The Atomic Bombs On Hiroshima And Nagasaki

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.

In 1945, President Truman had to make one of the toughest decisions a president has ever been faced with. This decision, of course, being whether to drop the atomic bombs on Japanese cities, not drop the bombs at all, or do a demonstration by dropping a bomb in the ocean near Tokyo. Truman eventually chose to drop the atomic bombs on both Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August of 1945. This choice to drop the atomic bombs was right because these bombings assisted in slowing the expansion of the Soviet Union, changed the Japanese never-give-up mentality, and prevented the loss of many American and Japanese lives.

With multiple chances from the United States to surrender in the war and rejecting each one, the Japanese set themselves up for disaster. On August 6, 1945 the course of history was changed. Two atomic bombs were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima, and three days later, August 9, 1945, on Nagasaki that ended World War II. Japan had already been a defeated nation from conventional bombs and World War II. Many innocent lives were lost, psychological scars were left on the lives of the bomb survivors, and thus many lives were changed forever. The atomic bombings caused many people to have genetic effects due to the radiation from the bombs. Revisionists have said the US used the bombs to blackmail the Soviet Union. The

On August 6th, 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima without any precedent. The explosion viciously destroyed four square miles of the city and killed 90,000 and injured 40,000. (Weber, “Was Hiroshima Necessary?”) Three days later, a second atomic bomb stroked the city of Nagasaki which killed approximately 37,000 people and injured 43,000 (Weber, “Was Hiroshima Necessary?”). These actions of the United States still remain controversial today and the United States’ abuse of power and morality can be questioned. ‘Were the dropping of atomic bombs in the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki a justified way to end World War Two?’. The answer is no, the bombings were not justified as Japan was already

Throughout the years people of debated about the droppings of the atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Some of the arguments against was that it was inhumane. Others have claimed the reason that the United States have dropped those bombs was to show the Soviet Union the power they had. I, however, disagree with both of those statements. It’s not because I do not care for the Japanese life, it’s because I believe this was the only way to end the war as soon as possible with less casualties. Yes, I realize it sounds a bit cruel and odd but I believe that the Japanese would not have stopped until they were relatively near genocide. Also to think that the American’s were trying to flex their muscle for the Soviets is a bit preposterous.

Towards the end of World War II, in Hiroshima, Japan, thousands died. The “Enola Gay dropped a 9,000 lb TNT bomb called “Little Boy.” Approximately 78,150 people died after one death count, but radiation was still lethal. Three days later, another bomb was dropped. “Fat Man,” dropped by “Bock’s Car,” was a Uranium-235 bomb, even though it did less damage than Hiroshima, the seaport of Nagasaki still was torn to pieces. Overall, there were approximately 23,753 lives taken by “Fat Man.” The Nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki did not help America because it started the Cold War, killed many innocent Japanese people, and caused other countries to feel that we are more ruthless than the Japanese themselves.

The two bombs used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II were the only atomic bombs ever to be used in warfare. The United States are the only country to have ever made an atomic bomb and use it. Each bomb alone weighed around ten thousand pounds. Little Boy was the code name for the bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6th 1945. Three days after the first bomb was dropped the U.S dropped Fat Man on Nagasaki. Sixty six thousand people died in the first few seconds after Little Boy detonated. Sixty nine thousand suffered from different types of injuries. Around forty thousand people died instantly when Fat Man was dropped just three days later and thousands later died from other injuries. Altogether and estimated one hundred and thirty thousand people died from both bombs. Even one hour after the bombings what remained of Hiroshima was still burning. A majority of the city was completely flattened. Ninetythree percent of all the nurses and over ninety percent of the doctors were either killed or injured. Since most of them were stationed in the downtown area of the city which received most of the damage. All the hospitals were either completely destroyed or suffered great damages which prevented them from any aid to survivors in need of medical care. Not till ten years after the bombings did the long term effect in the survivors become apparent. The increased risk of cancer in survivors was first noted in 1956. Not long after this did tumors

The creation of the atomic bombs dropped on Japan were not originally intended as a War-Ending weapon, far from that. Regardless of the reason for its creation, it has left a profound mark on humanity as a whole. While in its infancy the fission weapons were able to destroy small cities, but only after a decade a tested fusion bomb was 750 times more powerful. These weapons of mass destruction ended the war, but not without consequences.

In the midst of WWII, on August 6, 1945 the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, which was the first time an atomic bomb was used in war. Three days later, the United States proceeded to drop an atomic bomb again on another city, Nagasaki, which was the last time that an atomic bomb has ever been used in the world till today. Soon after the devastating bombings, with thousands of Japanese civilians dead, the Japanese emperor Hirohito surrendered, marking the official end of WWII. Consequently, whether or not dropping the atomic bomb was the right decision remains relevant today. Those who support the dropping of the bomb argue that the dropping of the bomb was necessary because it forced the Japanese to surrender. However, the atomic bomb should not have been dropped because although the bomb ended the war quickly, there were alternative ways to force the Japanese to surrender, and the bomb decimated Japanese cities which therefore created the atomic age.

Upon reviewing Ronald Takai’s Hiroshima, it only makes me wonder what was going through the mind of President Harry Truman when he gave the “green light” to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It has been more than 70 years since that happened and the conclusion of World War II, and yet the legacy remains in our modern day history books and class lectures. But was deploying the atomic bombs on Japan really necessary? What was Truman thinking? And did the end really justify the means? Truly, upon reading Takaki’s Hiroshima, it led me to believe that Truman was probably more militant than his predecessor, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and yet also showed a more personal side after the two bombs were used against the Japanese Empire. In this essay, I will describe how I would personally evaluate Truman’s decision and what possible scenarios could have led to the outcome as well as determining what other alternative routes he might have chosen if he decided not to use atomic bombs.

Who is good and who is Evil? Many of us go through life thinking that whatever we do must be what is good, never questioning authority and blindly following a government that is thought to be incapable of doing evil. After World War II, many Americans felt a sense of nationalism. They were proud of the fact that their military destroyed Nazi Germany and Imperialist Japan. However this euphoric patriotism can often blind the holder. In August of 1945, the United States Military dropped two nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. There were noble reasons for dropping the bombs, but surely destroying two entire cities questions the integrity of the United States. So again I ask, who is good and who is evil?

The destructive end of the war in the Pacific, having heralded the advent of the world’s Nuclear Age, left an indelible mark on the course of U.S. Foreign Policy. Truman’s decision to use the atomic bomb against Japan in August 1945, while seemingly uncontroversial among his advisors at the time, almost immediately landed at the center of one of history’s most provocative debates. Revisionist theorists challenge the so-called government-propagated ‘myth of the bomb,’ which paints the atomic bomb as the only alternative to a prolonged and bloody invasion of the Japanese homeland. While revisionists indeed present an important, and previously overlooked, angle of the decision-making process behind dropping the atomic bomb, the claim that the driving force behind the decision to detonate was impressing the Soviet Union with U.S. nuclear capabilities is unreasonable considering the timing of the events. Rather, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki can be interpreted as the culmination of a long deliberation prioritizing speed, public opinion, and curtailing Japanese imperialist aspirations, all of which exposed Truman’s intent to secure a prominent role in postwar negotiations.

Research Question: Was it necessary for President Truman to drop the atomic bomb in Japan?

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.