Japan Bombs : Was It Necessary?

The fatal atomic bombings of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the end of World War II are written down in history books today. This is because they had a drastic story behind them that changed the world and the lives of many civilians. The United States decision to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II had both positive and negative results.

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.

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.

The pressing question still lingers: Was the United States justified in using the Atomic Bomb against Japan during WWII? World War II stands as the bloodiest and deadliest war of all time. It involved more than thirty countries and resulted in over fifty million civilian and military deaths. It lasted six years, beginning with Adolf Hitler’s invasion of Poland in 1939. As the Allied Powers (mainly the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union) and the Axis Powers (Germany, Italy, and Japan) were in direct conflict with each other, many wonder if the cost of victory was too extreme. In late 1941, the process of creating the world’s first, most deadly weapon began. The production of the first atomic bomb was code named “the Manhattan Project.” After months of production, August 6, 1945, America dropped the “Little Boy” bomb on Hiroshima, wiping out ninety percent of the city. August 9, 1945, just three days after the devastation of the first bomb, America dropped the “Fat Man” bomb on Nagasaki. Dropping the atomic bomb on Japan was not necessary, nor justified in ending World War II. Due to the fact that America targeted heavily civilian populated cities (with limited military value), that Japan was in a position of surrender before the bomb was dropped, and the fact that the U.S. did not give enough time for Japan to process the devastation of the first bomb before the second in Nagasaki shows that America’s decision to drop the atomic bomb was entirely unjustified.

On August 6, 1945, the United States of America dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. For decades, there have been feuds relating to the justification of the bombing. Was the U.S justified? It depends on your opinion. The United States was justified due to the unprovoked attack and bombing of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, which occurred three years prior to the bombing of Hiroshima, it was necessary to stop the war because it saved thousands of American lives. Until then, the fight had never been on United States soil. Innocent men, women and children did not have to worry about being killed on their land until the infamous day: December 7, 1941, the attack of Pearl Harbor. On that day, the Japanese took to the skies with 423 planes, arriving in Pearl Harbor, killing a total of 2,403 and wounding 1178. Hitting 18 U.S ships, it crippled the U.S naval fleet in one day. Little known to the people, the bombing also destroyed 180 fighter jets used in the U.S Air Force. This was an unjustified, barbaric act and dropping the bomb on Hiroshima was justified.

Many innocent lives were taken from the Atomic Bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. An atomic bomb explosion would inflict damage and casualties beyond imagination (Document A). In fact, the total number of casualties in the two bombings was almost 200,000. Most of the deaths were caused by flash burns. A flash burn is the direct exposure to the thermal radiation and 20 to 30 percent of the fatal casualties in Hiroshima and Nagasaki were caused by flash

President Truman and the United States were not justified in using this weapon to force the Japanese to surrender. First of all, the use of this weapon was inhumane to the Japanese civilians. The weapon resulted in an estimated value of 129,000-226,000 deaths. Even after the tragedy, survivors were affected by the high amounts of radiation in their bodies. Most of them contracted cancer and faced the consequences of the bomb. Survivors had to battle burns, starvation, and even severe sickness. Survivors also had to battle with the “inner scars”, physiological damage to the brain. While they were treated for radiation illnesses, many were left traumatized, some the only survivors from their family. Some who still bore inner scars committed suicide. For the rest of their lives, the Hiroshima and Nagasaki survivors would be shunned by the Japanese society and haunted by the bomb's’ radiation. The usage of this bomb was inhumane

The first bomb in Hiroshima killed 140,000 people by the end of 1945. The explosion its self killed 80,000 people instantly. The other major toll the bomb took on the city was the fact that it had killed 60,000 people in the next five years due to sickness from radiation from the bomb. The second bomb Fat Man killed 70,000 people by the end of 1945. Fat man killed 39,000 people instantly but left 25,000 people injured from the blast. If people who had cancer from the radiation that adds close to another 100,000 people who died from the second bombs. In the next five years 140,000 people died from sickness due to the bomb. In total in the five years after the bombs exploded 210,000 people died from effects from the bomb.

The Bombs were not as bad as people think it was. President Harry S. Truman had already warned that any attempt to invade japan would cause unusual acts that would bring the war to a brief end. Roughly about 90,000-146,000 people were killed in Hiroshima & 39,000-80,000 in Nagasaki,which most of the death occurred on the very first day of the bombings. The Army Officer made it seem like that was the only choice was the bomb but it really wasn’t.

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.

On December 7, 1941 Japan launched a surprise attack on a U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii with the possibility of forcing the U.S. to join World War II. About 2,400 Americans were dead, 21 ships had been sunk, and 188 aircrafts were destroyed. On August 6 and 9 of 1945, the U.S. retaliated and dropped two atomic bombs called Fat Man and Little Boy on the Japanese cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. The U.S. was not justified in dropping the atomic bombs on Japan because of the locations that were bombed, the terms of the Potsdam Declaration, and the lack of previous bomb testing.

In document G it says, “By that time, although the plane was flying at 30,000 feet, the mushroom cloud had risen above them. The city itself was completely engulfed in a thick black smoke.” this shows that the bombing was so powerful that even the plane that dropped the bomb was covered with the smoke from the explosion, so no one would be able to survive that. Even the crewmembers said “Good God, how could anyone survive that down there?”. The explosion completely destroyed the city and killed people who might have been innocent. It wasn’t necessary to bomb cities japan with a nuclear weapon when instead they could have done something different and still won because japan was already in the condition of

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

On August 6, 1945 an American B-29 bomber dropped the world’s first developed atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Three days later the a second B-29 dropped another atomic bomb over Nagasaki. It was not until August 15, 1945 that Emperor Hirohito announced Japan's surrender. The atomic bomb was a turning point in United States history because it raised a controversial issue concerning whether massive destruction was a humane choice or a desperate attempt to quell the Japanese. Although civilian lives were lost in the aftermath of the atomic bomb, the United States mission was justified because the bombings resulted in Japanese surrender which shortened the war and saved the lives of millions of American soldiers.

By bombing Japan, many civilians were killed as a result of the U.S. 's desire to use a new weapon. Laurence describes the bomb as, "a thing of beauty to behold" and "Never before had so much brain power been focused on a single problem" (11). This demonstrated how the U.S. saw Japan as a problem that needed to be dealt with quickly and that the new and supposedly destructive weapon was the best choice. While the targets, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, were both production areas ,they were inhabited by a number of civilians. By choosing to drop the bomb, thousands were annihilated and any survivors began to suffer from radiation sickness shortly after. Because of its destruction, the U.S. believed the atomic bomb was a quick solution to the war.