Kelly Shaver AMH 2030 Week 7 Individual Work What factors likely motivated President Truman to authorize the use of atomic bombs against Japan in August 1945? President Truman did not trust the Soviets. The Potsdam Declaration – July 26 listed U.S. policy also giving Japan a chance to surrender without guaranteeing that Emperor Hirohito would not be tried for war crimes committed by Japan. Japan was so cautious about their response that is was seen as a refusal on their part. The Japanese were seen as bloodthirsty savages willing to die rather than give up.
Moreover, other countries claimed the right of nuclear weapons to defend their citizens. Consequently, the tragic bombings became the example of an arm’s race instead of peace. Furthermore, since Japan was already on the brink of collapse the bombing was unnecessary, and peace talks would have taken place within a decent time frame (even after the cancelled Hawaii summit). The millions of deaths calculated by Operation Downfall [the codename for the Allied plan for the invasion of Japan near the end of the Second World War, which was abandoned when Japan surrendered following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki] actually show that only desperation and honour stood between Japan and unconditional
A. Plan of Investigation Question: “The atomic bombs were necessary to end the Second World War.” To what extent do you agree with this statement?” Thesis: To a very small degree I do believe that the Atomic bomb did help put an end to WWII but to an even greater extent I do believe that the Atomic bomb was not necessary to end of the WWII. Arguments: Japanese Culture American Government Decision Making About Dropping the Atomic Bomb American and Russian Government Battle Japanese Impact of the Atomic Bomb B. Summary of Evidence 1. Japanese Culture • The Japanese people were also developing their own atomic bomb during the time of the United States and Russia.
He also said that it will be impossible to persuade Russia to remove her troops from Poland and China and the island of Sakhalin unless they are shocked and impressed by American military strength. So in short words, James Byrnes believes that dropping the atomic bombs might make Russia more manageable and force Japan to surrender. If the USA did drop the bombs on japan, it will stop the USSR from advancing too far, plus halted the war quickly so that Stalin’s Soviet Russia did not demand joint occupation of
On April 6, 355 planes were in kamikaze missions. This Told the United States that they were not going to give up. The United States offered Japan to surrender and have a peace treaty. They were both denied by Japan. The United States didn’t want that to happen so they could end the war fast.
After multiple ideas along with deep thought, Truman along with the chiefs decided the most efficient, least costly and less bloody approach would to be dropping the atomic bombs on the Japanese home land. The essay states “evidence points to the conclusion that he acted for the reason he said he did: to end a bloody war that would have become even bloodier had invasion proved necessary” pg 175 Readings in United States History. The writer’s purpose of this essay is to educate the readers about the difficulty of this decision. I believe the writer did a fine job explaining the whole process. The Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombing are two greatly important milestones in the United States history, and the essay “The Biggest Decision: Why We Had to Drop the Bomb,” by Robert James Maddox is a perfect essay to be read over and discussed in a class like this.
Franklin D. Roosevelt wanted the United States to remain neutral in the 1930’s. Japan and the U.S. had conflicts from the past that the Japanese never let go of. They wanted to make sure that they were not being threatened so they attacked the U.S.. Germany sided with Japan during the time of World War II so they declared war on the United States. The United States had no choice but to enter World War II because Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and invaded China, which was America’s alley at the time, and Germany declared war against them. The Japanese attacked China when it was weak.
In World War two there were many battles fought. One of the most controversial issues for the United States was not even a battle though. It was the use of the atomic bomb on two Japanese cities. I believe that the US was right in using the atomic bombs on Japan. The Japanese planned a secret attack on the United States.
This could be noted with the US not joining the League of Nations. So on September 1931 Japan invaded Manchuria and renamed it Manchuko, establishing a puppet government. Even though the League of Nations is set up to take action against barefaced assault they did nothing except give Japan a slap on the wrist with passing a resolution condemning Japan for its actions. With this failure to do anything it showed this the League of Nations problem with trying to keep peace, it’s nearly impossible without the world’s super power. This showed the world that the actions of this group should not be taken seriously.
The United States government did not detonate the two nuclear devices on Hiroshima and Nagasaki with the intention of bringing an end to the war with Japan, but instead to intimidate the Soviet Union. The defeat of Japan proved that the United States bombed the country to show how strong the Americans are regarding nuclear energy versus the Soviets. Also, the undeniable truth that relations with the Soviet Union started to deter, showed that the United States wanted to frighten the U.S.S.R. by bombing Japan. Finally, competition for the post-World War II division of Europe proved that the U.S. wanted to scare the Soviet Union. Dropping the atomic bomb constituted a major factor in decision of Japan to accept the terms laid out at the Potsdam