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Was Hiroshima Bombing Justified

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Japan was chosen as the target of the bombings because it was not necessary to make Germany the first priority. By the time the United States would have been finished with the making of the Atomic bomb, the Third Reich of Germany would have already fallen. Timing was also another reason why Germany wasn’t chosen to use the atomic bomb on. Since the United States was not able to finish the bomb in time, Hiroshima and Nagasaki then became the primary targets over Germany. The reasoning behind making Japan the target was due to the fact that if the bomb failed to detonate, it wouldn’t be able to be recovered. Where as if Germany was the target and the bomb did not work, they would have been far more likely to find out the science behind the bomb …show more content…

The honest reason why this tragedy occurred in Hiroshima was because of it was one of the only cities in Japan that had not already been a victim of firebombing and they wanted the base destroyed. The U.S. wanted Hiroshima and Nagasaki to be the first victims of the atomic bomb was because the were “virgin targets”. These bombings were used as an excuse to get vengeance on the Japanese for their attack on Pearl Harbor. This reasoning was used to persuade Americans that this was a justifiable act because it would save many American soldier by shortening the …show more content…

One of the main arguments the U.S. used in defense of using the atomic bomb on Japan was the fact that it would save all these American soldiers from an avoidable death. Although, when Truman asked for an estimate on how many soldiers would die if the bombs weren’t used the estimation was approximately 40,000 Americans. As opposed to the 500,000 soldiers that would’ve allegedly died had the bombs not been used based on the false assumption that the Japanese had the resources to keep fighting in the war. In addition, this whole situation could’ve been avoidable if Truman had delegated one of the peace terms. Had he let Japan’s emperor to keep his title and voided his demanded for an “unconditional surrender”. Japan may have surrender and this entire tragedy may have never happened. The number of civilian casualties at these two bombing was more than double the number of American casualties of the entirety of the Pacific War. Therefore, the reasoning behind the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are invalid and never should have taken

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