The Negative Consequences Of Dropping The Atomic Bombs

Imagine that you are living during World War II. The Japanese are making this war longer and more deadly by the minute. If they don’t surrender, you have the risk of being taken from your wife and kids to a far away country to fight a war you just want to be over. Who knows if you’ll come back or ever see them again. This is the reality for many people during World War II. The war should have ended sooner, but the Japanese refused to surrender, it was considered dishonorable. At this point, there was only one way to end the war. Although it was horrible, it accomplished what was necessary to end things. The only way was to drop the atomic bomb. The United States should have dropped the bomb because it would have saved more people’s lives,

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 United States should not have dropped the atomic bomb because it was inhumane. By using that powerful bomb on japan lots of people died and lots of people lost their children, families, and it also ruined everything on their land so they can’t have access to anything. According to document ‘E,’ the evidence shows that it was hard for Japanese because they lost lots of people, 64,000 people total died from Nagasaki and 135,000 total died from Hiroshima which was terrifying. This evidence helps explain that the U.S. should not have dropped the atomic bomb because it took lives of civilians and innocent people.

“The city was hidden by that awful cloud . . . boiling up, mushrooming, terrible and incredibly tall," said Colonel Paul Tibbets, pilot of the modified B-29 bomber that dropped the world’s first atomic bomb over Hiroshima. The bombings resulted in the death of thousands, including not only Japanese citizens, forces, and military but also American captive soldiers. In the midst of World War II the United States forced Japan to surrender by dropping bombs in the major cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. They released the second atomic bomb shortly after, in Nagasaki, Japan.

Yes there were a lot of casualties due to the dropping of the atomic bombs. But in hinesight those casualties were very minimal compared to what would have happened. Nonetheless, I also believe that President Harry Truman’s decision to use the atomic bombs against Japan almost certainly saved lives. This is undoubtedly true if one accepts the arguments of U.S. leaders at the time; namely, that not using the atomic bomb would have forced the U.S. to launch a full invasion of Japan’s home islands, and this would have killed far more people than Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The United States government, led by President Harry S. Truman at the time, produced some of the most tactical and technological advances during World War II. The most devastating of these advances is proven to be the atomic bombs that were used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki forcing Japan to surrender. This bomb played a crucial part in the ending of World War II. The decision to drop the atomic bomb was used as a last resort in order to defend and protect the United States. Although many disagree, it is safe to say that dropping these atomic bombs was unjust; the decision is extremely controversial as it has caused many military, political, and ethical disagreements.

Thesis: The dropping of the atomic bomb during World War II by the United States on Japan was a justified act. Not only was the dropping of the atomic bomb used to save American lives, but it prevented the war from lingering on, taking the lives of more civilians. The bomb did not just make sense, but it saved lives, despite taking some, therefore making the atomic bomb a reasonable action. It is not war mentality to think of preserving the lives of innocent people when the safety of the world is at stake. World War II, taking place in Japan, was likely to continue to linger on which would produce more deaths in the long run. In a book entitled, Thank God for the Atomic Bomb, by WWII soldier, Paul Fussell, he noted that "The people who preferred an invasion to a bombing seemed to have no intention of proceeding to the Japanese front themselves. I have already noted what a few more days would mean to the luckless troops and sailors on the spot....on Okinawa, only a few weeks before Hiroshima, 123,000 Japanese and Americans killed each other. War is immoral. War is cruel". By saying this it proves that although dropping the atomic bomb had some consequences, not dropping it, and letting the war carry on had far worse outcomes, and those who did want an invasion were not willing to go fight for it, again proving the high demand for the wars end. Then, in a speech made by President Truman he explains, "My chief

World War II caused millions of deaths, civilian and otherwise. The death toll could have been much higher if the atomic bombs were not dropped. The United States made the correct decision to drop the atomic bombs. If the U.S. had not dropped these bombs the war could have carried on for years and taken millions more lives. If an invasion of Japan had taken place it would have likely taken years and millions of soldiers to cause surrender. No one wanted to prolong the war or cause more deaths than necessary, if the bombs had not been dropped history would likely be completely different.

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).

I am a high school student writing to urge you to take a stronger position on the issue of the atomic bomb attacks against Japan in your textbook World History: The Modern Era. I understand your desire to examine the issue objectively and refrain from offending those with a personal connection to the event. However, it is my strong opinion that you should support one side of the issue, specifically the side in favor of the atomic bomb strike, for the reason that they were necessary. President Harry S. Truman’s decision to attack Japan with nuclear weapons, while criticized for moral reasons, was justified by the unyielding resolve of the Japanese people, the substantial remaining resources of the Japanese war machine, and massive estimated casualty rates associated with an invasion of Japan.

The destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki put an end to the Japanese war. It stopped the fire raids, and the strangling blockade; it ended the ghastly specter of a clash of great land armies. In this last great action of the Second World War we were given final proof that war is death." Death is inevitable in war. The fights would have continued until either the U.S. or Japan surrendered which could have taken months to happen. Many people died during the war. The U.S. not dropping the Atomic Bomb would have led to having more battles in Japan, more deaths. In 1990, Paul Fussell, a World War II Soldier, wrote an article, Thank God for the Atomic Bomb. In it he writes, “On Okinawa, only a few weeks before Hiroshima, 123,000 Japanese and Americans killed each other. War is immoral. War is cruel.” Numerous Japanese live were lost in battles throughout the war. The Atomic Bomb killed 39,000–80,000 people in Nagasaki. This one battle alone killed 123,000 people. More battles like this would have been fought and more people would have died then the amount of people who died due to the

<br>Once World War II had concluded, much of Europe lay in ruins. Most of the fascist governments that had dominated Europe during the war and in pre-war times had been dismantled and the two superpowers were in a race to occupy Germany and her surrounding countries in the hopes of influencing their government in one particular way. By 1945, Poland was under a communist regime and the chances were high of the rest of Europe becoming communist. (Legvold, 1999) The United States, despite being allies with Russia during the Second World War, disliked Communism with an extreme passion. The United States obviously hoped that, through the use of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima, the Russians would be intimidated and thus be more agreeable in negotiations for the division of Europe. Without such a weapon, the Russians would have been ruthless in their ideological takeover of Europe.

The end results of the bombings were terrifying, however Truman’s decision was based on reducing the number of casualties and although no one can be sure what would have happened if the atomic bomb was never dropped there is sufficient evidence to suggest that the invasion would have gone through and the number of casualties would have been expontential. The bombings not only reduced the casualties of US troops and the Japanese peoples but of those who lived in territtories occupied by the japanese as the casualty rate during the years of 1931-1945 was at an estimated 17,222,500 and gradually continued increasing towards the end of the war (Landesman 34-35). Although the lost 250,000 lives is not insignifigant nor the damage done to the cities,

The years leading up to World War II and the dropping of the atomic bombs were hectic and disordered, from the rise of Hitler in 1933, U.S. isolationism in 1934, to the death of U.S. President Roosevelt. The war showed no signs of ending and the security and freedom of nations around the world were in danger. Order was nowhere to be found, and the decision to even consider using the atomic bomb was unpreventable. The U.S. used the atomic bomb because it was the only way Japan would surrender, the world wanted to end the war as soon as possible with as little casualties as possible, and because of resentful feelings toward Japan.

Some regard the atomic bomb as “the thank God for the atom bomb”. This places God on the U.S. side and regards the bombs as our saving grace. This bomb forced the Japanese to surrender which in turn proved the U.S. to be the heroes who saved the American’s lives.1 The Americans intended on ending the war but did not expect to end it with such a large number of casualties. The results of the atomic bomb and how it effected the Japanese people both emotionally and physically will be addressed. “The bombs marked both an end and a beginning—the end of an appalling global conflagration in which more than 50 million people were killed and the beginning of the nuclear arms race and a new world in which