Atomic bombs were used against Japan in order to end the war as quickly as possible, with minimal amounts of American casualties. The United States had decided that they will only accept an unconditional surrender from the Japanese. The use of the atomic bombs was hoped to push the Japanese the last bit to get them to surrender to the U.S. 's terms. The alternative options to the atomic bomb included an intensification of the current bombing of Japan, an invasion, waiting for additional aid from the Soviet Union, and allowing the Japanese to keep their imperial system with an emperor. Although the continued bombing of Japan was debated, it was ultimately too uncertain. General LeMay argued that this option could end the war in the span of The attack on Pearl Harbor had changed the common view of the Japanese as nearly supernatural fighters, and this new view instilled fear in Americans. The view also instilled with the Americans the belief that Japanese differed from them in more than just militant aspects, but also in basic aspects of humanity. Fear of the Japanese would lead the Americans to want extra assurances that the Japanese threat would end, and Americans would be safe. The idea that the Japanese were different than Americans and Europeans on a basic level would also encourage the use of the atomic bomb because the prospective murder of women, children, and other Japanese civilians would hold less meaning. Evidence of racism from one of the American leaders who had direct influence on Truman and the decision to use the atomic bomb could help prove the role of racism in the decision. Also, propaganda supporting the atomic bomb featuring racist elements would prove the role of I think that if the demand for unconditional surrender had been amended, the Japanese would have surrendered earlier, probably at least after the first atomic bomb was dropped. I don 't think they would have waited after the bomb was dropped if they had the option to keep their emperor. I think that if the surrender was offered and it still failed, a single atomic bomb would have been justified to save the lives of more Americans, but the second atomic bomb being dropped three days after the first one was not justified. The Japanese were barely given any time to react. I think our national perspective on this event has changed slightly since it happened. While we understand that the bombs were dropped in order to save thousands of American lives, we are not encumbered with the fear and prejudice that Americans at the time were, so the image of so many Japanese does not have the same effect on us as it did on Americans at the time, and we are also more able to sympathize more with the Japanese as we have more documents describing their experiences. From this event, we can learn that while atomic bombs are powerful and can end wars quickly, they should be dropped sparingly, and even if they are dropped to save the lives of fellow countrymen, they kill thousands of others. All lives should be accounted for during a war, and deaths should be minimized regardless of nation. There is always missing
In discussion of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, one controversial issue has the dropping of the atomic bombs being justified. On the other hand others believe that there were other ways of getting Japan to surrender and it was not justified, the only way we could get Japan to surrender was to invade them. Our strategy was to island hop until we got to Japan. Many more lives were at steak when doing that. Not only would just Americans would die, but a lot of the Japanese would have died as well, and the death toll would have much greater. 199,000 deaths came after the dropping of the atomic bombs. However, many American lives were saved, what the Japanese did to Pearl Harbor, and the treatment of our American soldiers while
On August 6, 1945, the U.S. dropped the world’s first atomic bomb over Hiroshima. Three days later, a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. On August 15th, the Japan announced unconditional surrender in World War II. To this day historians still discuss why the U.S. decided to use the atomic bombs. Orthodox historians argue that the decision to drop the bombs was a military one designed purely to defeat the Japanese. Revisionist historians argue that the bombs were not needed to defeat Japan; the bombs were meant to shape the peace by intimidating the Soviets. After analyzing the documents in The Manhattan Project it has become clear that the U.S. used the bombs during WWII not only to defeat the Japanese, but also to intimidate the Soviet Union
...ecessary to end the war, because the Japanese were not going to surrender. In August of 1944 the war in Europe was over and the face off between the United States and Japan had finally arrived. The United States had to choose between sending hundreds of thousands of US soldiers, to invade Japan killing and being killed by the hundreds of thousands, OR dropping a newly developed weapon called the atomic bomb on two cities in Japan which would result in tens of thousands of civilian lives with little cost to US servicemen. The only hope of ending the war quickly and honorably was to drop the bombs. Calls for surrender were ignored and the Japanese hierarchy, Okinawa and Iwo Jima had shown clearly what an invasion of Japan would be like. The decision was made, the bombs were dropped, the war was ended and both military and civilian lives were saved by both countries.
We agree that, whatever be one’s judgment of the war in principle, the surprise bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are morally indefensible. The “8 Primary Pros and Cons of Dropping the Atomic Bomb” People also say how Japan was already defeated, concluding why the bombs were unnecessary. Although, many others say that the dropping of the atomic bombs saved their lives, but the debate over the decision to drop the atomic bomb will never be resolved. The war against Japan bestowed the Allies with entirely new problems as they encountered an enemy with utterly unfamiliar tactics.
Under President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration the atomic bomb was being developed. After Roosevelt died, his vice president Harry Truman was appointed President of the United States. Truman was never informed about the bombs development until an emergency cabinet meeting (Kuznick 9). Truman had to make the fatal decision on whether the bomb was to be dropped on Japan. With the idea of going to war, Truman had to think about the lives of the thousand American soldiers. The American soldiers had begun using the method of island hopping, because the bomb was not available. The idea of dropping a bomb was that the war itself could possibly end in its earliest points. The dropping of the atomic bomb could also justify the money spent on the Manhattan Project (Donohue 1). With a quote by Franklin D. Roosevelt “This will be a day that will live in infamy”, Pearl Harbor was a tragic day for Americans. The United States had lost many soldiers, which they had claimed that they will eventually get revenge. The alternates of dropping the bomb was also discussed at the Interim Committee. The American government was trying to get an invitation response from the Japanese government. If the United States did not drop the bomb and ‘Operation Downfall’ ha...
The attack at Pearl Harbor was the event that caused the U.S. to decide to be involved in the war. After this incident, the U.S. was trying to find a way to retaliate and counterattack against Japan. Some thought that the only way to do so was by using atomic bombs. People like, General Dwight Eisenhower, Harry S Truman, and a group of scientists believed that the use of the bomb would do good, and finally end everything. Eisenhower believed that because the use of the atomic bomb was successful in New Mexico, it would also be successful in Japan as well. Harry S Truman thought that even the atomic bomb was the most destructive weapon in the history of the world, it could be made the most useful. He stated that, “it was ...
The dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan were ethical decisions made by President Harry Truman and the United States government. By the time of the atom bomb was ready, the U.S. had been engaged in military conflict for over four years and lost over 400,000 soldiers. Truman claimed, "We would have the opportunity to bring the world into a pattern in which the peace of the world and our civilization can be saved" (Winkler 18). The bomb was aimed at ending the war immediately and avoiding prolonged battle in the Pacific Theater and the inevitable invasion of Japan. President Truman hoped that by showing the Japanese the devastating weapon the U.S. possessed, that the war could be brought ...
The war was coming to a victorious conclusion for the Allies. Germany had fallen, and it was only a matter of time until Japan would fall as well. Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson was at the forefront of the American war effort, and saw atomic weaponry as a way out of the most monumental war ever. As discussed in Cabell Phillips’ book, The Truman Presidency: The History of a Triumphant Succession, Stimson was once quoted as saying that the atomic bomb has “more effect on human affairs than the theory of Copernicus and the Law of Gravity” (55). Stimson, a defendant of dropping the bomb on Japan, felt that the world would never be the same. If the world would change after using atomic weapons, could it possibly have changed for the better? One would think not. However, that person might be weary of the biased opinion of White House personnel. He or she should care more for the in depth analytical studies done by experts who know best as to why America should or should not have dropped the atomic bomb. As more and more evidence has been presented to researchers, expert opinion on whether or not the United States should have dropped the two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki has also changed. More and more researchers seem to feel that the atomic bomb should never have been used (Alperovitz 16). Despite several officials’ claims to enormous death estimations, an invasion of Japan would have cost fewer total lives. In addition, post atomic bomb repercussions that occurred, such as the Arms Race, were far too great a price to pay for the two atomic drops. However, possibly the most compelling argument is that Japan would have surrendered with or without the United States using the atomic bomb. In defiance of top...
Japan refused to accept an unconditional surrender, which was demanded by the allied powers in order to stop the war against them. On August 6, 1945 Truman allowed Enola Gay to drop the atomic bomb on top of Hiroshima and later Nagasaki to end the war. The revisionists and the orthodox views have different opinions on President Truman’s decision to use the atomic bomb. The revisionists believed that Truman’s decision was wrong and that there could have been alternatives. They say that the bomb was unnecessary and it was only used as a “diplomatic tool” and to show the power of the US to the world....
..., in a way that would undoubtedly change the image of the American military. The bomb on Hiroshima did just that, and left Japan with only the option to consider a surrender that would end the war. The first bomb was a horrific, necessary military operation. The bomb that destroyed Nagasaki just three days later, with a warning after the fact, was an animalistic attack. With the combination of the bomb on Hiroshima and the Russian invasion, the attack on Nagasaki was completely unnecessary. If the United States had never used the second bomb, the same conclusion would have been reached, but without the added destruction and brutal murder of innocent, noncombatant Japanese.
It was believed that dropping an atomic bomb on Nagasaki would resolve a number of problems in a simpler fashion than prolonging the conventional warfare until Japan finally ceded defeat. The primary goal of this extreme force was to bring a swift end to the war in the Pacific,(Walker) but a secondary goal was to display the military and technological might of the United States to allies and rivals around the world (Walker,). The use of multiple nuclear weapons made it clear to Japan and the world that Truman's threat of “utter destruction” was intended to be carried out unless Japan delivered what the United States wanted―unconditional surrender (Cite).
The official reason given for dropping the bomb was to bring a quick end to tht war and save American lives. However, Takaki presents many different explanations as to why the decision to use the bomb was made. He disagrees with the popular belief that the decision to use the bomb was made solely to quickly end the war in the Pacific and to save American lives. Takaki presents theories such as international concerns, American sentiment, and racism in an attempt to more fully explain why this decision was made.
By examining the climate of the world at the time of war, and given all other alternatives, the United States had no choice but to drop the bomb. If we had not, many thousands more American lives would have been lost, most likely on the shores of Japan during the inevitable land invasion. Once on Japanese soil our boys would have had to face off with arguably the most dedicated and fiercest warriors the world has known, willing to sacrifice their lives and those of their families for their emperor and country. While there are still many who would argue the cruelty of nuclear weapons, it is apparent that Harry S. Truman was acting in the best interest of America and the world when he authorized the use of the most devastating weapon mankind has ever created.
The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was directed towards peace, it was also used as a fear factor to fear the opponent side of what they can do. The action taken toward Japan was made to reduce or ended the war. In the article The Men Who Dropped the Bombs, they explained how their mission would impact and change the world. “ Were going to do something that I can’t tell you about right now, but if it works, it will end or significantly shorten the war.”2 (Theodore Van Kirk, 84). Kirk reminiscence about his colonel Paul description of how powerful their mission would be when they reach their target and successfully achieve their goal to stop or minimized the death tolls and safety of both Americans lives and its allies by stopping and putting an end to Japan role in the war. Every leader and president of a nation or country will do what are in the best interest of the country and it civilians especially during a national threat and president Truman and prime minster Churchill found that it was necessary for the use of the atomic bomb. In their memoirs Linethal (1996) notes that Truman and Churchill insisted that the use of the bomb prevented a huge causalities that would have resulted in ipso facto, from an invasion of Japan by more conventional forces. Although there are many resources and facts that support both sides, many historians, research and others lean more on the unjustified actions taken by The United
There are many people who oppose the use of the atomic bombs; though there are some that believe it was a necessity in ending the war. President Truman realized the tragic significance of the atomic bomb and made his decision to use it to shorten the agony of young Americans (“Was the Atomic Bombing”). The president knew of the way the Japanese fought. They fought to the death and they were brutal to prisoners of war. They used woman and children as soldiers to surprise bomb the enemy. They made lethal weapons and were taught to sacr...