It was April of 1945 and Harry Truman had been sworn into office following the death of a beloved president, Franklin Roosevelt. President Roosevelt left Truman with the hardest and still most controversial decision of all time, whether or not to drop the atomic bomb on Japan. This decision would determine whether or not the outcome of World War II would be quick or prolonged. The Manhattan project for developing the bomb began with the fear of Germany inventing a type of nuclear weapon. The Allies had just defeated Germany and now, the United States focus was ending war with Japan. America had been in war for four years accumulating 1 million casualties in the process. The United States wanted Japan to surrender unconditionally, as the …show more content…
In 1937, the Japanese troops took Nationalist Army headquarters city and spent seven weeks killing 300,000 men, women, and children by hand in the Rape of Nanjing. “Death from two atomic bombs are pale shadows to the deaths resulting from the Japanese military’s systematic abuse and killings of prisoners of war and slave laborers from Korea, China, and Southeast Asia,” Ohio University Professor of History Donald Jordan. In the Rape of Nanjing thousands of women were forced to become sex slaves for the Japanese. Not only was this enemy fanatical with their treatment of prisoners, the action on the battlefield was even more dreadful. Kamikaze pilots would fly their planes into US ships and naval bases. They believed in the Brushido, which emphasized on not surrendering. If a Japanese person were to surrender, it would be in vain towards their country, and should commit suicide rather than surrender. With this type of mentality, how could one argue Japan was leaning towards surrendering? The Japanese wanted Soviet mediation for a settlement in their best interest. If it was not met to their approval, Japan would prepare a bitter, suicidal resistance that could last for months until meeting their desired terms. In July of 1945, Admiral Kantaro Suzuki told the Japanese Cabinet that thousands of kamikaze pilots would fly against enemy ships even in training planes, that millions of soldiers would fight the “Decisive Battle” by suicide banzai charges
Bombing two major cities may seem wrong but it was necessary in order to come out as a successful nation. During World War 2 on August 6th and 9th of 1945 the United States was the first country to use an atomic device against an enemy. This enemy was the country of Japan. After the Japanese killed thousands of U.S soldiers with their ruthless and unexpected attack on Pearl Harbour the United States released two atomic bombs on their two major cities. These cities were known as Nagasaki and Hiroshima. After the bombs were dropped the war was put to an end. The use of the atomic bombs is a widely debated topic on whether their use was necessary or not. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were not only necessary to end the war but it was also necessary because many American lives were lost.
At the end of World War II, Winston Churchill said, “Never in the field of human
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.
The U.S. continued conventional bombing in the 1940s but determined that it would not be enough to cause Japan to come to an unconditional surrender. Japanese military leaders strongly opposed the idea of surrendering while political leaders urged for the country to surrender
Christian Meza SLIDE 1: Specifics of the historical topic or issue WHO was involved?Both America and Japan and been involved in this event. It started when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor with no warning. WHAT happened?An atomic was dropped on the city of hiroshima to end the war between America and Japan quickly. The Japanese had been using extreme tactics and the U.S finally realized it was time to end it.
World War Two and the Atomic Bomb World War II is one of the most historic points in the history of the world. The war was by far the most devastating in the history of the world. There were many controversial actions during the war, but one of the biggest was the decision by the United States to drop atomic bombs. The atomic bomb should have been used to end the war because it saved more lives than continuing the war. The official bombing order was signed on July 25, 1945, by Thos.
“The atom bomb was no “great decision” it was merely another powerful weapon in the arsenal of righteousness” said by President Harry s Truman. The World War 2 was one of most tragic event in history of mankind, after victory in European theater of World War 2, imperial Japanese military kept their fight against United States and its allies. President Truman needed to make a decision to drop atom bomb on mainland japan not only end the war, but with multiple point during that time. There were multiple reasons why atom bomb have dropped in japan, first allied opinion on japan which found at Potsdam declaration, second united states effort to limit soviet’s expansion, third save young American lives from island hopping strategy which show
“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
The dropping of the Atomic Bomb changed not only warfare forever, but also all international relations. With that being said, the decision to do so was one of the biggest decisions made by any government in the history of time. Nuclear warfare was way more destructive and way faster than any other form of warfare preceding. With the United States seemingly always viewed to be “the good guys” it is puzzling that this country is the same one who killed hundreds of thousands of people all at once and essentially ruined not one but two entire cities within minutes of dropping two single bombs. This decision was not taken lightly, and with basically two schools of thought, liberalism vs. realism, insisting to do so or not to do so, and realism won out. Realism and the many counterparts that strengthen this school of thought is what drove the decision to go ahead and drop the atomic bomb.
Many Japanese and American soldiers died during a period in WW2 from 1939-145. It all started when the Japanese attacked American soldiers on the piers of Pearl Harbor. Not only did this wipe out many of the American troops, but it also was a turning point in the war. This led America into World War 2. The Americans won the battle of Midway, which was the largest and most crucial naval battle.
The first atomic bomb was detonated in Los Alamos, New Mexico, July 16, 1945. The American government poured billions of dollars into the development of the atomic bomb. It had been 3 years since the Manhattan Project began. What fueled such an excited push to create such a weapon? In 1939, Leo Szilard wrote a letter and had Albert Einstein sign the letter, to give the contents accreditation, to send to the President of the United States of America, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The letter explained that Nazi Germany was stockpiling uranium in hopes of being able to create an atomic bomb. This letter would eventually lead to the creation of the Manhattan project in 1942. America developed nuclear weapons and started a nuclear arms race with the
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
Some regard the atomic bomb as “the thank God for the atom bomb”. This places God on the U.S. side and regards the bombs as our saving grace. This bomb forced the Japanese to surrender which in turn proved the U.S. to be the heroes who saved the American’s lives.1 The Americans intended on ending the war but did not expect to end it with such a large number of casualties. The results of the atomic bomb and how it effected the Japanese people both emotionally and physically will be addressed. “The bombs marked both an end and a beginning—the end of an appalling global conflagration in which more than 50 million people were killed and the beginning of the nuclear arms race and a new world in which
With the surrender of Germany on May 1, 1945, the United States and its allies were well on their way to winning World War II and resuming peace in Europe. Japan was the only country still in their path. American forces soon began capturing islands off the coast of Japan including Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Since the Japanese refused to surrender, the United States began planning a ground attack on Japan's mainland. Many casualties for both sides were predicted; therefore, the United States constructed an alternate plan to end the war. Enricho Fermi and Leo Szilard worked on creating an atomic bomb for the United States in the 1930s. This manipulation of nature changed the relationship
With the approval of American President Harry S. Truman, the fates of two Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki were sealed. This decision came with heavy hearts, as the United States attempted to end their involvement in World War II by using nuclear power against the nation of Japan. Truman’s primary goal in this form of attack was to discontinue the war as quickly as possible, while also sending a message to the enemy and establish the United States as the leader in atomic energy. Beginning as a secret operation labeled the Manhattan Project, atomic bombs became the new weapons of mass destruction. The evident frontrunner in nuclear technology, the United States was the first country to release atomic bombs on another nation for war