August 6 and 9 came around, and the bombs were dropped. Japan issued their surrender several days later. The bombings could be seen as an event that directly resulted in the end of the war, or merely accelerated it by as little as a few days. Numerous analyses by top United States Army officials say that Japan would have surrendered well before the end of the year even had the bomb not been used. One of these army officals, Major General Curtis Lemay of the air force, said that “the atomic bomb had nothing to do with the end of the war.” He also said that the bombing was justified simply because it speeded up the Japanese surrender, and “probably saved a few lives.” While Lemay may be correct that the dropping of the bomb accelerated the Japanese surrender, it does not justify the killing of innocent civilians, especially if surrender was inevitable. Lemay believed that invasion was not necessary and that conventional bombing also could have ended the war. With that logic, the bombings didn’t save any lives only spent lives. Another United States military officer to offer his input on the dropping of the bomb was General Carl Andrew Spaatz of the air force. Spaatz was directly involved in the chain of command of dropping of the bomb. Spaatz said “to me war is war no matter how you kill them.” This brings up a very interesting point. The fire bombings on Japan killed around 300,000 people while the atomic bomb killed 200,000, yet the atomic bomb brings a much
This just puts things into perspective because if the Japanese were to never surrender many more deaths, on both sides, would have occurred. John Kenneth Galbraith has a total different opinion about the atom bombs, arguing that they “were unnecessary and unjustified because the war was ending anyway” and that it was “a difference, at most, of two or three weeks.” Fussell disagrees with this by saying that there was no proof of the Japanese surrendering and that the kamikazes kept sinking American ships. He uses statistical proof and said that two weeks mean 14,000 American deaths or wounded and three weeks would be 21,000 American deaths or wounded. With 7,000 American deaths per week and no promise of the Japanese surrendering within those three weeks, it is hard to say that dropping the bomb was not necessary. Fussell used pathos in this section by saying “those weeks meant the world if you’re one of the thousands or related to one of them.” Families of those would have been
Secondly, the dropping of the Atomic bomb wasn’t justified is that the Americans were close to beating Japan as they were almost willing to surrender. Japan saw that there was little hope for them winning and realised that surrendering would save lives. The American generals made a statement of what the terms of surrender were to be. However, the Japanese rejected these
On August 6, 1945, the United states have dropped the atomic bomb on Japan city of Hiroshima and three days after The United States have dropped the second bomb on Japan city of Nagasaki to end World War II. The United States should not have dropped the atomic bombs on Japan to end World War II because it was inhumane, unnecessary, and brutal.
When the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki all living things in a five square mile radius of where the atomic bombs impacted died instantly, it ended the war and saved thousands lives. The following documents tell you about the importance of dropping the atomic bomb and the thinking behind there strategies. The US wanted Japan to surrender and wanted no more bloodshed and wanted the Soviet Union to be surprised. As stated in document 13 the Americans concern for Japan's unwillingness to resign, “imminent threat of a landing, on Japan proper by us, to convince them of the hopelessness of their situation”1. and again in document 16 shares thoughts for Russia involvement, “atomic attack against Japan would shock the Russians”2 finally document 17 shows the stubbornness of “Japan to agree Japanese leadership would probably not have surrendered if the Truman administration had clarified the status of the emperor when it demanded unconditional surrender prolongation of the war and cost a large number of human lives”3. Although some people think dropping the atomic bombs on Japan wasn’t justified, I think that dropping the atomic bombs on Japan was justified.
In 1945, at the order of President Harry Truman, the United States of America dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which triggered controversy worldwide. The debate arose between two sides, with one favoring the decision and the other calling it inhumane. Those favoring the decision agreed with President Truman, that dropping the atomic bomb was justified because it ended World War II. Those in favor also believed the bombing was justified because the US had given Japan a chance to surrender before they made the decision to drop the bomb. Those against the decision claimed Japan was ready to surrender and the bombing was unnecessary.
Did we make the right decision in dropping the atomic bombs on Japan during WWII? Till this day ordinary citizens and commanders question if the bombing was ethical. The utilitarian approach supports the argument considering without the bombs millions of lives would’ve been at risk. However, dropping the atomic bombs kept the deaths significantly lower on both sides. I believe the right decision was to drop the atomic bombs on Japan. I’m briefly going to talk about why Truman decided to drop the bomb, why there wasn’t another alternative, and what some felt after the bombing.
Various viewpoints see the decision to use atomic weapons on Japan as completely justified. When the bombs were dropped in 1945, many Americans were all for it. A few of the main arguments backing the use of the bombs were to keep the lives of Americans safe, to end the war quickly to strike back at the Japanese for the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. One of the major arguments is that the use of the bombs saved numerous American lives and put a quick end to the war. If the bombs had not been dropped, more American soldiers would have been shipped to Japan to invade the mainland. Hypothetically, the lives of many American soldiers could have been lost and the US military might have sustained considerable damage. Another argument for the use of atomic bombs on Japan is the swift ending they brought to the war. The war ended on September 2, 1945 when the Japanese surrendered and complied with the Potsdam Declaration that demanded “the unconditional surrender of all
was fully justified in dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, because of the unprovoked and brutal attacks on civilians, grounded airplanes, and the docked U.S. Pacific fleet by the Japanese. By retaliating with the atomic bomb to end the war the United States showed the world the power and weapons of mass destruction that it possessed and that it was not afraid to use them. This also issued a warning to the Soviet Union, who at the time was our ally, but was slowly turning into an enemy. In addition to showing the world the United States power, the atomic bombs crushed Japan not just physically, but also morally giving them no other option, but to surrender. Japan was on the edge of surrender with a great amount of inner turmoil, but Japans military leaders had declared no surrender and ordered their people to fight to the death of the last man, woman, and child, so in using the atomic bomb we forced them to the breaking point and saved millions of lives. Without the dropping of the atomic bombs the U.S. would have invaded the Japanese homeland in Operation Downfall where a great slaughter would have ensued. Nearly 500,000 Purple Heart medals were pre-made in anticipation of the invasion, but the atomic bombs saved this massive loss of life. The results brought about by the atomic bombs were very devastating and gruesome; they caused thousands of deaths and injuries and should not be employed except in the most dire
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.
On August 6th and 9th of the year 1945, the United States destroyed the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki through the use of atomic bombs. Many people believe that these atomic bombs ended World War II. However, the use of these nuclear weapons were completely unnecessary and barbaric. Without the atomic bombs, Japan would have still surrendered shortly due to several factors. The Japanese were fearful of the planned invasion by the Soviet Union and were also already in a weak state and willing to surrender. Also, their allowance to keep their emperor would have been enough to end the war. The murder of thousands of Japanese people could have been avoided.
In July, 1945 the intelligence section of the war department’s general staff had estimated there was a total of 5 million soldiers on Japan's side. The newly sworn in commander-in-chief following the death of Franklin Roosevelt, had made a decision to drop the atomic bomb to end the long and brutal war that has been going on for 6 years. The United States decision to drop an atomic bomb on Hiroshima was not a diplomatic measure calculated to intimidate the Soviet Union in the post-second world war era, but rather it was a strict military measure designed to force Japan's unconditional Surrender. The reasons America used the atomic bomb was to avenge the attack on Pearl Harbor, end the prolonged war, and save American lives.
The dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were successful, but the lives were lost because of the impact of the bombs were awful. Keeping in mind, President Truman’s decision to use the atomic bombs was justified because if the bombs weren’t used at all the war would’ve prolonged with more lives lost. The days that the atomic bombs were dropped, will be remembered as the deadliest attack in human history. No one that was developing the bombs, didn’t know what they were missing with or what the impact could be like. When the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, an article written by Michael Perry May and William J. Astore, both retired lieutenant colonel (USAF) and both taught at the Air Force Academy and the
In August of 1945, both of the only two nuclear bombs ever used in warfare were dropped on the Japanese cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. These two bombs shaped much of the world today.
On August 6, 1945, a B-29 bomber named Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb, "little boy" on Hiroshima, Japan. Hiroshima had been almost eradicated with an estimated 70-80,000 people killed. Three days later, a second, more powerful bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Nagasaki, killing over 100,000 people. Since Japan was economically and militarily devastated by the late summer of 1945, the use of the atomic bombs on an already overcome Japan was unnecessary and unwarranted in bringing about a conclusion to the war in the Pacific.
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