The Morality of the U.S. Bombing Hiroshima

     The book, Hiroshima, is the story of six individuals who experienced the true effects of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, August 6, 1945. Miss Toshinki Sasaki, a clerk in the East Asia Tin Works factory, just sat down in the plant office and was turning to converse with the girl at the next desk when the bomb exploded. Dr. Masakazu Fujii, a physician, was relaxing on his porch, which overlooked the Kyo River, where he was reading the morning periodical when the shell detonated. Before the eruption, Mrs. Hatsuyo Nakamura was observing her neighbor destruct his house as part of a fire lane in preparation of an American attack. Previous to the attack, Father

During world war two, the Imperial Japanese army forced an estimated 200,000 women into sexual slavery. This is just one of the many atrocities committed by Japan during world war two. Even though many say that the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were inhumane, the US was completely justified because the future casualties were minimized and Japan and its allies committed atrocious war crimes.

"The blast killed an estimated 80,000 people instantly; thousands of others died later of radiation

One major argument for the use of the atomic bomb was that it would save thousands, if not, millions of U.S. and Japanese lives. With a U.S. invasion set for November of 1945, it was predicted that nearly a million U.S. soldiers would be lost, and the entire population of Japan’s main inland would suffer causalities. We believed that thousands of civilian lives were worth our own. The sacrifice of these individuals was worth it all. Where does morality come into play? How does one decide what lives matter and which ones do not? I believe that the atomic bomb was inhumane, more so for the long-term environmental, social, and health effects which took place.

World War II lasted for six years from September,1 1939 to September 2, 1945 and resulted with Japan's surrender but believe it or not many events occurred both good and bad before anyone could make that choice. Before the declaration of this war japan had made an agreement with the U.S in which they gave them a friendship medal signifying peace. Turns out that wasn't the case japan actually backstabbed the U.S and on the morning of December 7th, 1941 the japanese attacked Pearl Harbor destroying nearly 20 American ships and more than 300 airplanes. About 2,403 sailors, soldiers and civilians were killed and about 1,000 people were wounded. After that the U.S could no longer trust Japan for many reasons they decided to fight back with two atomic bombs on Japan. The dropping of these two bombs on that country in my personal opinion is not justified. My reasons are that this was the first time the U.S was going to try these bombs out so in other words this was an experiment in which they had no clue the amount of damage that

Ray Bradbury once said, “After Hiroshima was bombed, I saw a photograph of the side of a house with shadows of the people who had lived there burned into the wall from the intensity of the bomb. The people were gone, but their shadows remained.” Keep in mind that quote only described the intensity of “Little Boy”, the nickname for the bomb that devastated Hiroshima. The bombs that dilapidated both Hiroshima and Nagasaki were harrowing, gruesome, and in all sincerity, needless. The reasoning people have given to justify the bombings was because it was a military necessity; they thought the atom bombs were needed to save lives and to end the war quickly. However, the Merriam-Webster dictionary explicitly defines a ‘military necessity’ as “the necessity attending belligerent military operations that is held to justify all measures necessary to bring an enemy to complete submission excluding those (as cruelty, torture, poison, perfidy, wanton destruction) that are forbidden by modern laws and customs of war.” According to this interpretation of a ‘military necessity’, both of the bombings do not match this definition. Various people wonder why the U.S. would condone the use of the explosives and inflict such destruction on others, considering that they had first hand experiences on devastating attacks that seemed gratuitous. Many have argued that there were multiple alternatives to such a catastrophe, and the bombs did not have to be utilized. Others state that the bombings were

Second World War was one of the most devastating wars of all time. The War started when Germany invaded Poland which led Britain and France declaring war on Nazi Germany in 1939. Meanwhile, the Marco Polo Bridge incident led to war between China and Japan. President Roosevelt declared the United States as a neutral country which would not participate in the war. Even though the United States was a neutral country, Japanese air bombed Pearl Harbor, a United States Naval Base located in Hawaii on December 7, 1941. This attack led to the death of over 2400 Americans. Because of the attack on Pearl Harbor United States was forced to enter the War. The United States fought alongside the Allied Powers on two different fronts, European and the Pacific front, for the next four years. Allied Powers finally won after Germany surrendered about a week after their Nazi leader Adolf Hitler’s suicide on May 8, 1945. Japanese did fight for another four months and then surrendered on September 2, 1945, after the United States dropped two Atomic Bombs on Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Bombing of these two cities has been the talk of dispute ever since. Many believe that the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was justified because it ended the war, while others say it was unjustified because the war would have ended even if the atomic bombs weren’t used.

On December 7, 1941 Japan launched a surprise attack on a U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii with the possibility of forcing the U.S. to join World War II. About 2,400 Americans were dead, 21 ships had been sunk, and 188 aircrafts were destroyed. On August 6 and 9 of 1945, the U.S. retaliated and dropped two atomic bombs called Fat Man and Little Boy on the Japanese cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. The U.S. was not justified in dropping the atomic bombs on Japan because of the locations that were bombed, the terms of the Potsdam Declaration, and the lack of previous bomb testing.

Were the Americans justified in dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945?

During World War 2, as an ally of Canada, the United States joined the war and were trying to get the Japanese to surrender.

After the Japanese dropped the bomb on Pearl Harbor, the United States took serious offense to it. The Americans dropped the bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki because of them dropping the bomb on Pearl Harbor. America dropped the bomb because President Harry Truman commanded that if the Japanese made any attack on us, we would attack them. This bomb badly affected Japan. At least 140,000 Japanese people died, including 20,000 soldiers by December of 1945. At least 90% of the deceased were killed within two weeks of the bomb being dropped. 92% of 76,000 buildings were destroyed. (“Hiroshima Committee”)

On December 7th, 1941 Pearl Harbor, Hawaii was the target of an unannounced military attack by the Japanese Navy. This resulted in the United States entry into World War II. After almost 4 years of war, 400,000 US casualties, 6 months of air strikes on Japanese cities and an impending defeat of Japan, an ultimatum was delivered to Japan by the United States: surrender or be destroyed.

The devastating of the bombings Hiroshima and Nagasaki was both right and wrong. There are many ideas from historical presidents, survivors from the bomb, soldiers, Japanese ministers, to today’s scholars. All of them make superior points that can deny ideas made by people on the opposite side of this massive chaos of a debate. Here are some major viewpo Here is are some people’s ideas on how the bombing was a good and bad idea. 2 were on the side of Japan, 2 were on the U.S side.

At about eight A.M on August sixth, 1945 the Japanese city Hiroshima was destroyed by the deployment of the first nuclear weapon, nicknamed “Little Boy.” Soon after, at about eleven A.M the following day, a second bomb was dropped, called “Fat Man” on Nagasaki. Together, these bombings caused massive destruction. The death total was well near 220, 000. Only portions of these deaths were from the days of the bombings, with an equal number occurring later in the year from exposure to radiation. More have died since from leukemia.

Are you for the bombing of Hiroshima, against it, or on the fence? When it comes to this type of situation many people know right away, others have to debate, and still others might decide to throw in for both because they have both pros and cons about the subject. When is comes to the bombing of Hiroshima, I am on both sides. Through analyzing John Hersey’s Hiroshima, History.com, and a couple other sites, it is evident that the atomic bomb should have been used to fight back against the Japanese, but not in a highly populated area. The populations of the areas around Pearl Harbor and Hiroshima are completely different from each other.