Debating History : Atomic Age

The atomic bomb was powerful enough that one of them could cause devastating threats and end the war. Two atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan in August 1945. These atomic bombs took away the lives of all 20 million people at one time, and Japan immediately declared surrender in August 15th. During the Second World War, in May 1945, Germany surrendered to the Allies, and the battle is over. But, Japan had showed no signs of surrender to the Allies in the fight against the Philippines. Thus, President of United States decided to drop the atomic bombs on Hiroshima to beat the Japan. (854, 863-864,

In August 1945, America dropped two Atomic bombs on Japan in the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The two bombings killed at least 130,000 people and were the first and last use of nuclear weapons in warfare.

One of the most controversial and heavily scrutinized issue of the twentieth century was President Harry S. Truman’s decision to unleash atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. The motives behind Truman’s actions are shrouded in controversy as top military officials publicly denounced the use of such a disastrous weapon. There is overwhelming evidence supporting both sides of the decision, as historians are split in opinion. The United States had been using conventional bombing to try to push Japan over the edge to surrender, but with countless Japanese civilians loyal to their country, invading Japan proved to be more problematic than first thought. Harry S. Truman made the ultimate decision of dropping the atomic bomb in hopes that it would end the war, but the amount of casualties caused by it has historians questioning if it was morally right, “The bomb was unfortunate, but it was the only means to bring Japan to a surrender,” historian Sadao Asada states (Bomb 9). Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were justifiable because they would ultimately lead to the end of the war and would demonstrate U.S. supremacy.

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.

World War 2 was one of the worst wars in world history. The allied forces, the U.S., France, China, Russia, and Great Britain, were at war against the axis powers, Germany, Italy, and Japan, to stop the nazis from taking over the world. There were many bad events and battles that happened over the 6 year time span of the war; but one of the worst has to be the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings at the end of the war. Some people say that the U.S. Needed to drop the bombs to save American and Japanese lives. Some think otherwise, that the bombs were not nessecary to end the war. Even the scientists who created the bombs believed it shouldn't have been used. Once the bomb was created, there was controversy

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 first atomic bomb that Japan was to get a glimpse of was on August 6th, 1945, during World War II in the city of Hiroshima. The explosion annihilated 90 percent of the city; without hesitation killed 80,000 people. More than tens of thousands of people would have eventually died due to radiation exposure. Within three days of the attack, a second B-29 dropped another A-bomb in another location known as Nagasaki, killing an estimation of 40,000 people. Hirohito, Japan’s emperor announced his country’s unequivocal surrender in WWII in a radio address on August 15th, in allude to the calamitous power of “a new and most cruel bomb.” President Truman had to make one of hardest pre arrangements that he had ever faced. Truman based this decision off of the results of to justify the cost of the Manhattan project, in response of

At the end of World War II, Winston Churchill said, “Never in the field of human

This thought brings me to my next motive of why Truman might have dropped the bomb. I do not think Truman was unaware of the lasting effects of the atom bomb, but by the time these facts were presented to him, piled upon facts about the actual bomb and the projects supporting them, it was to late to change his decision. He needed to save face for America (which brings me to the next motive of pressure) even if it public opinion was not his main concern. Truman did not want to look soft upon the Japanese, something further consideration and negation of the plan to bomb would have caused in some officials eye's. Also, Truman and much of the rest of the nation did not like seeing the U.S. as moral failures like many other nations. Who knows what the reaction to the President's decision would have been like if he had decided to let an invasion with hundreds and thousands of our men involved take place.

Why President Truman Decided to Drop Atomic Bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki At 02:45 August 6th 1945, the B-29 Superfortress the Enola Gay took off from the specially lengthened North Field on the Island of Tinian in the Marianas. The plane piloted by Colonel Paul Tibbets was 7 tons. At 0815 hours the bomb doors of the B-29 opened and flying at approximately 32,000 ft the uranium based atom bomb code-named “Little Boy” was unleashed upon the city of Hiroshima. Over 70,000 men women and children were killed by blast alone.

Many people don’t understand the main reason for dropping the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Many people still speculate the main reason President Truman dropped the atomic bomb, was because he was a racist. The true reason he did it was because in the eyes of our president, he didn’t want to risk the lives of U.S. soldiers (Nicolas). After Okinawa and Iwo Jima 19,200 soldiers died. Truman wanted the Japanese surrender by showing the power of the U.S., after the second bond was dropped on Japan, Japan finally surrendered and brought an end to WWII (“Harry S…”).

“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

During the war that raged on between the allies and Japan before, losses for Japan at both Iwo Jima and Okinawa had been great, their navy was being defeated and becoming less effective and the air corps they had, was destroyed. Knowing this President Harry Truman at the time had many strategic alternatives for ending the war: invade the Japanese mainland, hold a demonstration for Japanese dignitaries of the destructive power of an atomic bomb, drop it on any selected industrial Japanese

Introduction After the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt, the new president Harry Truman became president and was faced with crucial decisions which would steer the future of the war. Harry Truman was alerted about the very confidential Manhattan Project to build a working atomic bomb. Just as soon as the Japanese Islands of Iwo Jima and Okinawa were taken from them, the time to attack Japan was soon arising. Japanese soldiers deployed in those two Islands killed or wounded over 89 thousand Americans(PBS.org). Harry Truman was right to drop the Atomic Bombs because it saved considerable American and Japanese lives, ender WW2 faster, and turned the USA into a global superpower.

With the approval of American President Harry S. Truman, the fates of two Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki were sealed. This decision came with heavy hearts, as the United States attempted to end their involvement in World War II by using nuclear power against the nation of Japan. Truman’s primary goal in this form of attack was to discontinue the war as quickly as possible, while also sending a message to the enemy and establish the United States as the leader in atomic energy. Beginning as a secret operation labeled the Manhattan Project, atomic bombs became the new weapons of mass destruction. The evident frontrunner in nuclear technology, the United States was the first country to release atomic bombs on another nation for war