The Atomic Bomb Helpful or Harmful There used to be a time in America when the name “Atomic Bomb” seemed fictional to some, non existent to others,and seemed only a dream to those in the science world. That time is long gone.The day that changed all ideas and opinions about what war was and what is has evolved to be was August 6,1945. President Truman had decided to drop the Atomic bomb in order to end the war and save as many lives as possible. The United States had dropped the bomb on Hiroshima in order to end the war almost instantly and avoid bloody invasion, thereby saving both American and Japanese lives. Whether or not to drop the atomic bomb was president Truman’s decision, faced with this decision Truman researched …show more content…
An American military soldier stationed in Japan tells his of what he saw in Japan, “The mass fire bombings that went on for days and would of kept on going if it wasn’t for the atomic bomb. Our B-29’s for months were flying over Tokyo and Yokohamama,dropping firebombs. We were deliberately trying to burn everybody to death in those to cities so what was worse?”(Takaki 29)
The Bomb put and end to the war, unlike the mass killings the air raids provided with no real accomplishments. As the war went on, the Japanese made it very clear to the Americans that they would not be surrendering and the Americans kept on increasing the military pressure. Truman believed that the attacking would not stop until Japan provided an unconditional surrender. On July 26,1945 Truman issued the Potsdam Declaration which stated that Japan accept “unconditional surrender” or be willing to face “utter devastation of the Japanese homeland.” (Takaki 38)
Truman gave the Japanese ample time to avoid destruction and the deaths of their people, yet they did not respond, surrendering would only seem like a dishonor to their land.(O’Neal 54)
So with all the plans being thought up the atomic bomb was being prepared to go off.
The Manhattan Project that was started in 1943 (Blow 53) to study and test the bomb was coming to an end as Truman made his final decision on whether or not the bomb
On July 26, U.S. President Harry S. Truman and Allies issued a final ultimatum to Japan, known as the Potsdam Declaration. The Potsdam Declaration is a statement that called for the surrender of all Japanese armed forces. The Proclamation Defining Terms of Japanese Surrender consisted of thirteen conditions that the Japanese had to abide by. Japan was warned numerous times from the United States about the potential threat of an invasion or the use of a new weapon. “Japan would be warned that the new weapon would be used against Japan unless surrender was forthcoming.” Premier Kantaro Suzuki had rejected Truman’s final warning by stating that it was unworthy of public notice. January of 1945, a reporter for Newsweek wrote, “This intense hatred was first aroused by the sneak attack on Pearl Harbour. I remember men who, when they came to the Pacific, had no particular hatred of or desire to kill Japanese. When treachery affects you, or somebody you know, you grow to hate violently.” President Truman was disturbed over the unwarranted attack of Pearl Harbour and the murder of their prisoners of war. Japan had, not only attacked Pearl Harbour, involvement of the Bataan Death March, and the bloody battles in the Pacific. Leaflets were also dropped over Japan to let the people acknowledge that if Japan would not surrender, the U.S. is willing
“We have to protect our Earth, so our children and grandchildren will never suffer like that,’ she said. And she looked ahead. ‘Maybe nuclear weapons won’t be abolished while I’m alive,’ she said. ‘But I will never give up.” (Hanley, NBC News). August 6, 1945 at 8:16 in the morning, the United States dropped the world's first atomic bomb on thousands of unsuspecting people in Hiroshima, Japan. Not only did this catastrophic event kill thousands of civilians, but it also resulted in other nations obtaining and learning how to create these deadly weapons, weapons that we still have today. In the book Hiroshima by John Hersey he gives readers a new look at that day, through the eyes of six victims who survived the horrific attack on Hiroshima, he shows how the entire city of Hiroshima suffered, and were left alone to fend for themselves.The book Hiroshima by John Hersey, sheds light on the immense dangers of nuclear warfare, and the government's responsibility for its people, affected by a war they aren’t fighting in.
During 1941 through 1945 a war had occurred in the Pacific between the Americans and the Japanese this war was called The Pacific Theater. This war was also being fought during the duration of another World War against Germany and Japan but on May 8, 1945 Germany surrendered to the allied powers leaving Japan to still be dealt with. However Japan would not surrender even after the major battles between the Americans and Japanese in Iwo Jima and Okinawa. The Americans then came to conclusion to try and get to a new military weapon which then started the ManHattan Project. The Manhattan Project established a new powerful military weapon known as the Atomic Bomb. This new entirely militarized weapon was designed to force Japan into surrendering because Japan was still willing to fight even though they were on a brink of defeat and they were
Even before the outbreak of War, the United States was concerned with a fascist regime in Europe researching in nuclear weapons. In retaliation, the United States began to fund an atomic weapon development program which became known as “The Manhattan Project” led by J. Robert Oppenheimer. Over the next several years, the Manhattan project started obtaining key materials such as Uranium-235 and Plutonium and testing prototypes until they reached a working model (Coroner).
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.
When Truman was sworn in as president World War Two was just about over due to Hitler committing suicide and Germany’s surrender. Although Germany had surrendered and the war with them was over, the war with Japan was further away from the end (“Foreign Affairs”). Military planners estimated that the war with Japan would call for an allied invasion of Japan and would take at least another year and cost at least another 200,000 American casualties. When Truman learned of the success of the testing of the atomic bomb in Potsdam the idea of possibly ending the war sooner grew on him. He decided he would use the threat of an atomic bomb to persuade Japan to surrender, but Japan
On the clear morning of August 6, 1945 in Hiroshima, Japan, the world was hit with a total shock, that went down in history as a day for the history books. This day, the city of Hiroshima was blasted by the world’s first atomic bomb, which sent the grounds quaking, and leaving thousands dead. The debates for years since the bombing were having us all wonder if the attack was a military necessity or not. Considering both sides of the argument, it is clear to me that the bombing was the best plan for ending the world war. The use of the bomb saved more lives than it took.
In conclusion, the Japanese are a resilient and honor bond people who know when they are beaten. This along with all the other statements mentioned in this paper goes to show that Japan would have surrendered if the bombs were not dropped. Although funding the War would have been much harder to do. Many more Americans and Japanese soldiers would have died as well. But, in the end the bombs didn’t need to be
A key factor in this argument is that the Japanese were issued warning of an imminent American attack through the Potsdam Declaration and informative leaflets. In the beginning of 1941, The Manhattan Project commenced where the US began constructing their plans to create an atomic bomb that could be used to defeat Nazi Germany. This atomic project was instigated at Los Alamos in the New Mexico Desert
The traditional view of the decision is that Truman authorized the Atomic bombings because he was tired of the Second World War. Most Americans shared his idea, and years of war had caused a want for normalcy in the United States, and also for the return of American soldiers who at this point had been overseas for the past four years. The alternate plan for the defeat of Japan was a proposed invasion of the Japanese homeland, Operation Downfall, determined to take place in the Spring of 1946. Soviet assistance would be needed to invade Japan from the Northern Japanese islands. This however, was ruled out by Truman with the decision to drop the
When Truman dropped the bomb he wanted to tell “not only Japan but the world that we are not afraid to do what we have to do to protect our homeland and defeat our enemies”(Debate.org) and to show how strong the United States was. President Truman needed to prove to the enemies that the United States were prepared for anything; that they had the money and knowledge for war. The atomic bomb not only showed that the United States were capable, but proved that “Japan’s leadership [would] surrender easily”(Ahmed) meaning Japan surrendered right away when Truman dropped the bomb which ended the
The twentieth century saw two World Wars, both with lasting effects, but World War II ended with the use of the atomic bomb. The atomic bomb was something the world had never experienced before and it was unimaginable. The atomic program started during President Roosevelt’s time in office but the decision to use it or not would fall on President Truman. In 1945, President Truman was faced with the harrowing decision to use the atomic bomb. This paper will explore President Truman’s decision and reasoning to use the atomic bomb while providing supporter and critic’s views.
The creation of the atomic bomb came about after Albert Einstein warned President Franklin Roosevelt about the Germans experimenting with nuclear technology and recommended its military potential for the US. The Manhattan project was then commission to research and build atomic weapons. After the surrender of Germany and Italy as well as the death of President Roosevelt, Harry Truman was thrown into the driver’s seat and had to deal with last fighting Axis Power, Japan. Truman assembled multiple committees of high ranking military officials in order to decide whether to use the atomic bomb to force Japan’s surrender. The committee members came to a unanimous decision that the atomic
In 1941, The United States began an atomic bomb program called the “Manhattan Project.” The main objective of the “Manhattan Project” was to research and build an atomic bomb before Germany could create and use one against the allied forces during World War II. German scientists had started a similar research program four years before the United States began so the scientists of the “Manhattan Project” felt a sense of urgency throughout their work (Wood “Men … Project”).
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