The Atomic Bombing Of Japan

The reason that the atomic bomb was considered to be very effective was because it had the capability to wipe out an entire city, including troops, men, women, and children. Would an act of this capacity be considered as moral? Scholars dispute the morality of Truman’s decision, some arguing it was warranted by Japan’s aggression and refusal to surrender, and other scholars suggesting that the assaults were the moral equivalent of the Nazi holocaust (109). I postulate that to annihilate an entire city of people in one fell swoop is something that neither man nor nation should be able to decide, even if they conceive the other party to be deserving of such a punishment in retribution for their actions.

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.

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.

bombing actions on Japanese countries, which were Hiroshima and Nagasaki, were shown as justified actions is the U.S. wanted to save innocent American lives during the war. This is because in document C it stated, “We have used it in order to shorten the agony of war, in order to save thousands and thousands of young Americans.” This quote explains that if the United States didn’t end the war any sooner, thousands and thousands of innocent American lives would have been lost. During the war, Japan was the cause of many American deaths. President Truman wanted to decrease the death rate of Americans lives. He thought that if there was a way to cause much causality on Japan and limit the number of the deaths of American soldiers. This idea that President Truman created became a reality because this idea was the use of the atomic bomb. When the U.S. used the atomic bomb on Japan, it ended the agony of war, saved many American soldiers’ lives, and destroyed Japan’s power to create a war. This quote shows that if the U.S. didn’t stop Japan from surrendering the war, it would’ve costed them a lot because it would cause many casualties of young American soldiers and innocent

Perhaps the most controversial and heavily scrutinized issue of the twentieth century was President Harry Truman’s decision to unleash atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the summer of 1945. While the sequence of events preceding that fateful summer morning of August 6,1945 are fully understood, the motives behind Truman’s actions are shrouded in controversy. Top military officials publicly denounced the use of such a horrendous weapon, while the obvious advantages to the bomb, traditionalists argue, was a shortened Pacific War. Parallactic views between traditional beliefs and revisionist theories suggest that the issue is still very much unresolved. Why is the issue so hotly debated? Partially because of the overwhelming

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.

Firstly, due to Japanese culture, they were a force to be reckoned with, as they would never surrender, and fight to the last man. To illustrate their philosophies, when they bombed Pearl Harbour, they believed that it was divine favour when the clouds parted over the port. Moreover, in six months, Japan had conquered around 1,500,000 kilometres squared of land, 150,000,000 people and 500,000 prisoners of war. As a result, the U.S.A. had a very respectable reason to bomb Japan. Despite this, they offered the Japanese the Potsdam Declaration, which, in simply terms, said surrender or face “prompt and utter destruction.” Following Japanese culture, they did not admit defeat, and, it can be said, Japan brought it upon themselves. In addition, if American President Harry Truman had not used the bombs, and the war had continued, it is likely that more deaths would have occurred, and then Truman would have been criticised if all those other deaths could have been prevented with the used of an atomic bomb. This is because the causalities could have easily exceeded the toll at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as the Americans planned to put into effect Operation Downfall, which involved the invasion of Japan by the U.S.A. Truman was advised by General Douglas MacArthur and other military commanders that the assault would result in one

In 1945, a decision was made that would change the world. President Harry S. Truman gave the order for the United States to drop atomic bombs on the Japanese Empire. Now, almost seven decades later, that decision is still the topic of much debate. Why did Truman decide to use a weapon so destructive that it could kill hundreds of thousands of people at one time? Was the decision he made the right one? It is important to examine the factors that went into this difficult decision before taking sides. Critics argue that it was unnecessary and inhumane to use atomic bombs. It is no secret that the decision to drop the Bomb was terrifying and tragic; however, under the circumstances in World War II, the decision was a justifiable one.

“My clothes were burnt and so was my skin. I was in rags. I had braided my hair, but now it was like a lion’s mane. There were people, barely breathing, trying to push their intestines back in. People with their legs wrenched off. Without heads. Or with faces burned and swollen out of shape. The scene I saw was a living hell.” (Michiko 385). A civilian who was exposed to the atomic bomb, Yamamoka Michiko, reflects on the scene she so devastatingly was a part of the day the bomb was dropped. Her description of the cities ruins gives us an idea of just how brutal and horrific the nuclear weapon turned to be. Not only did the United States privately construct such a ruthless weapon, but also used the Atomic Bomb as an unfortunate way to instantaneously end WWII. The United States’ decision to bomb Japan was seen as directed against the Soviet Union because during this time, Stalin had moved troops to the far East in order to enter war with Japan to secure and strengthen a soviet strategic position for combat. The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki is seen as an unnecessary war crime because allied nations were making moves to prepare to defeat Japan. Though nations such as the Soviet Union worked vigorously to defeat Japan, the United States wanted to end the war quickly while letting other nations know the they were in charge due to their possession of the world’s first nuclear weapon.

Since the beginning of the construction of the atomic bomb in 1942, 100,000 scientists have worked on the Manhattan Project. During its time, the Manhattan Project was the largest collaborative scientific achievement recorded. It was the largest collective scientific effort ever undertaken. The project required thirty-seven different work sites, thirteen university laboratories, and many esteemed scientists. The Manhattan Project was also considered one of the most secret military projects in history. On August 6th, 1945, as US B-29 bomber plane dropped the first atomic bomb over the city of Hiroshima, the bomb approximately killed 80,000 people upon detonation. Another bomb would eventually be dropped on the city of Nagasaki only three days later, this time killing 40,000 people. After hearing the news of the bombs being dropped, a wave of joy and satisfaction swept across the nation. This reaction seemed to be shared between white and black citizens. Most Americans did not see an issue with using the bomb because it was used as revenge for Pearl Harbor. Meanwhile, African Americans were hoping to be rewarded with equality due to their roles in the war. African Americans viewed the war as an opportunity to display their loyalty to the United States of America. The African American reaction to the bomb was very different from the majority of America’s reaction, rather than celebrating the revenge against the Japanese they took pride in their role leading to the

One of the most argued topics in all of history is the atomic bombings of Japan in August of 1945. Many argued that we should have done exactly as we did, they would argue it was the only way to get Japan to surrender and to not lose any more American lives. Others believe that it was very unethical in dropping the atomic bombs. The director of Nuclear Studies Institute at American University in Washington D.C, Peter Kuznick, was against the whole idea, stating that “Truman knew he was beginning the process of annihilation of the species. It was not just a war crime; it was a crime against humanity.”

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.

On August 6, 1945, after forty-four months of increasingly brutal fighting in the Pacific, an American B-29 bomber loaded with a devastating new weapon flew in the sky over Hiroshima, Japan waiting for a signal. Minutes later the signal was given, that new weapon, the atomic bomb, was released. Its enormous destructive energy detonated in the sky, killing one hundred thousand Japanese civilians instantly. Three days later, on August 9, 1945, the United States dropped a second atomic bomb over the city of Nagasaki, with similarly devastating results, killing seventy-thousand Japanese citizens. The following week, Japan’s emperor addressed his country over the radio to announce the decision was made to surrender. At that moment World War II had finally come to its dramatic conclusion. Even though some people defend the atomic bombings, because of a weak Japan refusing to give up, the U.S. could’ve chosen a less populated area of Japan to bomb, like the coast to warn the Japanese. Claiming thousands of innocent lives, prove that the U.S. unnecessarily dropped the Atomic Bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

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.