Effects Of The Atomic Bomb On Hiroshima Japan

Imagine you are standing in a city in Japan overlooking Hiroshima. Smoke in the distance and everyone frightened at the scene. Buildings collapse by the dozen and people rushing to their houses. You get inside and check the news Hiroshima was bombed. In 1945 the U.S. dropped 2 bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to stop Japan. The bombing of Hiroshima made an important impact on our history and culture.

        August 6, 1945 defines a pivotal moment in world history. At 8:15am, the United States

President Harry Truman’s use of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan during the Second World War is the most controversial decision in history. While it was an undoubtedly difficult decision, it was indeed necessary in order to end this six-year war that had ravaged the world. While many critics argue that the bomb was used primarily as an act of vengeance toward Japan, simplifying such a crucial moment in human history downplays the very real risk invading Japan posed to the United States. While avoiding strained relations with the other Allied countries, Truman had to assess the possible danger of the Soviet Union in a post-war world. Furthermore, the possibility of an arms race, the moral implications of using this

With the war in Europe ending shortly after Adolf Hitler committing suicide in his office, America is under pressure to end the war in Asia but Japan is still putting up fierce resistance. On August 6, around 8:00 AM, an American B-29 flew over Hiroshima, Japan carrying the world’s most feared weapons, a weapon which can flatten a whole city in seconds, Equivalent to 13 kilotons of TNT. This new technology is called an atomic bomb. The primary target of “Little Boy” (the atomic bomb) was Hiroshima, Japan. Hiroshima was of industrial and military significance. A number of military camps were located nearby, including the headquarters of the Fifth Division and Field Marshal Shunroku Hata's 2nd General Army Headquarters, which commanded the

President Harry Truman’s use of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan during the Second World War is the most controversial decision in history. While it was an undoubtedly difficult decision, it was indeed necessary in order to end this six year war that had ravaged the world. While many critics argue that the bomb was used primarily as an act of vengeance toward Japan, simplifying such a crucial moment in human history downplays the very real threat Japan posed to the United States. While avoiding strained relations with the other Allied countries, Truman had to assess the possible danger of the Soviet Union in a post-war world. Furthermore, the possibility of an arms race, the moral implications of using this weapon, and

WWII was one of the deadliest wars in history. The war was ended only when the United States introduced the atomic bomb to the world and destroyed the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan. A lot of controversy surrounds the decision made by President Truman to drop the bombs on Japan. The casualties were high and many were civilians, and with this it breeds the following question: Was it the right decision? Could there have been something else the United States could have done before going to such extreme measures? The decision to bomb the Japanese wasn’t an easy one and although the right decision was made it had more to do with political, ethical, and military reasoning than morality.

On August 7, 1945 the headline of the front page of the New York Times read: First Atomic Bomb Dropped on Japan; Missile is Equal to 20,000 Tons of TNT: Truman Warns Foe of a “Rain of Ruin.”1 Now the debate between historians on the question of whether Truman’s decision to use the atomic bomb was correct or not had begun.

Although historians may argue that the economically dropping the bomb on japan got us out of world war II, because it saved american lives.

On August 6, 1945 and August 9, 1945, the two bombs code named “Little Boy” and “Fat Man” were dropped on the Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Since then, there has been controversy over whether the bombs should of been dropped. People often question Truman’s decisions- I don’t. A common counter is, so many citizens died. Although that is valid, people of the opposition don’t realize that it is a war, innocent people are bound to be killed. Truman’s actions are completely justifiable and were definitely the right thing to do.

This year, 2010, marks the sixty-fifth anniversary of the atomic bombing of Japan by the United States, the Allied exit strategy and victory plan to end World War II. In the decades that have followed, public opinion has ridden a volatile rollercoaster of emotion—never stalling on one particular sentiment, but rather moving in a constant sweep of almost cyclical proportions. In the aftermath of the bombings, the public at large expressed almost indiscriminate adulation of the decision to use the bombs, however American enthusiasm regarding their utilization has subsequently waned, with piques of interest coming in tandem with high profile anniversaries that

President Truman, the 33rd president, was considered as a great man, who at the time of World War Two who saved hundreds of thousands of lives by using the atomic bomb on Imperial Japan, some chose to say that he had to make the decision between our people or the Japanese, but is he really justified, some choose to differ. There are lots of things history has hidden from us about these events, for example, do you know of the 3,000 US citizens (source:aasc.ucla.edu)that died in Hiroshima, the extreme truth of Truman’s horrible transgressions will be revealed. Indisputably many American casualties were avoided through the atomic bomb, however the death toll of the innocent Japanese residents of the cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki was even higher and devastated the innocent residents of Imperial Japan. Even though he knew the horrible events that happened to Hiroshima, he dropped another atom bomb on Nagasaki, though he did ask the Japanese to surrender before he dropped “Little Boy”(atomic bomb) on Hiroshima, he

The events that contributed to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki all built up to the drastic effects the bombing had on Japan. Pearl harbour was a catalyst to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the way that it built up the feud between America and Japan. These events shaped the course of Japan for many years to come. The bombings having a destructive effect that will forever leave a permanent scar on Japanese history. The events that led to this destruction include the invasion of Manchuria, Japans reliance on foreign trade as well as the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour.

Historians have questioned the decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan in 1945. Evidence shows that President Truman weighed not only military information in his decision to use the bomb, but also considered postwar politics and foreign policy when he considered dropping the atomic bomb on Japan. An analysis of his personal papers offers a different reasoning for using the bomb than what was commonly known at the time. The discrepancy between Truman’s public and private reasoning will be discussed.

This investigation revolves around the question “Was Truman pragmatically and morally justified in using the first atomic bomb against Japan to end World War II?” The scope of this investigation is to determine whether the use of the first atomic bomb was the right choice at the time given the situations in both the United States and Japan during 1945, and if the choice to use the bomb was the right decision for the long run; also, the scope is to see if the use of the atomic bomb follows the ideals of Just War Theory. Sources of particular relevance are Michael Gordin’s “Five Days in August: How World War II became a Nuclear War” and Robert Newman’s “Rhetoric and Public Affairs: Truman and the Hiroshima Cult.” The source “Rhetoric and Public Affairs: Truman and the Hiroshima Cult” was written by Robert Newman, a distinguished historian and writer who wrote many articles about World War II and the Cold War, and published by Michigan State University Press on July 31, 1995.

Both authors succeed in making their case. In the case for Maddox, he successfully shows how the ignorance and stubbornness of the Japanese’s Ketsu-Go operation meant that a war would ensue for much longer, if the bombs had not been dropped. He also states the other options Truman could have chosen, such as a blockade or an invasion, but would ultimately lead to the deaths of numerous American and Japanese troops; by the dropping of the atomic bombs, only a small fraction of the estimated death toll would have been impacted. Maddox also successfully points to the need for the second bomb on Nagasaki. He refutes historians who argue the second bombing as “needless barbarism” by stating how the Japanese government would minimize the effect of