bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was the hardest decision for President Truman to make. He had the power right there in his hands to end the war but he would have to unleash the most powerful weapon known to man, at this time. Everyone was very tired of fighting but the Japanese would not give up so Truman decided to drop it. Even though we told Japan that if they did not surrender we would completely demolish some of their cities, they did not listen and they did not surrender. Maybe they did not think about what kind of weapons we would use because