200,000 deaths. 2 catastrophic bombs. Japan had no other option than to surrender. Though that meant giving up everything the country and its people had worked for, this unforgivable act was a complete and utter devastation in which Japan had to accept. There was no preparation, no heads-up, no courtesy involved when the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Japan. Japan was devastated and with very little days to recuperate, they were struggling to explain what had just happened. Before they knew it, a second bomb had been deployed and there was no time to think. Japan was flabbergasted. The only thing the emperor knew he could do to save his country from any further damage, was to surrender. So the question remains, was this just?
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August 6, 1945, an American B-29 bomber dropped the world’s first deployed atomic bomb, named Little Boy, over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The explosion wiped out 90 percent of the city and immediately killed 80,000 people. The amount of energy from the bomb is equivalent to being dropped into the sun. Many more civilians later died due to the radiation from the bomb, as if they had tens of thousands of CAT Scans. Three days later, a second B-29 dropped another bomb, Fat Man, on Nagasaki, which killed an estimated 40,000 people. If the explosions themselves did not disintegrate the body, the effects of radiation killing off healthy cells and causing cancers was each surviving civilian’s name written on a death list. Reasons for the bombs submerged as people across the world questioned why such matters were taken into action.
Some argued the bombings were retaliation against the bombing of Pearl Harbor, but the science of atomic bombs in the United States had began in 1938 and the second World War had only began in 1940. Due to the war occuring after the research of atomic bombs, conclusions can be made that America used Japan as an “excuse” to use their newly-found weaponry. In addition, Pearl Harbor was a naval base for the United States. So, there was no possible way Pearl Harbor was the reasoning for the atomic bombs because both, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, did not contain any military base. Therefore, Pearl Harbor was simply a placebo pacifier for the mouths of each American to make their malicious act seem …show more content…
just. The allies of the United States were pressuring Japan throughout the war, so the U.S. was not alone. Japan was being blocked off and invaded by American troops and allies before the bombs were dropped. The idea of dropping one atomic bomb, nevermind two, was unrealistic for the diminishing Japan. The Japanese emperor had began considering peace with America in February of 1945, before the atomic bombs. Before the Potsdam conference in July of 1935, the emperor and half of the Supreme Court of Japan were prepared to surrender with few terms of negotiation, but the U.S. administration disapproved. What’s ironic is that the exact terms Japan had brought forth were the ones the U.S. agreed to six days after the second bombing. This leaves the idea that the U.S. had the atomic bombs planned to be dropped on Japan, and nothing was going to stop it. Was it all due to race? Many people, and American citizens, started thinking the worst even though America was their country. Anti-Japanese racism was present in the U.S.; in its people, in its government, in its society. Anti-Japanese racism could have been found in propaganda, music, Bugs Bunny Cartoons, postcards, and advertisements. Parents did not want their children associating with the “yellow children.” Japanese immigrants were isolated and had difficulties obtaining a job simply due to their ethnicity. The Japanese-Americans were placed in camps in deserts and denied their rights. Their lives were altered and their sole purpose for coming to the United States had been ignored because they were of Japanese descent or were a first generation immigrant. No Japanese human was safe from the discrimination, whether they lived in the United States facing rude remarks and actions daily or underwent the blasts of bombs in their home cities, they could not hide from their opponents. In a sense, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was illegal under international law by the League of Nations.
Bombing a country itself was not illegal, however, bombing a civilian population was unlawful. The League warned, “Any attack on legitimate military objectives must be carried out in such a way that civilian populations in the neighborhood are not bombed through negligence.” Even though the United States was not a member of the League of Nations, the unrighteous acts were no way to introduce the first use of atomic weapons. The introduction could have caused a domino-effect and left little meaning to the laws concerning atomic weapons in the League of Nations. If Japan had not surrendered, their furiousness could have been refurbished into fury and used against the United
States. Originally, the atomic bomb was made as a defensive weapon against Germany as they advanced in nuclear weaponry. The Manhattan Project began in 1939 and its people worked tirelessly as Germany conducted successful nuclear fission experiments. During this time, other countries began their research and construction of atomic weapons as well. When the atomic weaponry in the U.S. was completed, it was used as a sign towards other countries to be feared for America had atomic bombs as well. If a country had used nuclear weapons against the United States, then they would do the same, causing a pointless chain of reaction. Since the atomic bombings were not retaliation against the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Hiroshima and Nagasaki were not victims of a defense tactic, they were caught off-guard by the merciless, offensive strike. The atomic bombs were not to save the lives of the American people, as many people believe. This idea is based upon a speculation of “might.” The fact of the matter is the United States knew many Japanese citizens would die if they dropped the bombs, but what remains is if they did not drop the bombs, many Americans might die. The theory that Americans might possibly die, was thought to be enough to make the bombings seem less harsh. However, the theory was not well reasoned and defended. The amount of difference between “would” and “might” was too large for any stipulations to not arise. Essentially, Japan was already in a downward spiral and their recovery was not in sight. With the curiosity of might, there must have been alternatives to the mass murder of another country and it’s 200,000 civilians. A demonstration bomb in an unoccupied area could have been as sufficient and would have saved many, many lives. The people would have known about American power and feared their weaponry, causing them to surrender or negotiate peace terms. Another alternative could have been waiting for Russia to assist in the take down of Japan. Joseph Stalin agreed to declare war against Japan on August 15, so why not wait? Was America’s pride to big to swallow? The last alternative is fairly obvious; continue invading. The U.S. was making great advances by land in Japan and their allies assisted in their success. There was no major set-back that resulted into the bombings, it was sudden and unnecessary. An unspoken contribution to the atomic bombs was Harry Truman’s presidency. He began his term upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt in April of 1945, four months before the first atomic bomb was dropped. People assume Truman had little experience as president and made a mistake in deploying the bombs. Though in office, Truman never fully understood the responsibility and consequences of being president. He spent little time studying the atomic bomb and did not comprehend its full power. He even moved up the date of the second bomb due to the increase of poor weather. This action makes him appear to be impatient and restless for Japan’s defeat. In conclusion, the bombing of Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, was unjust and reflects poor qualities of the United States of America. With many reasons not to drop the bombs, Little Boy and Fat Man, the possibility of revenge increased monumentally as soon as the first bomb was deployed out of the plane. Each step taken that lead to the conclusion of dropping the bombs was wrongful in every way. The annihilation of two Japanese-occupied cities did not only end the war, but it also hushed countries all around the world, placing fear in their hearts if they were next. Japan had done nothing in compare to the damage of the two bombs. They were the victim of an unspeakable act of violence that could have been avoided. The U.S. had many more options and opportunities to defeat Japan, other than the atomic bomb. America was racist, America was spiteful, America was unjust.
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
If they do not now accept our terms they may expect a rain of ruin from the air, the like of which has never been seen on this earth.” (Truman).The justification of the bombs was the fact that the bomb was only in retaliation to a hostile nation and there refusal to cooperate with the American government. Japan was attacking with no fear they were unwavering because there military mind set was to never surrender because it was a sign of weakness it was against their nature. And so was the United States we were not going to give up though we were not gaining anything from this war only loosing we had the same sort of national mindset that we could to surrender for the fear of being preserved as week. So with the rejection of surrender the United States dropped the bomb in order to stop a more brutal war and to protect the United States from having to drop out of the
Atomic Bomb in World War 2 During World War II the United States government launched a $2 billion project. This project, known as the Manhattan Project, was an effort to produce an atomic bomb. This project was taken on by a group atomic scientists from all over the world.
Instead it would be more accurate to agree that the use of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki a war crime, however, the use of it was necessary and justifiable. The atomic bomb has caused many lives in Japan of those who were not directly involved in the war and in had long lastly medical effects due to being exposed to nuclear material. In addition, it was justifiable and necessary that the United States acted due to the face that it was known for the Japanese to take drastic measures. It is important to consider how rash the Japanese were their “kamikaze pilots ' willingness to die for the motherland” (Beshears, 2005). Thus, the allies had legit reasoning to believe that the Japanese would not go down without a fight.
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.
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
Continuing on, the bombing of Japan was also unnecessary due to the unacceptable terms of the Potsdam Declaration. After Germany’s surrender on May 7, 1945, the U.S. created a treaty, called the Potsdam Declaration, with terms of surrender for Japan (Lawton). Among those terms was one which stated, “We call upon the government of Japan to ...
“My God, what have we done?” were the words that the co-pilot of Enola Gay wrote in his logbook after helping drop two bombs, one in Hiroshima and one in Nagasaki, that killed an estimated two-hundred thousand individuals. The bombings were completely unnecessary. Japan was already defeated because they lacked the necessary materials to continue a world war. The Japanese were prepared to surrender. There was no military necessity to drop the atomic bombs nor is there any factual information stating that the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were dropped to “save the lives of one million American soldiers.” The United States bombed Japan in August of 1945. The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were uncalled for and could have been avoided.
Atomic bombing Justification: What led the U.S. to use their atomic bombs? What led to the atomic bomb being deployed was the fact that War World 2 was not going to end and the continuous loss of life. It was a complex decision, which was influenced by various factors. Factors include, the civilians of Japan were already dying to firebombings without any backlash from the U.S. and the desire to end the war quickly. Despite the difficulty of the decision, the United States' attack was deemed justified.
The United States has been positively redefined after dropping the atomic bombs on Japan. On August 6th, 1945, America became the first country to drop an atomic bomb during war. Following just 3 days later, the U.S. dropped a second bomb on Nagasaki, changing, not only the U.S., but the entire world as well. These colossal attacks advanced the United States in a favorable manner because it led America to become a superpower of the world, and it caused the least chaotic ending of World War II possible.
The United States was justified in dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki for many reasons. First of all, just to start out, the bombings had nothing to do with Japan, it was about the Cold War and the real reason America used these weapons was to show Russia that the US possessed them. Second, the war in the Pacific had been raging for almost four years. The two battles immediately preceding the bomb decision were Iwo Jima and Okinawa, two battles where the Japanese fought to the death and the cost in American casualties was horrific. It was predicted that the invasion of the Japanese mainland at the Island of Kyushu -- scheduled for November of 1945 -- would be even worse. The entire Japanese military and civilian population would fight to the death. American casualties -- just for that initial invasion to get a foothold on the island of Japan would have taken up to an estimated two months and would have resulted in up to 75,000 to 100,000 casualties. And that was just the beginning. Once the island of Kyushu was captured by U.S. troops, the remainder of Japan would follow. You can just imagine the cost in injuries and lives this would take. Also It is not beyond the possibility that a million or more Americans could have been killed had we landed. The Japanese had correctly guessed where we intended to land, and were ready and waiting for us. The casualties would have been high. Another reason the atomic bomb was justified is the bomb was dropped with a desire to save lives. It is a matter of math. How many Americans lost their lives fighting how many Japanese at Tarawa, Iwo Jima, Okinawa. The mathematical formula showed the closer we got to Japan the more we lost.
The first reason that the United States should not have dropped the bomb is because the U.S. violated the Geneva Protocol. The Geneva Protocol banned the use of chemical weapons in war. According to Siebert, “The use of atomic bombs violated these principles: excessive force was used to defeat the enemy; the direct targets were civilians and non-military installations; and the damage caused by radiation poisoning at the blast site and in the surrounding environment was neither limited nor contained”, which proves the United States was wrong in dropping the atomic bomb. That is the first reason why the United States should not have dropped the bomb on Japan.
Justification of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Bombings The moral and military necessity of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings has been a subject of debate for almost half a century. Most revisionists emphasize the victimization of Japan during the attacks. They often forget the military realities and the historical context while judging whether it was necessary for America to use nuclear weapons against the two Japanese cities. It is important to note that Japan was the aggressor.
Many were left clueless of why the United States went to the extent of using the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki because using a bomb was illegal. Also, the United States was meant to serve as a model for a place with abundant human rights, but the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which was an inhumane act. A multitude of people held the opinion that the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was not justified by the United States. As a result, after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the people of the United States were left in complete disarray. The United States’s choice to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki was illegal.