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Justification for dropping the atomic bomb
Effects of the atomic bomb on the world
Reasons for dropping an atomic bomb
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With Germany surrendering on May 7th, 1945 this left the Allies as predominate victors of World War II. Though only one thing stood in the Allies way, the Japanese had not yet surrendered. With time passing, and no surrender from Japan, Harry S. Truman must act to try and bring WWII to an end. Truman having access to two powerful weapons, he now has the decision whether to use them or not. On August 6th, 1945 the USA drops the first ever atomic weapon on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Without a surrender from the Japanese, 3 days later another atomic bomb is dropped on Nagasaki. Not only did the atomic bomb have an massive effect on the day they were dropped, they continue to have a massive effect on generations of Japanese. Although the dropping …show more content…
of the atomic bombs brought WWII to an end, the USA was not justified in dropping the atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. First, many believe that the Japanese were known to not surrender and would continue to fight.
If the Japanese did not surrender, an invasion of Japan would have to take place, extending WWII and increasing the death toll for both sides. Though this was a valid argument for dropping the atomic bomb, it has been revealed that the Japanese Army and Navy spokesmen had approached Army officials in trying to negotiate a surrender settlement. The surrender settlement would allow the Japanese to retain the Emperor, who the Japanese viewed as a God. The Japanese Government were unwilling to compromise to an unconditional surrender due to the retention of the Emperor being involved with the surrender. The Japanese pleaded assurance in retaining the Emperor once they had surrendered. If the Allies accepted these terms the Japanese would have undoubtedly surrendered. The USA pursued in dropping the atomic bombs. Once the Japanese surrendered the Allies accepted the terms of Japan retaining their Emperor. If the Allies were willing to accept the terms of allowing Japan to retain the Emperor, why would they not accept it earlier? The USA only created extra bloodshed, which is what they wanted to “avoid”. This bloodshed would have been avoided if they had accepted the Japanese’s terms earlier and not after the bombings. The atomic bomb was not required in getting the Japanese to surrender in …show more content…
WWII. Next, the dropping of the atomic bombs was simply inhumane.
Though, the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor was inhumane, which many would use in defense of dropping the atomic bombs. The atomic bombs exponentially had a greater short-term and long-term effect compared to the attack on Pearl Harbor. When the atomic bombs were dropped they immediately vaporized, killed or burned civilians close enough to the bomb. Buildings and homes were destroyed, and thousands were buried within the scattered debris. Long-term, radiation haunts the survivors of the atomic bombs. It brought sicknesses, an increase in the rates of cancer, and the offspring of survivors had birth defects that continue to pass down each generation. Those survivors who could not cope with the trauma committed suicide. Hundreds of thousands of civilians including women, children and the elderly suffered from the atomic bombs. The atomic bomb continued to kill even after World War II was over. In total, the two atomic bombs killed a total of 240,000+ civilians. The USA knew how powerful the atomic bombs were and even continued to drop the second bomb on Nagasaki although they seen the effects of the first bomb on Hiroshima. The atomic bombs left Japan and their citizens crippled and in despair, and should not have been
dropped. Finally, the atomic bomb was used as a threat to the Soviet Union. In 1945, the year both atomic bombs were dropped, USA and the Soviet Union relation began to deteriorate. USA and the Soviet Union were both major military powerhouses and would both want world dominance. The USA was already thinking of what would occur post-war, the Soviet Union expanding their territory in Europe would be a main notion. The USA would look for a solution in limiting what the Soviet Union would gain when the map of Europe would be redrawn. At the Potsdam Conference, Truman would mention a new weapon of indestructible force to Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union. The atomic bombs would show case how technologically advanced the USA was compared to the Soviet Union, in terms of power, military and world dominance. The USA believed the atomic bomb would make the Soviet Union more manageable of their post-war negotiations. The USA did not want the Soviet Union expanding their territories, increasing their power and establishing themselves as the world leaders. To ensure this did not occur, the USA used the atomic bombs to scare, and hopefully push-back the Soviet Union. The dropping of the atomic bombs is a historical event that many do not wish to look back at. The effects of the atomic bombs are still around today, and will likely continue to effect future generations of Japanese. The dropping of the atomic bombs is a very controversial question. Whether it was justified or not, both sides have arguments that are valid and could have been the case during these times in WWII. The dropping of the atomic bombs outlined majority of World War II, the mass murder of people. The atomic bomb would end WWII, but not in a suitable way. The USA was not justified in dropping the atomic bomb on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
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....
The United States entered WW II immediately following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The U.S. entry was a major turning point in the war because it brought the strongest industrial strength to the Allied side. The Americans helped the Allies to win the war in Europe with the surrender of Germany on May 7, 1945. However, the war in the Pacific continued. The war with Japan at this point consisted primarily of strategic bombings. America had recently completed an atomic bomb and was considering using this weapon of mass destruction for the first time. The goal was to force the “unconditional surrender” of the Japanese. Roosevelt had used the term “unconditional surrender” in a press conference in 1943 and it had since become a central war aim. Truman and his staff (still feeling bound by FDR’s words) demanded unconditional surrender from the Japanese. Consequently on July 26, 1945 Truman issued an ultimatum to Japan. This ultimatum stated that Japan must accept “unconditional surrender” or suffer “utter devastation of the Japanese Homeland”. This surrender included abdication of the throne by their emperor. Japan was not willing to surrender their dynasty and ignored the ultimatum. On August 6th and August 9th, atomic bombs were dropped on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki respectively.
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
The United States of America’s use of the atomic bomb on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki has spurred much debate concerning the necessity, effectiveness, and morality of the decision since August 1945. After assessing a range of arguments about the importance of the atomic bomb in the termination of the Second World War, it can be concluded that the use of the atomic bomb served as the predominant factor in the end of the Second World War, as its use lowered the morale, industrial resources, and military strength of Japan. The Allied decision to use the atomic bomb not only caused irreparable physical damage on two major Japanese cities, but its use also minimized the Japanese will to continue fighting. These two factors along
Admittedly, dropping the atomic bomb was a major factor in Japan's decision to accept the terms laid out at the Potsdam agreement otherwise known as unconditional surrender. The fact must be pointed out, however, that Japan had already been virtually defeated. (McInnis, 1945) Though the public did not know this, the allies, in fact, did. Through spies, they had learned that both Japan's foreign minister, Shigenori Togo and Emperor Hirohito both supported an end to the war (Grant, 1998). Even if they believed such reports to be false or inaccurate, the leaders of the United States also knew Japan's situation to be hopeless. Their casualties in defending the doomed island of Okinawa were a staggering 110,000 and the naval blockade which the allies had enforced whittled trade down to almost nothing. Japan was quickly on the path to destruction. (Grant, 1998). Of course, the Allies ignored this for the reason that dropping the atomic bomb on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki would intimidate Russia. Had they truly been considering saving more lives and bringing a quick end to the war in Japan, they would have simply waited them out without the major loss of life seen at both Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
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.
In May of 1945, with Germany’s surrender, the Allied forces achieved victory in Europe. However, World War II was not over, and fighting continued against the Japanese in the Pacific. To finally end the war, United States president at the time, Harry Truman, made the decision to drop the newly invented Atomic Bomb on two navel bases in Japan: Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Although this did lead to the end of the Second World War, President Truman’s decision has faced much controversy in subsequent years, mainly surrounding the morality of his actions. I believe that given the Japanese mindset and the fundamental nature of war, that the dropping of the atomic bomb was justified.
During World War II a bombing was made against Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. In retaliation to this bombing the U.S. dropped two atomic bombs in Japan. The Fat Man was dropped on Nagasaki, and next the Little Boy was dropped on Hiroshima. These bombs devastated the people of Japan. Along with this it has left large amounts of nuclear radiation behind. For this DBQ you will learn how this bombing affected the people of Japan them, and even now.
These reasons have a plethora of evidence supporting them, as well as evidence disproving the opposing side. The atomic bomb’s impact on the ethics surrounding war and humanity left a significant mark which is still seen today. There was no real reason to have dropped that weapon, and the fact that the United States did is disgraceful to humanity. U.S. General and later President Dwight D. Eisenhower said it best when he stated, “Japan was at that very moment seeking some ways to surrender with a minimum loss of ‘face’... it wasn’t necessary to hit them with that awful thing” (Alperovitz, 1990, p.
On August 6, 1945, the United States dropped the first atomic bomb used in warfare against the city of Hiroshima, Japan. Three days later on August 9th, a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan. Just six days after the second atomic explosion, Japan announced its unconditional surrender to the United States after almost four years of war. Philosophers have argued that President Truman took a utilitarian point of morals when deciding to use nuclear weapons: do what is best for the largest number of people. Others say he blatantly ignored Kant’s teachings regarding the morality of attacking non-combatants. Regardless, President Truman was faced with one of the most morally difficult decisions any
On August 6, 1945 to August 9, 1945, during World War II, an American bomber dropped the world's first two deployed atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima and Nagasaki which resulted in an explosion that wiped out 90 percent of the city. The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was known for the following two things: the mass murder of a million innocent lives, and the end of World War II. After analyzing the sources provided, it is evident that the use for atomic bombs was equally argued for and against because on one side, many believe that a purely technical demonstration of the atomic bombs would have also caused the war to cease, and on the other, countless do not and view direct military use the most efficient. On side
Nuclear warfare was the main factor in Japan’s decision to ultimately surrender from the war. On August 15th, 1945, after losing more than 100 000 civilians to the atomic bomb, Emperor Hirohito announced the Japanese surrender which was immediately accepted by the United States and then formalized on September 2nd of that year , ending World War II approximately one year earlier than the United States military planners were suggesting it would have had they been forced to put soldiers on the ground in the eastern hemisphere .
...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.
When the atomic bomb was dropped, the destructive weapon disintegrated and claimed innocent lives in Nagasaki and Hiroshima. On August 6th, 1945 in Hiroshima, around 83,000 people were deceased in an instant and tens of thousands of more died in the following year due to wounds and radiation poisoning. In addition to this, food became scarce and most could not find shelter in Hiroshima, which encouraged civilians to migrate from Hiroshima to other rural areas. Three days later, on August 9th, Nagasaki also suffered the same fate as Hiroshima. The explosion of the atomic bomb destroyed anything within a half-mile radius. Moreover, around 40,000 to 75,000 citizens were killed by this blast. Survivors of the atomic bomb left the city and fled to any other villages near it. Although Japan announced its surrender a few days later, the United States...
On August 6, 1945 the first of two atomic bombs were dropped on Japan by the United States in order to finish World War II. The first one landed over the heavily populated city of Hiroshima. The second bomb was dropped, not only three days later, on August 9, 1945 on another Japanese city called Nagasaki. Both atomic bombs made terrible impacts on the cities they were dropped on. Hiroshima and Nagasaki were destroyed beyond belief leaving a trail of dust where once families lived a normal life. The U.S. should not have dropped the Atomic Bomb on Japan because it affected the climate and world’s mindset, targeted two sites that were not military bases, and killed a profuse amount of innocent citizens.