Who Is Really Responsible? The Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs

The reason I chose these specific primary sources us because both of the sources provided evidence of an eye witness or information that was present at the time of the atomic bombing. Both sources also provided me with information relating to my questions. The reason I specifically chose my secondary sources was because the secondary source both showed evidence of someone who was not present at the time of occurrence but was constructed based on previous primary sources. These sources were written by historians and gave an alternate point of view after the event happened while bringing into detail questions that may have arisen after further research on the event. This was beneficial to me because I was able to see that other historians had

Another example which is also on the topic of Japan, is a commonly known myth in American. It is the myth that dropping the atomic bomb to end the war and ensure unconditional surrender was an unjustifiable crime. This is wrong. The bombing of Japan fits within the “Just- War Theory” so blatantly that it's crime to dismiss this fact. The drooping of the atomic bomb was just cause, comparative justice, and proportionality. The Japanese military was relentlessly inflicted harm on Americans. This is level of evil is most prevalently displayed in the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Bataan Death March and the treatment of prisoners of war. The dropping of the atomic bomb was proportional to the evil and harm caused on America and other Allied forces.

The atomic bombs were dropped with purpose of solving diplomatic reasons and to inevitably make Japan surrender. The diplomatic goals the US had at the time was to prevent Russia from joining the war against Japan, but the US wanted to win the war before the USSR joined in order to prevent Stalin from claiming land in Japan and spreading communist influence throughout Asia. So in order to impede the potential spread of Russian influence and communism in post­war Japan, the US had to end the war as soon as possible or else the potential spread of Stalin and the Soviet Union’s influence might bring forth more devastating and graver consequences for the future of the US. The atomic bomb was a diplomatic and intimidating way of keeping the Soviet

Nearly seventy years later, there is still controversy amongst the atomic bombs that were developed and dropped during World War Two. These atomic bombs would unleash a force of destruction that the world has never yet seen. The Manhattan Project developed these bombs under their distinct codenames, Little Boy and Fat Man. Little Boy was dropped on Hiroshima August 6, 1945, resulting in approximately 140,000 Japanese casualties. Three days later after the event occurred, Fat Man was dropped on Nagasaki, which resulted in approximately 70,000 casualties. Historians can argue that the atomic bombs were a necessity to win the war. Others can argue that the war was already over and dropping the bombs was completely unnecessary. Although there are many solid points to both arguments, the atomic bombs dropped on Japan was justified.

Intense moral justification was needed in order to make the decision to drop the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki however, President Truman was ultimately the man who made the final decision to launch ‘Little Boy’ and destroy Hiroshima, Nagasaki and their civilians, thus forcing an end to the war. Although there were many alternatives presented to President Truman, it is unknown as to whether they would have actually succeeded in ending the war or producing less casualties. Truman made the decision to drop these bombs in the heat of war but his justification of having a military target appeared extremely unrealistic, as both cities were full of innocent civilians. The morality of the bombs have been debated over the years, however the publication of the actual damage to civilian life caused a strong voice opposed to the usage in the 60 years following the action.

Dropping the bomb could kill up to 1 million soldiers. Was it worth it? Dropping the bomb, only over 100,000 people were killed. That’s saving 900,000 lives. I do believe that dropping the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was necessary. Here are the reasons why: Japan’s surrender could have ended the war faster, the attacks could have gotten worse as time in the war gained. Japan had already caused great damage to the United States.

During the 20th century, specifically the year 1945, the United States of America had two atomic bombs that the commander and chief, and president at the time, Harry Truman, knew about. President Truman plan was to drop the bombs on two of Japans cities, Hiroshima first and then Nagasaki. Truman’s plans went accordingly, which to this day leads to a very controversial topic on whether or not dropping the atomic bombs was a good or bad thing. There is evidence and reasoning to back up both claims, in which everyone is entitled to their own opinion. However, in my opinion, I believe the choice of Harry Truman to drop the two atomic bombs was the right choice because it saved lives, helped end the war faster, and it was merely the only choice for the sake of the American soldiers.

On December 7, 1941 Japan launched a surprise attack on a U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii with the possibility of forcing the U.S. to join World War II. About 2,400 Americans were dead, 21 ships had been sunk, and 188 aircrafts were destroyed. On August 6 and 9 of 1945, the U.S. retaliated and dropped two atomic bombs called Fat Man and Little Boy on the Japanese cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. The U.S. was not justified in dropping the atomic bombs on Japan because of the locations that were bombed, the terms of the Potsdam Declaration, and the lack of previous bomb testing.

Without the hindsight we have now, the atomic bomb seemed like the only reasonable choice to save American lives and to end the war. Wartime rules are not the same as rules during times of peace, people can make decisions they would rarely make without the duress of battle. Many today look at the ethical reasoning with views not available at the time. To understand the past you must “pretend you don’t know the present” (Fussell p. 24). This was not a case of diplomatic decisions but one of revenge and warfare (Long). Even some Japanese people understand the thought behind the decisions, debating that the Japanese could have used the technology if it had been available to them: “Despite the sufferings the attack caused, Matsushima feels

Along with being a world superpower comes a long list of resposiblilities. One such responsibility is the decision of how to deal with other nations when they get out of line. People will always point fingers at who they think is at fault when a nation has to go to war with another. One such example of this is when the United States was brought into the Second World War because of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. By becoming involved in World War Two, the U.S. had to fight Japan, which led to the most important decision of the century. This decision was whether or not to drop the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This decision was mainly placed on the

Since 1941,when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor the forces of the United States and her allies had been at war with Japan.The bomb was dropped in Japan,on August,6,1945.The united states are the ones who dropped the bomb on the Japanese.

The decision to drop an atomic bomb is one of the hardest a commander-in-chief could make during their life. Let alone a president that was just inaugurated two months prior in the middle of World War II. This was the case for former President Harry S. Truman and it changed the world forever. In his eyes at the time and from the information given to him by his advisors this was the best option to end the fastest with the least amount of casualties for both the Americans and the Japanese. Throughout World War II thousands of soldiers and civilians were wounded and murdered. The use of the atomic bomb by the United States against Japan in World War II was a necessary evil that forced Japan to surrender and ceased all conflicts for years

1945 was a big year for the world. Tyrannical ruler of Germany, Adolf Hitler, had committed suicide after realizing that he had lost World War II (Staff, Germany surrenders unconditionally to the Allies at Reims). Two years earlier in 1943, Hitler's ally Benito Mussolini had surrendered (Staff, Italian surrender is announced). After Hitler committed suicide in 1945, Germany announced its surrender, thus ending the greatest war mankind has ever known so far (Staff, Germany surrenders unconditionally to the Allies at Reims). However, despite most of the Axis powers surrendering, one nation refused or so we all thought. That nation was Japan. In July 1944, American military forces captured the Mariana Islands and Saipan, two vital areas within

World War Two began in 1939, and lasted until 1945. It was started by the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. The Treaty of Versailles forced Germany to lose lots of its’ land and people, have to openly accept the guilt of war, that World War One was their fault, and they had to pay 6.6 billion pounds to the Allies for damages caused by the war. The Treaty of Versailles had four main terms. War Guilt, Germany had to accept the blame for starting World War 1. Reparations, Germany had to pay a huge fine for damages caused in the war. Territorial Clauses, Germany lost a lot of its land. Disarmament, Germany was only allowed a small army, and no tanks, submarines or air force. Germany was obviously not happy with the terms of this

On August 6th, 1945 Akihiro Takahashi, a 14-year old boy, never made it to school. Instead, he was engulfed in a “tremendous heat” and left on the side of a Hiroshima street to watch his own flesh melt off his body (Takahashi). Later that week, despite surviving the dropping of the atomic bomb on her city, Eiko Taoka would watch helplessly as her infant son died of radiation poisoning--something she blames herself for to this day (Taoka). There are thousands of stories like these, and each one describes the incredible destructive power behind atomic weapons and the deep wounds they leave behind. Even now, seventy years after that fateful day, writers and filmmakers utilize the terror induced by the thought of atomic warfare in their