The Atomic Bombing Of Hiroshima And Nagasaki

Hiroshima was such an ideal target for American bombing. According to the book, this was because the city was considered an important place for establishing a military command center. Another reason was that it was a place where communication would be coordinated from. It was the perfect city for militaries to station their operations in.

Was it necessary for Truman to drop the Atomic Bombs on Japan in World War II? On August 6, 1945, the first atomic bomb was dropped by a US aircraft on Hiroshima. This atomic bomb was dropped to force Japan into surrender, this bomb alone destroyed Hiroshima and over 90,000 people were instantly killed in the explosion and an additional 100,000 people perished from burns and radiation sickness. On August 9, 1945 only three days later, the second atomic bomb was dropped over Nagasaki resulting in an additional 80,000 casualties of the Japanese population. The people of Japan surrendered on August 14, 1945 soon after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Many people opposed to the use of the atomic bombs because people argued that Truman 's decision to use atomic bombs was a barbaric act of cruelty. People also argued that the US government had other ulterior motives to drop the atomic bomb that were necessary for America 's ideals. Necessary motives like presenting The Soviet Union a strong message for the Soviets to watch their step around America. A conventional way of warfare for Japan 's surrender would have costed many more American lives. Truman and others believed that the atomic bomb was necessary to save American lives but also Japanese lives. These actions from President Truman marked the end of the most destructive war in history. The two sources that will used and evaluated in this paper are is The Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb by Dennis D. Wainstock (1996)

Intense moral justification was needed in order to make the decision to drop the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki however, President Truman was ultimately the man who made the final decision to launch ‘Little Boy’ and destroy Hiroshima, Nagasaki and their civilians, thus forcing an end to the war. Although there were many alternatives presented to President Truman, it is unknown as to whether they would have actually succeeded in ending the war or producing less casualties. Truman made the decision to drop these bombs in the heat of war but his justification of having a military target appeared extremely unrealistic, as both cities were full of innocent civilians. The morality of the bombs have been debated over the years, however the publication of the actual damage to civilian life caused a strong voice opposed to the usage in the 60 years following the action.

The research question of this essay is “To what extent was the atomic bombing of Japan at the end of the Second World War Justified? In 1945, the United States authorized the dropping of the atomic bomb on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The first bomb, dropped on August 6th 1945, had a total casualty rate of 135,000, including non-combatant civilians, and as this, the atomic bombing of Japan at the end of the Second World War has indeed been a hugely discussed topic within academic and social circles until today. There have been historians, academics, and other influential individuals throughout the world who have argued on both sides of the spectrum regarding the effects of the bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and whether they were necessary and justified towards the ending of the conflict. According to the Center For Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), by 1944, it had become clear to both the United States and the Empire of Japan that Japan was indeed losing the war, and as this, there are many arguments and counterarguments regarding the effectiveness of the atomic bombing of Japan, as well as suggestions regarding alternatives due to the enormous human toll the bomb caused.

During World War II Americans dropped atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki killing nearly 200,000 people. This resulted in Japans surrender in World War II. J. Samuel Walker analyzes this historical event in his book Prompt and Utter Destruction: Truman and the Use of Atomic Bombs. Over the past 70 years’ extensive research has been conducted and there is an understanding that Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bombs is inconclusive. It is impossible to determine that the use of the bomb was the quickest way to end the war. An analysis of President Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bomb reveals one challenge: was the decision to destroy Hiroshima and Nagasaki a show of good judgment.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki altered the course of world events by starting the Cold War, ushering advancements in technology, and by influencing cultures worldwide. Occurring on August 6 and August 9 in 1945, the bombing of the cities set of a series of events that would forever change history. The United States and the Soviet Union emerged from the war as superpowers with seemingly limitless power. Their ideologies, however, contrasted greatly, and the once allied nations would turn against each other, setting the entire world into a period of uncertainty. The atomic bomb, alone, would influence countless decisions, technologies, and policies in the following years and strike fear and awe into many around the world.

        August 6, 1945 defines a pivotal moment in world history. At 8:15am, the United States

On August 8th 1945 the first atomic weapon, a fission bomb, was dropped on the city of Hiroshima in an attempt to force the Japanese to surrender in World War II (Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, 2009). This event exposed the danger of nuclear energy. This massive explosion demolished 90 percent of the city and immediately killed 80,000 people. This was only the beginning though, tens of thousands of innocent people died due to the aftermath of radiation exposure for another generation (Rosenberg, n.d). This day marks one of the most controversial in history. While some argue that Truman’s decision to drop the bomb was in America’s best interest, others question the ethics of dropping the most destructive weapon in the history of war on a city filled with innocent civilians (Pavlik 1995).

After six years of war, Germany finally surrendered. This did not mean that Japan would too. Both countries ultimately entered the war for different reasons. Germany did not because other countries declared war on it because of their imperialism in Europe. Japan entered the war because they saw a opportunity to acquire land in the Pacific and jumped on it, even if it meant war. So when Germany surrendered, it did not really affect Japan 's plan. They still wanted land and continued to fight for it.

On July 26th 1945, the British, American and Chinese governments issued an ultimatum to Japan requesting the “unconditional surrender” of all Japanese armed forces or they would face “prompt and utter destruction." The Potsdam Declaration as it came to be known stated that the Japanese would not be “enslaved as a race or destroyed as a nation.” However, the declaration did not address the long-term future existence of Emperor Hirohito and the preservation of his imperial powers following any surrender which the Japanese did not like. Also at the time the Japanese government was trying to get the Soviet Union to agree to mediate a peace settlement the Allies and Japan, and so they

The people of America are the one nation in world’s history to subject many human beings to the atomic bombs purposely. That fact is well known to many people, but too little Americans think that the atomic bombing of Japan by the U.S. in August of 1945 in such cautious terms. Before the bombings occurred, there was a debate which was limited to the few top officials who knew of the secret of “tube alloys” and secret “S-1”. Once there was an announcement of the bombings, those who were amongst the war, overall accepted these acts had properly vanquished the destructive Japanese who forced the U.S. into war through their infamous sneak attack on Pearl Harbor years before. The Japanese no longer seem apparent and multiple people have an

August 6th 1945, the United States dropped the first of two atomic bombs on Hiroshima, Japan. World War Two was practically over, but Japan and the United States weren’t getting along due to Japan bombing Pearl Harbor. The President of the United States (Truman) and U.K. Prime Minister Winston Churchill Issued the Potsdam Declaration which was the declaration that was put on the table for Japan after Germany had surrendered. Earlier in the war we had been putting together atomic weapons in case the war was getting out of hand. Since Japan wouldn’t surrender after the Potsdam we dropped the 1st bomb. Japan had still not surrendered so we dropped a second bomb on Nagasaki, Japan. There was a combined total of casualties after the 1st bomb of 140,000. The second bomb totaled out to 120,000 casualties. Dropping these bombs helped the United States win the war. In my Opinion, the decision to drop both bombs on Japan was the best alternative the United States had to remain stable and to hold military lives.

The Potsdam Declaration are terms and statements that issued the surrender of all Japanese soldiers during World War II. Countries such as the United States, Britain and China agreed upon these terms in hopes Japanese forces will not retaliate. The declaration specified

The atomic bombing of Japan was an unjustified decision that many considered was inhumane. Through the use of atomic bombs, many innocents were harmed in one way or another. Berger described the atomic bombing of Hiroshima as "a terrorist act" and that it was "evil". While Berger 's argument was extreme, the U.S. still remains unjustified because they did not know exactly how much damage the bomb would actually cause. Bombing Japan, the U.S. harmed thousands of civilians and displayed the effectiveness of the atomic bomb despite having other options to end the war.

Would you kill a thousand to save millions? Well the drastic actions taken by the United States did save millions. There were two actions that had to occur to save the millions and end the war, the dropping of the two atomic bombs being the first of their kind were to be the most powerful bomb ever invented using atomic and nuclear forces so create it and packed over 20,000 tons of TNT and was about ten feet long. The bomber that transported and dropped them was called the 'Enola Gay’. The two Japanese cities’ that were struck by such creations were Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In this essay I will be discussing on how the actions taken by the United States of America were completely justified in dropping the two bombs as is established a future power image, saved millions, ended the war and ended the axis of evil.