The Motivation to Use Atomic Bombs on the Cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

As World War II was coming to an end during 1945, the creation of one of the most destructive weapons known to humanity occurred within the United States. This weapon, known as “the atomic bomb,” was used on the two Japanese cities: Hiroshima and Nagasaki, resulting in a death toll unprecedented by any military weapon used before and an immediate, unconditional surrender. Some historians believe President Truman decided to drop the atomic bomb in order to intimidate the Soviet Union whereas others believe it was a strictly military measure designed to force Japan’s unconditional surrender. In the Report of a Scientific Panel of nuclear physicists, some scientific colleagues believed the atomic bomb was a “purely technical

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.

The necessity of the atomic bombs have long been debated in America. Although they did contribute to stopping the war, Americans still wonder if murdering Japanese civilians was a necessary means to an end, or if it could have been avoided. Some people believe that the war would have ended without using the bombs. Others believe they were the sole purpose that the war finally ended. Many people were involved with bringing the bombs to fruition, such as the scientists, the government and military leaders, and the very teams that flew them to their targets. Then the President addressed the situation and American citizens spoke their minds. All of these people had their own thoughts on whether the bombs were needed. In this essay, the opinions on the atomic bomb’s necessity will be reviewed by presenting both the pros and cons from a variety of sources.

1. Long after World War II and the use of the atomic bombs against Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a great debate remains. It seems that there are two main potential arguments as to why the bombs were detonated and whether or not they were even necessary to begin with. The first theory surrounds the notion of the national security interests of the United States. In this theory essentially, Truman’s actions had been defended and justified as necessary in order to quickly end the war with U.S. causalities kept to a minimum.

It has been just over seven decades since the destructive atomic bombs were dropped on Japan. These bombs were the first of its kind-weapons of mass destruction. There are many points-of-view or opinions about whether or not the bombs should have been used. As always there are two sides to each story; those who are for a cause and those who are against. In this paper, I will discuss the two opposing points-of-view, as well as my own opinion on which argument I find most compelling.

First, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki marked the beginning of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. During World War II, the United States originally used the atomic bomb as a means to end the war with Japan. Many historians, however, believe President Truman had an ulterior motive behind the use of the weapon. The Soviet Union planned to create a series of communist buffer states after the war, but this did not bode well with American interests. Thus, America used the atomic bomb in Japan to deter the Soviet Union and have more influence in post-war decisions (Davis 398). This action would start a period of rivalry and uncertainty for both countries. From this point on, political decisions made were greatly influenced by the opposite

President Harry Truman’s use of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan during the Second World War is the most controversial decision in history. While it was an undoubtedly difficult decision, it was indeed necessary in order to end this six year war that had ravaged the world. While many critics argue that the bomb was used primarily as an act of vengeance toward Japan, simplifying such a crucial moment in human history downplays the very real threat Japan posed to the United States. While avoiding strained relations with the other Allied countries, Truman had to assess the possible danger of the Soviet Union in a post-war world. Furthermore, the possibility of an arms race, the moral implications of using this weapon, and

To fully examine the factors that led to the United States to drop an atomic bomb on the city of Nagasaki, one can look at the event as a result of two major decisions. The first decision concerned the use of newly developed nuclear weapons in lieu of other military techniques to secure a timely Japanese surrender. The second decision was to use several of these weapons instead of only one. Although the Truman administration displayed little hesitation or ambivalence over the decision to use atomic weapons (Walker, 51), it is important to examine what factors contributed to these swift actions.

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).

Truman’s decision to use atomic weapons has long been a controversial subject throughout the decades after he used it. Many scholars and people who surrounded the president at the time published memoirs and books about the decision to use the weapon. As years went, more works of writing and information were released which added more information to the vast knowledge we have of the decision to drop the bomb and of what the Japanese faced after the event took place. J. Samuel Walker wrote a book called Prompt & utter destruction which uses new knowledge gained about the bomb and new information the Japanese released, which Walker said, “has greatly enriched our understanding of the agonizing deliberations in Tokyo over ending the war”

The purpose of this paper is to examine the pressures on Harry Truman that led him to authorize the use of atomic bombs on Japan. There are discrepancies in the public reasons that Truman professed for using atomic bombs. His personal diaries record a different reasoning than was presented to the people of the United States and the rest of the world. This paper will also examine the scientists’ opposition to using the atomic bomb. In the video "Day After Trinity", some scientists seemed to have a very abstract view of how devastating the bomb would be in realistic human terms. Once the news of the bomb reached the scientists, they seemed shocked and surprised at how savage the weapon was. I

Near the end of the year 1941, the Japanese navy made a surprise attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, in Hawaii. This attack claimed many American lives, which caused President Roosevelt and Congress to claim war against Japan, making the U.S. enter into the Second World War.

American President Harry Truman’s controversial decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan ended the Second World War and began the nuclear age. Since the end of the war, Truman’s decision has been a subject of debate, largely due to the high civilian death toll that resulted from the bombings. However, the context of the time period and the need to end the Second World War made the use of the nuclear weapons a necessary action to force the surrender of Japan. Truman’s decision to use the atomic bomb against Japan was justified by the historical context of the Second World War and Japan’s refusal to surrender unconditionally.

In 1945, President Harry S Truman ordered an atomic bomb to be dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, to ultimately put an end to the Japanese American war. The dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were tremendously significant in the history of war for America. Although there is great understanding as to why the bomb was dropped, there is also various controversial debates as to other options that could have been carried out. J. Samuel Walker wrote the book Prompt and Utter Destruction Truman and the Use of Atomic Bombs against Japan, to display the various beliefs people had on the different ways to put an end to the war, and also the reasoning behind the use of the atomic bomb.

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.