For many years now the firebombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki has caused much discussion, the animosity of the time has drifted away and the people of the United States have begun to grasp the devastation theses bombs left on Japan. In the United States this heated debate is 70/30, 70% of the people understand why the Atomic bombs were dropped and 30% of people have realized that it was far too extreme. However in our panel presentation this was not the case; of our four presenters only one thought dropping the atomic bombs was appropriate, the other three were anti atomic bomb. However, our one presenter that was for atomic bomb admitting said that although he supports the dropping of the first atomic bomb, the second atomic bomb was unnecessary. …show more content…
Truman, being in the midst of a world war, accepted their request without hesitation and so the construction the Little Boy and Fat Man began. This process consisted of hundreds of scientists; only a select few knew what they were building, and hundreds of factories to keep the project as discrete as possible. As the panel mentioned, a profound number of the scientists who worked on the atomic bomb stated if they would have known the government’s intention they would have preferred to stay out of it. Knowing that almost single handedly they had killed over 200,000 Japanese and plagued many generations to come influenced their views on the atomic bomb. However, not being given this information the construction continued and quickly, under the football field of University of Chicago, the atomic bomb was …show more content…
After Pearl Harbor America entered the war, the amount of support Americans had was incredible, there was no doubt that if it was up to the people they would have unleashed the wrath of the United States. However, there were people who believed dropping the bombs on Japan would have catastrophic developments, mainly scientists who truly understood the power in America’s hands. But it was out of Truman’s hands, after spending billions of tax payer money to continue the Manhattan Project and the increase in public support, the government would have had uproars on their hands if they decided not to use these bombs; still, our panel group found a way around this problem. Nuke an adjacent island where minimal casualties would occur to show Japan the power the United States had at their fingertips; they would surly
At this time period of time, President Harry Truman needs to take into account that the Japanese are unlikely to surrender without some heavy persuasion. The Japanese have already attacked at Pearl Harbor, and there is no sign that they will stop anytime soon. Japan is attempting to create more allies to form a strong and dangerous coalition that will threaten the United States and its allies. Fortunately, scientists in the United States have been working on an atomic bomb and now would be the perfect opportunity to utilize it to end the Japanese empire. Rather than authorizing a ground invasion of Japan or negotiating the Japanese terms of surrender, President Truman should use the atomic bomb against Japan to cause a swift surrender of the Japanese empire for the purposes of maintaining global power and preserving the lives of as many American soldiers as possible.
As president Harry S. Truman states in his speech, “With this bomb we have now added a new and revolutionary increase in destruction to supplement the growing power of our armed forces… We are now prepared to obliterate more rapidly and completely every productive enterprise the Japanese have above ground in any city” (Document D). This newly attained bomb would not only add to America’s destructive firepower, it would also have the power to end the war. It would ultimately destroy Japan and its ability to continue fighting the war against the Allied
the United States dropped the atomic bombs on Japan during World War II, yet the controversy about the validity of this decision continues in scientific, political and general public circles. Most likely, due to the complexity of the issue and never knowing the outcome if the bombs were not dropped, it will remain unresolved. A lesson that is continually learned in the U.S.-once again in present times-is the importance of acting from facts and not from emotion. It is hoped that all pros and cons are very seriously weighed before any action is taken if and when such a serious decision must be made in the future.
President Truman was informed about the Manhattan Project after he became President. Once, the success of the project was secure, the United States has the capacity to end the war with Japan is in our hands. President Truman’s primary goal is “to win a complete victory and to keep the U.S. casualties to a minimum” (Walker 50). Japan on the other hand is not willing to surrender without a fight, even though American forces took over Okinawa and Iwo Jima and were continuously bombing Japanese cities. Japan has denied unconditional surrender, although the refusal is certain to result in total destruction. Thus, President Truman should be advised towards the use of the atomic bomb to quickly bring an end to the
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.
Many debates have been provoked based on President Truman's decision to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. The debate is not solely based on the bomb being dropped, but more on the actual necessity and intention of the bomb being dropped.
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)
Perhaps the most controversial and heavily scrutinized issue of the twentieth century was President Harry Truman’s decision to unleash atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the summer of 1945. While the sequence of events preceding that fateful summer morning of August 6,1945 are fully understood, the motives behind Truman’s actions are shrouded in controversy. Top military officials publicly denounced the use of such a horrendous weapon, while the obvious advantages to the bomb, traditionalists argue, was a shortened Pacific War. Parallactic views between traditional beliefs and revisionist theories suggest that the issue is still very much unresolved. Why is the issue so hotly debated? Partially because of the overwhelming
The dropping of the atomic bomb on Nagasaki and Hiroshima in 1945 by the Americans is a very controversial issue with no definite answer. Both sides of the issue have very justifiable arguments. Reasons for dropping the bomb include the fact that Truman’s options were limited at this point in the war, that the bomb did have the desired outcome of Japans surrender and that the majority of reasons America had for dropping the bomb are justifiable. On the other hand, the atomic bomb was complete new technology and there is no way that Japan could have possibly been ready for it and for that reason the dropping of the atomic bomb is very
They came, unwarned. On the 7th of December 1941, the Japanese executed a full-fledged attack on Pearl Harbor. They mercilessly created havoc, with attacks that caused the sinking of eighteen American ships, as well as 170 aircrafts. The casualties were dreadful, with 1,177 of those lost lives had been of the crewmen. The very next day, President Roosevelt declared war on Japan, and thus the United States’ involvement of World War II. Americans of every state were absolutely enraged and bent on their will for vengeance against the Asian country. Within the shadows of galvanized America, Robert Oppenheimer had set his infamous Manhattan Project into action. This project was so disclosed that only a limited number of men truly knew of its purpose. The clandestine project held prior securities to the point in which famous scientists had to use codenames in order to visit Los Alamos, even wives were kept in the dark, and only key scientists could bring their wives along with them. (Source D) This project had been the discreet creation of the Atomic Bombs. Time and time again, this topic had never really dissipated, its controversial who, what and whys prompting generations to debate its palpable purpose. Was the aim really focused for the “good of all?” Was it for America’s self-preservation and wish to promptly put an end to all of the suffering? Many Americans to this day still believe and argue for the usefulness of the atomic bombings, that the droppings were justified.
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.
In the 1930’s and the 1940’s there was a change in American leadership. Having this change not only changed the outcome of the war that we were currently in, but how the rest of the world would view our country after the war. The decision that Harry Truman was forced to make on the choice to drop the atomic bomb or to attempt more land invasions was a choice that shaped the outcome of the war. There were major influences and side effects from the dropping of the atomic bomb and what it did to the country of Japan. Having the option and the weight of the moral decision weighing on Truman’s shoulders about what decision should be made, he was the only one who was capable of making the decision that shaped the outcome of the war. Having dropped the bomb on Japan, as a statement of power and a means to an end in a form was the only way that American lives could have been spared as comparing that to the lives that would have been lost in a land invasion. Knowing what the issues with the bomb was; one has to look at the moral issues, the results of the incident, and also how it played in the rest of the development of the world.
Imagine yourself making the toughest decision in your life, whether sacrificing a million of our men and thousands of war ships and plans, verses several thousand of Japanese civilian populists. This decision was on the shoulder of Harry S. Truman, the United States President, who had to make this decision by deciding whether or not to drop a newly designed weapon. The atomic bomb was tested in the sands of New Mexico, where it proved to be very successful. Harry S. Truman made a very successful decision, because he wanted to end the war quickly, show others that the United States had power, and the retribution of Pearl Harbor.
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.
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