Decision To Drop The Atomic Bomb

Imagine that you are living during World War II. The Japanese are making this war longer and more deadly by the minute. If they don’t surrender, you have the risk of being taken from your wife and kids to a far away country to fight a war you just want to be over. Who knows if you’ll come back or ever see them again. This is the reality for many people during World War II. The war should have ended sooner, but the Japanese refused to surrender, it was considered dishonorable. At this point, there was only one way to end the war. Although it was horrible, it accomplished what was necessary to end things. The only way was to drop the atomic bomb. The United States should have dropped the bomb because it would have saved more people’s lives,

President Truman's decision to drop the atomic bomb on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the direct cause for the end of World War II in the Pacific. The United States felt it was necessary to drop the atomic bombs on these two cities or it would suffer more casualties. Not only could the lives of many soldiers have been taken, but possibly the lives of many innocent Americans. The United States will always try to avoid the loss of American civilians at all costs, even if that means taking lives of another countries innocent civilians.

This committee decided that the United States should retain nuclear superiority, in the event that international relations deteriorated following World War II (US Department of Energy). This decision is a foreshadowing of the Cold War, and nuclear arms race which followed the dropping of nuclear weapons on Japan. The interim committee also decreed that a regulatory system should be created to control the development of nuclear weapons, since other nations would inevitably obtain the technology needed to develop weapons. Possibly, the most influential decision made by the interim committee was to keep the details of the atomic bomb a secret, to maintain the shock effect, until after it had been dropped on Japan. Two atomic bombs were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The first bomb dropped was a uranium bomb, nick-named Little Boy, was untested before its detonation (US Department of Energy). The second, dropped after the Japanese did not surrender, was a plutonium bomb, nick-named Fat Man. The dropping of these bombs propelled the United States to a seat of world power, as they were the only country to obtain a weapon of mass destruction. The Manhattan Project became scientific and engineering feat, employing over 100,000 individuals. The exceptional organizational model the Manhattan Project provided, allowed for great scientific achievements in the later part of

The United States president, Harry S. Truman declared to drop the bomb on August 6, 1945 for various reasons. The most reluctant reason why President Truman dropped the bombs was to save a numerous amount of American lives (Document 8). This included the people captured by the Japanese and the soldiers who would of fought a massive battle against the Japanese soldiers (Document 5). The estimated lives of the civilians killed in the bombings

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.

Technology has allowed for the furtherance of warfare, from the invention of gun powder to the splitting of the atom. These findings have propelled the leap of numerous nations’ in the ability to wage war against each other. Of these discoveries, the splitting atom spawned an invention that would hurl the world from conventional warfare into the nuclear age. These ideals were the brainstorming of some of the greatest minds in America and abroad. These scientists began to formulate the creation of the atomic bomb, a device that would change the world in ways that had never been imagined before.

“ The atom bomb was no ‘great decision.’ It was merely another powerful weapon in the arsenal of righteousness.” This quote was said by Harry S. Truman the first President who used an atomic bomb. The program that was able to create this monstrous power was known as the Manhattan Project. Creating this weapon was their main priority. The United States was in the midst of World War 2. The atomic bomb is considered to be the main factor that ended that war. It was a race against the multiple enemies of the United States, to be the first to acquire this power and use it when necessary. The Manhattan Project was kept strictly confidential and, created the foundation of the future and more powerful nuclear weapons to come.

On August 6, 1945, the United states have dropped the atomic bomb on Japan city of Hiroshima and three days after The United States have dropped the second bomb on Japan city of Nagasaki to end World War II. The United States should not have dropped the atomic bombs on Japan to end World War II because it was inhumane, unnecessary, and brutal.

On August 5th, 1945 the Enola Gay, a B-29 bomber flew over the Japanese city of Hiroshima and released the most destructive weapon known to mankind. Mere moments later the city was engulfed in a fireball that rose up into the sky. Thousands perished instantly and many more would die from severe exposure to radiation. Two days later a second atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki increasing the death toll to 120,000. The decision to drop nuclear weapons on Japan was made by the United States president Harry S. Truman. The decision to use these weapons has sparked controversy over whether or not a justification exists for extinguishing the lives of innocent civilians. For President Truman the decision

civilians. By the end of the year, 140,000 more people were dead as a result of radiation

Imagine yourself making the toughest decision in your life, whether sacrificing a million of our men and thousands of war ships and plans, verses several thousand of Japanese civilian populists. This decision was on the shoulder of Harry S. Truman, the United States President, who had to make this decision by deciding whether or not to drop a newly designed weapon. The atomic bomb was tested in the sands of New Mexico, where it proved to be very successful. Harry S. Truman made a very successful decision, because he wanted to end the war quickly, show others that the United States had power, and the retribution of Pearl Harbor.

Many debates have been provoked based on President Truman's decision to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. The debate is not solely based on the bomb being dropped, but more on the actual necessity and intention of the bomb being dropped.

World War II began September 1, 1939 and ended September 2, 1945. When this war began, many young boys and men were drafted into the war. Most of them left what they were doing and all they’ve known, to fight in the war. It was the war that advanced technology and created social changes. The United States was the first country to use the atomic bomb in warfare. On August 6, 1945, the first of two atomic bombs were dropped. The first bomb was named, “Little Boy,” and was dropped on the city of Hiroshima. The second bomb was named, “Fat Man,” (History.com Staff 2009) and was dropped on the city of Nagasaki three days later. The bombs resulted in thousands of casualties and radiation among the civilians. Dropping the atomic bomb was the right decision because the bomb would end the war, it was revenge for Pearl Harbor, and it saved the lives of more Americans.

To what extent was Harry Truman’s decision to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki justified?

Through the efforts of the “Manhattan Project” and the scientists within it, several nuclear bombs were created. Two of which, “Little Boy” and “Fat Man,” ended up being dropped on Japan. “Little Boy,” the only uranium bomb created was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 (Batchelder 99-105). “Fat Man,” the second nuclear bomb ever used in warfare, detonated above Nagasaki on August 11, 1945 (Batchelder 95-105). The leaders of the United States, decided that dropping the newly developed atomic bombs on Japan was the smartest action they could take at the time, given the current situation that the United States and the world was in. Dropping the bombs on Japan was mainly motivated by the belief that human lives could be saved. A massive invasion of the Japanese mainland was the only other option if no bombs were going to be dropped. The fact that the Japanese main army of approximately two million had never before been defeated on top of the Japanese terrain which was much better suited for guerrilla warfare than the mechanical ways of the U.S. put estimated American deaths alone well over the deaths at Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined (Batchelder 114-118).