Isabella Esposito Doctor Young H6SX 4/16/12 The Atomic Bomb: A True Necessity In 1945, President Truman decided to use the atomic bomb against Japan in an attempt to end World War II. It brought an almost immediate end to the war and hypothetically saved thousands of lives. Without the atomic bombs, the Japanese leaders might have dragged the war out, refusing to surrender. Moreover, the bombings could be seen as falling in line with the concept of “total war.” The decision by the United States to drop atomic bombs on Japan was justifiable based on three factors: the desire to save American and Japanese lives, to end World War II quickly, and to demonstrate the power of the US military. Harry Truman,
This had prevented thousands and millions of people from continuing to suffer from the agony of the consequence of the war. One reason why the atomic bomb was justified is that it was totally the fault of Japan because they were the ones who started the war after all. The Japanese had themselves adopted methods that were unscrupulous and outside the scope of the agreed international law. [1] Examples included the attacks on US base Pearl Harbour in 1941, the mistreatment and killing of prisoners of war, and the invasion of Manchuria, the rest of China in 1931 and 1937 and large parts of Asia-Pacific. President Truman said, “We have used it (atomic bomb) against those who attacked us without warning at Pearl Harbour, against those who have starved and beaten and executed American prisoners of war, against those who have abandoned all pretence of obeying international laws of warfare.
Many people will argue that the United States was justified in the dropping of the atom bomb. These people believe that dropping the atomic bomb was necessary for Japan's surrender and the end of World War II. Before the bombing, Japan refused to accept the unconditional surrender offered to them by the Potsdam Declaration, and in response to the Declaration Japan prepared every man, woman, and child to fight till death. There was no possibility that Japan would surrender. The pride of the Japanese was so great that it would not allow them to surrender and many of Japan's soldiers fought in a kamikaze style which they would go to the extreme of killing themselves in order to kill at least one enemy soldier.
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.
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
August 6th 1945, World War 2 is coming to an end, but the Japanese are still fighting the war in the pacific. The US decides that the best way to end this war is for "the Enola Gay B-29 bomber to take flight. "(Hawthorne 1). Aboard this flight is what is going to be known as the world’s first ever atomic bomb used in war, the bomb's "code name was 'little boy'" and was targeting the city of Hiroshima, Japan (Hawthorne 1). This bomb is going to cause unprecedented destruction designed to break the will of the Japanese.
Dropping the Atomic Bomb By Raymond Wisniewski The United States decision to drop the bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was a decision to end the war the war faster. The bombs were against the Japan by the United States. The decision by President Harry Truman was the biggest decision the United States had ever made. Before Truman, Franklin Roosevelt has let a team of the Army Corps the task of creating the bomb. The project was headed by Major Leslie R. It became known as “The Manhattan Project”.
The bombing of Hiroshima, and later, Nagasaki were not justifiable military acts but war crimes. One of the major arguments about the bombing of Hiroshima had been whether the Japanese would have surrendered without the atomic bomb or not. President Truman said the atomic bomb was necessary to make Japan surrender quickly and prevent both more American and Japanese casualties. Others believed that there was no need for the use of the atomic bomb. The United States Strategic Bombing Survey issued in July 1946 declared “Based on a detailed investigation of all the facts and supported by the testimony of the surviving Japanese leaders involved, it is the Survey's opinion that certainly prior to 31 December 1945 and in all probability prior
The Decision When Harry Truman learned of the success of the creation of nuclear weapons, he was faced with the most difficult decision in history. The capacity to end the war with Japan was in his hands, but it would involve unleashing the most terrible weapon ever known. Truman ultimately had to decide if the gains from ending the war would outweigh the destruction from ordering the bombs and leading the world into the nuclear age. After very careful deliberation Truman made the right decision on ordering the use of the atomic bomb. The decision prevented millions of American casualties, millions of Japanese casualties, and served as a deterrent to the USSR expansion.
The act of saving lives in the pretext of killing more does not fit into any logic Truman could have done without the atomic bombing , as Japan had already become weak and it was understood of the fact that America had gained control over the airspace and water space of Japan . The country was already on its knees and it was negotiating its surrender to keep its imperial rule . The defense chief and advisors were against the atomic bombing of Japan as they had an idea of Japan already being weak by then . Also after Pearl Harbor , America made no concession of bombing Japanese cities , which had caused lots of destruction . The point that arises is , when it was known that Japan had already succumbed and an official announcement was on the cards anyhow , then why destruction of such nature was unleashed .