The Atomic Bombing of Japan On August 9th, 1945, a B-29 American bomber dropped the world’s first atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. In a flash, 90% of the city’s population, about 80,000 people, were wiped from existence. In the following years many more Japanese people would die from the radioactive fallout from the bomb. Three days later, another bomb of the same type was dropped on another Japanese city of Nagasaki. The devastation of these two extremely powerful weapons seemed almost impossible. Still, I think it was justified because it actually saved lives. The estimated death toll of American soldiers, Japanese soldiers, and Japanese civilians if we were to invade Japan to finish the war was much greater than the toll the atomic bomb took. When they fought, the …show more content…
It was an honor to die for your country and the Japanese Kamakazi bombers showed it when they would crash their planes into ships instead of ejecting. On the island of Okinawa, we see them demonstrate their code of honor for their country, called Bushido, as only 200 of their 2000 soldiers survived. Even though we won both the battle of Okinawa and Iwo Jima, another island close to Japan, the casulties of American soldiers were astronomical, totalling about 7,000 American soldiers dead and 18,000 more wounded at Iwo Jima and over 50,000 dead at Okinawa. This was a scary foreshadowing of what the invasion of Japan could be like. Experts predicted that tthe casulties for Kyushu, the southernmost island of the Japanese mainland, alone would bring 500,000 American casulties and many many more Japanese casulties of both soldiers and civilians, all of whom would most likely fight to the death. The atomic bomb was a way of reminding the Japnese that we would win, and all these people didn’t need to die. My second reason for agreeing that the atomic bomb was justified was that it ended the war earlier. Most people predicted that the war would go on for five more
On the 6th and 9th of August, 1945, the United States of America dropped the Atomic Bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The use of these bombs brought a quick end to World War 2, yet caused extensive damage to the two Japanese cities. There have often been disputes as to whether the USA was justified in the dropping of the atomic bombs because of the damage they caused, not only to the cities, but to the people of Japan as well. Many people believe that the USA should not have dropped the bombs because of the damage they caused, and they also claim that Japan was already defeated. However, Japan did not surrender, and prolonging the war was not an option for America, as it believed it would cause even more casualties, not only to American troops, but to Japan as well. Thus the USA was justified in dropping the bombs on Japan.
The United States was justified in dropping the atomic bombs to expedite the decisive victory of a militaristic Japan while limiting U.S. casualties.
Was the US justified in dropping the atom bomb? Although the atomic bomb is seen as a weapon of mass destruction capable of killing entire cities it is seen as the right thing to do. This is true because of the casualties would have been too great, the Japanese would not surrender, and it would bring the troops home quicker. When the atom bomb was dropped over Hiroshima 256,000 were killed according to the Atomicarchive.com (Doc #19). If the Americans didn’t drop the bomb the war would continue until 1946 and possibly to into 1947.
At the end of World War II, Winston Churchill said, “Never in the field of human
First, many believe the atomic bombs were not justified because they killed thousands of civilians. “Harry S Truman’s Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb” reports, “The temperature near the blast site reached 5,400 degrees Fahrenheit. The sky seemed to explode… People over two miles away burst into crumbling cinders. Others with raw skin hanging in flaps around their hips leaped shrieking into waterways to escape the heat” The atomic bomb caused a lot of destruction. People were gruesomely killed, and it was a terrible thing to watch.
The use of the atomic bomb against Japan was completely justified in both cause and impact. An intense weapon was necessary to force a quick Japanese surrender. The bomb saved thousands upon thousands of American and Japanese lives that would have been lost if the war continued or an invasion occurred. The bomb was the only way to end the suffering of the millions who were being held captive by the Japanese oppressor. The weapon of mass destruction also sent a powerful message to the shaky Soviet allies. The choice to use the atomic bomb was justified because it compelled a Japanese surrender, saved countless lives, served as retribution for the sufferings of many people, and
was fully justified in dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, because of the unprovoked and brutal attacks on civilians, grounded airplanes, and the docked U.S. Pacific fleet by the Japanese. By retaliating with the atomic bomb to end the war the United States showed the world the power and weapons of mass destruction that it possessed and that it was not afraid to use them. This also issued a warning to the Soviet Union, who at the time was our ally, but was slowly turning into an enemy. In addition to showing the world the United States power, the atomic bombs crushed Japan not just physically, but also morally giving them no other option, but to surrender. Japan was on the edge of surrender with a great amount of inner turmoil, but Japans military leaders had declared no surrender and ordered their people to fight to the death of the last man, woman, and child, so in using the atomic bomb we forced them to the breaking point and saved millions of lives. Without the dropping of the atomic bombs the U.S. would have invaded the Japanese homeland in Operation Downfall where a great slaughter would have ensued. Nearly 500,000 Purple Heart medals were pre-made in anticipation of the invasion, but the atomic bombs saved this massive loss of life. The results brought about by the atomic bombs were very devastating and gruesome; they caused thousands of deaths and injuries and should not be employed except in the most dire
One major argument for the use of the atomic bomb was that it would save thousands, if not, millions of U.S. and Japanese lives. With a U.S. invasion set for November of 1945, it was predicted that nearly a million U.S. soldiers would be lost, and the entire population of Japan’s main inland would suffer causalities. We believed that thousands of civilian lives were worth our own. The sacrifice of these individuals was worth it all. Where does morality come into play? How does one decide what lives matter and which ones do not? I believe that the atomic bomb was inhumane, more so for the long-term environmental, social, and health effects which took place.
The atomic bombs were justified and properly used because of the japanese’s hardcore dedication to this war. They were willing to stop at nothing to complete their goal of winning the war. The attack on Pearl Harbor caused many Americans To dislike the Japanese people as a whole, this Led Americans to believe that the Japanese people as a whole were dangerous. In addition to the speculations of the American people, speculations about the Japanese military begin to grow. They learned that the Japanese military was a very powerful force, their Army was estimated to have over 5 million men.
The US was justified to a very limited extent when dropping the atomic bomb on Hiroshima during World War 2 as Japan had been on the verge of surrendering due to not having any allies, having its navy almost destroyed, its islands were under a naval blockade, and its cities were undergoing air attacks. However, the US believed that it had been their only solution due to the Japanese attack on the US naval base. The US also believed that it could be used to keep the USSR in line. Many people believed that the US had been justified in dropping the bomb as Japan had been continuously at war; with China, Britain and the United States. Due to this, the United States felt as if they had been obliged to stop the killing.
Many people don’t know the truth about what happened at the time in World War 2 where President Harry Tuman decided to drop the two atomic bombs on Japan. Many people believe that US just wanted to show off their weapons and scare the Soviet Union (Germany) for any future decisions against the United States. Many people think that Japan was just about to surrender and that it was not necessary for the atomic bombs but this is not true in my opinion.
“The atomic bomb made the prospect of future war unendurable. It has led us up those
70 years have past since the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing no more than 200,000 people on August 1945. Memories may be fading and many young Japanese don’t know the tragedy of what occur that day. But at every anniversary a little bit of that lost memory comes back, leaving people with questions waiting to be answered.
I think the United States was justified in dropping the atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. I believe the United States was justified because the war had the possibility to take many more lives, from both the Axis and the Allied powers, than dropping the atomic bombs did. As Harry Truman said in 1963 "I stopped the war that would have killed a half million youngsters on both sides if those bombs had not been dropped.". Harry Truman did not show any regret even after having dropped the bombs because he understood the power of World War II and how many casualties could have been added if the bombs were not dropped. Dropping the bombs also allowed Japan to grow into a country with democracy and also a very economic country. If we
A common reason the bomb was justified is because the bomb brought an end to the war in the Pacific. The US had started an island hopping campaign and had already fought battles with the Japanese on the islands of Leyte, Luzon, Iwo Jima and Okinawa, battles in which there were many casualties. The Japanese were offered a way to surrender peacefully, through the Potsdam Declaration, but the Japanese refused, preferring to keep fighting and prolong the war. So, the decision to use the atomic bomb brought a swift end.