Persuasive Essay On The Atomic Bomb

“In 1957, with the arms race in full swing, the Department of Defense had decided it was just a matter of time before an airplane transporting an atomic bomb would crash on American soil, unleashing a radioactive disaster the likes of which the world had never seem.” On August 6, 1945, the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, killing 20,000 soldiers and 70,000 – 126,000 civilians. On August 9, 1945, the second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, killing 39,000 – 80,000. A total of 129,000 – 226,000 people were killed in combining both bomb droppings. Dropping both atomic bombs on Japan was necessary to end the war because the military needed to end the war, the Japanese were given fair warnings

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.

In 1945, two atomic bombs were dropped over Japan on Hiroshima and Nagasaki which resulted in thousands of civilian deaths and a detrimental impact on the environment.

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.

The United States dropped their first atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945. The explosion was tragic, “90 percent of the city was wiped out and immediately killed 80,000 people; tens and thousand more would later die to radiation exposure” (Lemay and Paul). Innocent children and citizens would die.

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

Japanese forces to surrender or prepare for a new lethal weapon at the Potsdam Convention

On May 1945, a long-awaited V-E Day finally came and brought an end to the war in Europe. But, the war in the Pacific was still continuing against Japan since they are being reluctant to surrender despite the continuous indiscriminate bombardments The United States began to consider about using the atomic bombs as the only way to end the war immediately. On the other hand, many argued that Japan’s staggering losses were enough to force Japan’s surrender. In the end, President Harry S. Truman didn’t hesitate to use this nuclear weapon and bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki with only three days interval between the two bombing. As a result, Japan has surrendered, but if I were to make a decision, I haven’t used atomic bombs because it was unnecessary since Japan has virtually lost already.

The Truman administration did not want to give Japan a conditional surrender and let them maintain their emperor because they feared that there would be a backlash from the American public who felt that the emperor was a war criminal. President Truman was also sold on this and there was really no moving him to change his mind. Herbert Feis in 1961 wrote that, “I think it may be concluded that the fight would have continued into July at least Unless…the American and Soviet Government together had let it be known that unless Japan laid down its arms at once, the Soviet Union was going to enter the war. That, along with a promise to spare the Emperor, might well have made an earlier bid for surrender effective” (Alperovitz 23). If the United States would have done this we could have been on the move to reconstructing the Japanese nation. Leaving the Japanes Emperor would have helped the Japanes feel some what better about the American invlovment at that time. On August 9 the Russian army invaded Manchuria and completely handled the

On August 15th Japan surrendered, and on September 2nd, 1945 they signed the “Instrument of Surrender”. Hospitals were filled with patients who had not seemed sick before. People vomited, bled from their gums, and spots had begun to appear on their skin. Later Japanese doctors discovered that the people were dying from radiation that came from the atomic bomb. {look up: conspiracy theory} When considering using the atomic bombs, President Truman took into account the lowest possible cost for ending the war, he also wanted to end the war quickly. Truman once stated, “When you have to deal with a beast you have to treat him as a beast.” After the Pearl Harbor invasion. The U.S. started with “Operation Downfall,” invading Kyushu, many casualties where estimated, but this war proved to be even more deadly than predicted. General MacArthur thought that dropping more bombs, and using air power by itself would protect American lives, while also bringing forth a quicker surrender from the Japanese. When I look at both sides of the 1945 Japan bombing I really tried to stay open about the different viewpoints. The fact that the U.S., Britain, and the Netherlands crippled Japan was interesting to find. I felt that the Japanese did not want to compromise, and in some way bit the hands that fed them. It seems these allies had allot of power. The Japanese seemed to only

Atomic bombs can hurt about 100,000 people. They can get burns, radiation sickness, or even die from just one drop of this bomb. America and Japan have fought for four years, and Japan wouldn’t surrender. To make them surrender, America’s scientists created an atomic bomb, and dropped it onto Japan, and they finally surrendered. This nuclear weapon was needed to end war. The bombs did stop war and ended the rivalry between the two countries. Although, the bombs would pass along to other nations, ruin America’s reputation, and it affected a lot of people.

“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

We, the representatives of the United States, should not drop the second bomb, because the United States should not harm any more civilians. We have to prevent dropping the second bomb as soon as possible, or else many more innocent civilians will die. Over 70,000 people died, and the decision to either save or kill about another 100,000 people must be reached soon. We’ve also caused mass destruction to Hiroshima yesterday. Let’s give them time to surrender so we do not waste any resources, instead of believing that the first bomb hasn’t done anything when it was only dropped yesterday, waiting for Japan to surrender or negotiate will be a better choice than killing thousands of civilians just to force Japan to surrender.

The death of thousands in a moment, this was the power of the weapon the United States held in their possession. President Harry S. Truman’s decision was the first immoral and flaw choice that proves the weakness of a man in power. His main argument was based on the lack of love and compassion among the millions in Japan. He has proven to end the war in a faster way by using the bombs and proves that American soldiers are dying in the battle, which sounded ironically the fact that soldiers are risking their lives fighting war. It was nearly the end of World War II. With Germany defeated and the Allied Forces ready for the cease-fire, only the power of Japan stood in the way of the end of the World War. “ Early in 1939, the world's scientific community discovered

On the 6th November 1945, a United States bomber flies over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The only cargo aboard that B-29 bomber was an atomic bomb waiting on its target. At 8.15am the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, taking 140,000 lives with it. Most of the 140,000 died instantly, horrifyingly the rest of the innocent civilians that were not in direct contact with the bomb died painful deaths in the four months following. They died from radiation sickness and different types of cancers.