The United States' Decision to Use Atomic Bombs Against Japan

In August 1945, America dropped two Atomic bombs on Japan in the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The two bombings killed at least 130,000 people and were the first and last use of nuclear weapons in warfare.

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)

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.

The pressing question still lingers: Was the United States justified in using the Atomic Bomb against Japan during WWII? World War II stands as the bloodiest and deadliest war of all time. It involved more than thirty countries and resulted in over fifty million civilian and military deaths. It lasted six years, beginning with Adolf Hitler’s invasion of Poland in 1939. As the Allied Powers (mainly the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union) and the Axis Powers (Germany, Italy, and Japan) were in direct conflict with each other, many wonder if the cost of victory was too extreme. In late 1941, the process of creating the world’s first, most deadly weapon began. The production of the first atomic bomb was code named “the Manhattan Project.” After months of production, August 6, 1945, America dropped the “Little Boy” bomb on Hiroshima, wiping out ninety percent of the city. August 9, 1945, just three days after the devastation of the first bomb, America dropped the “Fat Man” bomb on Nagasaki. Dropping the atomic bomb on Japan was not necessary, nor justified in ending World War II. Due to the fact that America targeted heavily civilian populated cities (with limited military value), that Japan was in a position of surrender before the bomb was dropped, and the fact that the U.S. did not give enough time for Japan to process the devastation of the first bomb before the second in Nagasaki shows that America’s decision to drop the atomic bomb was entirely unjustified.

The United States dropped their first atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945. The explosion was tragic, “90 percent of the city was wiped out and immediately killed 80,000 people; tens and thousand more would later die to radiation exposure” (Lemay and Paul). Innocent children and citizens would die.

The decision to drop the atomic bomb, made by President Truman, was largely influenced by political factors rather than military factors. Traditionalist historians argue from the military perspective that the bomb was used to end the war as quickly as possible and with as minimal causalities as possible. Revisionist historians, on the other hand, argue the political perspective where they believe that the bomb was dropped as a diplomatic tool to intimidate the rising superpower that was the Soviet Union. In 1945, there was little reason to doubt the traditionalist perspective; however, in retrospect, with the evidence now gathered and available, it was very likely there were other strategic reasons that played a larger role in the decision Truman had made. By observing the historical timeline, the Cold War began shortly after World War II. Truman was aware of the rising power of the USSR and the threat of the spread of communism into Europe and Asia. The fear of this threat was what likely influenced him and Congress to use the bomb more so than the desire to end the war more efficiently.

World War II began September 1, 1939 and ended September 2, 1945. When this war began, many young boys and men were drafted into the war. Most of them left what they were doing and all they’ve known, to fight in the war. It was the war that advanced technology and created social changes. The United States was the first country to use the atomic bomb in warfare. On August 6, 1945, the first of two atomic bombs were dropped. The first bomb was named, “Little Boy,” and was dropped on the city of Hiroshima. The second bomb was named, “Fat Man,” (History.com Staff 2009) and was dropped on the city of Nagasaki three days later. The bombs resulted in thousands of casualties and radiation among the civilians. Dropping the atomic bomb was the right decision because the bomb would end the war, it was revenge for Pearl Harbor, and it saved the lives of more Americans.

The first true testing of the Atomic Bomb began on August 6, 1945 in Hiroshima, Japan. The Atomic Bomb was dropped by the Enola Gay which a was plane that was piloted by Colonel Paul W. Tibbets, Jr. The bomb was released from approximately 31,600 feet above Hiroshima. When the bomb made contact with the ground it immediately blew up, destroying about

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.

This investigation assesses President Harry Truman’s decision to drop atomic bombs on both Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It will determine whether or not his decision was justified. This investigation will scrutinize the reasons that made Harry Truman feel inclined to drop atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Preventing further casualties along with the desire to end the war are two argumentative points that will be analyzed to determine if they were strong enough to justify the dropping

Finally, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was unjustified because of the lack of testing. Although the project to design the first atomic bomb, codenamed the Manhattan Project, began in 1941, the first bomb was not ready to be tested until the month before it would be used in 1945. When it was tested at Trinity Site in New Mexico, the detonation caused unexpected results (“The Manhattan Project”). It caused “A blinding flash visible for 200 miles lit up the morning sky. A mushroom cloud reached 40,000 feet, blowing out windows of civilian homes up to 100 miles away. When the cloud returned to earth it created a half-mile wide crater metamorphosing sand into glass” (“The

The United states making the atomic bomb was done at University of Chicago in 1942. The U.S.A. used the bombs to make japan surrender, also because japan fought to the death and it almost like a last result for us. The bombs were dropped at the city of Hiroshima, japan and Nagasaki, Japan. The day they were dropped was on August 6, 1945 on the two cities. As a result of the bomb at Hiroshima between 80,000 and 120.000 people died. At the other city of Nagasaki 30,000 and 75,000 people died. Later, there were tons of cases of cancer deaths from the radiation from the two bombs. Even the pilot that dropped the bomb said, "what have we done."  Even Albert Einstein later said, "I wish I never suggested it." But, in the end Japan

On August 6th, 1945 the United States military dropped the first atomic bomb as an act of war on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. 3 days later, the second and last to date, atomic bomb was dropped onto Nagasaki, Japan. Under the direction of President Harry Truman, the atomic bombs were dropped in response to the disregarded ultimatum

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.

The first test of a fission bomb was done on Monday, July 16, 1945, in the Jornada del Muerto desert in New Mexico, at 5:29:45 A.M., Mountain War Time. This was the test of a plutonium bomb that was given the code name Trinity. The need to avoid sending more ground troops further into Japan was a priority because it was becoming clear that the Japanese forces were fighting more fiercely the closer American forces got to the home islands. Invading and seizing Japanese territories was not easily accomplished because of the 1941 Code of the Japanese Soldier that required victory or death. Hence, the public became aware of the true story about what the bright light and tremor of shock waves that encompassed a 160-mile radius of the Trinity test site truly was when President Harry S. Truman ordered the drop of its second nuclear bomb that detonated over Hiroshima, Japan on August 6, 1945. The second nuclear bomb was the second design that the LAL, under the direction of Oppenheimer, had been working on. The