When the topic of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagisaki is brought up, many wonder whether or not the United States should have dropped the bomb in the first place. The short answer is, we shouldn’t have. But there are specific reasons as to why that is. And while not everyone agrees with either side, there is a wrong and a right one. It’s easy to make a choice based on just statistics and vague numbers thrown out, however, when you think about the people who suffered as a result of these bombs and the generations still burdened with the side effects of radiation poisoning; if given the choice, would you have dropped the bomb? The United States should not have dropped the atomic bombs on Japan because the war was getting ready to end and Japan was already on the brink of surrendering. …show more content…
Firstly, dropping the atom bomb on Hiroshima and Nagisaki was the wrong decision and completely unnecessary because the war was on its way out and Japan was already largely defeated. Professor of Political Economy Gar Alperovitz states the bomb was, “...a ‘barbarous weapon’ that was unnecessary.” It’s no secret that Japan was incredibly against surrendering and was ready to fight until they had nothing left. However, by this point Japan had lost so many of its soldiers that dropping an atomic bomb to “end the war” was extremely impractical and overall a bad decision. Using the atomic bomb as a means to save Americans' lives did just that, but at the cost of thousands of innocent Japanese civilians. Ending the war is not an excuse to use a weapon of mass destruction of that magnitude on a country ready to surrender. Secondly, dropping the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was the wrong decision because it utterly destroyed both cities and devastated the lives of many. Logistically, the bomb was an unnecessary tactic to end the war, but looking at it morally it's even
1.The dropping of the bomb on Hiroshima was necessary to end the war with the least number of total casualties and in the fastest possible way. The figures regarding the exact number of American lives that would’ve been lost has been highly debated, but considering the great resolve that the Japanese army had, they would almost surely have been more than those killed in Nagasaki, and that is just on the American side. I do not value American lives more than the lives of the innocent, many of whom were victims to the attack, but it is important to remember that regardless of whether we had dropped the bomb or not, we were fighting total war. In the many battles that would’ve occurred if the war had continued, women and children may have still been victims as we advanced our troops. These battles could’ve taken as long as another year, and who can say when the Japanese would’ve finally surrendered? They were filled with pride and resilience, and many soldiers would’ve prefered to die with honor, defending their homeland, than to surrender.
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
The Atomic Bomb Should Not Have Been DroppedAs President Obama signs new nuclear policy, we are reminded of the longand sordid history of nuclear policy in the United States. We have come a long waysince we decided to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II.It is amazing that we continue debating this initial deployment of nuclear weaponrytoday. The US should not have decided to drop these atomic bombs. This decisionwas morally incorrect and unnecessary. Thousands of people died who did not needto die, and many more became sick from radiation poisoning. The bombs wiped twoentire cities off the map. How can anyone even argue for this in the first place?One argument that was used to support dropping the bomb was that theJapanese forfeited their rights when they aggressively attacked Pearl Harbor andcommitted war crimes against prisoners and the Chinese. However, this argument does not work for a few reasons. First, there are two types of justice in war. There isthe justice for going to war (
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 ...
“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.
When looking at the aftermath of the atomic bomb in both Nagasaki and Hiroshima the devastation it caused is evident. The majority of the population in Japan could have never imagined such a catastrophic event. On August 6, 1945 and August 9, 1945 massive amounts of lives were changed forever when an atomic bomb fell from the sky and created an explosion as bright as the sun. These two bombs were the first and only accounts of nuclear warfare. (“Atomic Bomb is…”) The impact that the two bombs left on the cities of Japan was tremendous. The bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima devastated the country through structural damage, long term medical effects, expenses, and the massive loss of life.
As renowned historian David McCullough has been known to say, “people living ‘back then’ didn’t know they were living ‘back then’,” To judge the decisions of people in 1945 by the standards of today is not only nonsensical, it is simply pointless. Truman and his advisers made a reasonable if not intelligent choice to drop the atomic bomb in the context of World War II. In Truman’s position as president where he was faced with handling a brutal war involving an astronomical amount of American soldiers, the choice to drop the atomic bomb was seemingly the best of his limited options. It is because of this that my team and I stand on the firmest affirmation and feel compelled to say yes, the United States was justified in
“And he alone, in all the world, must say Yes or No to that awesome, ultimate question, ‘Shall we drop the bomb on a living target?’” - President Harry Truman. On September 1st, 1939, Hitler invaded Poland, sparking the beginning of WWII. France and Britain declared war on Germany because of this. There were many countries involved, including the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, Canada, and the US (Allied Powers), and Germany, Italy, and Japan (Axis Powers). The Axis Powers wanted to conquer other countries and build empires, while the Allied powers wanted to overthrow the Nazi government and drive the Germans back to their territory.
In this essay, I will be describing the reasons as to why the United States used the atom bomb on Hiroshima. I will also be assessing whether they were right or wrong in doing so. I will speak on both sides of this argument and expressing my own opinion in this essay.
The atomic bombing in Hiroshima and Nagasaki was not necessary, there were more ways to end the war. My three reasons are many survivors from the bombing faced serious death from starvation and radiation exposure. There were much more ways besides using atomic weapons to settle the dispute. Lastly, the bombing had both positive and negative effects to the people and the world.
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 Atomic Bomb Was an Extreme Measure The decision of the United States to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki with atomic bombs is not defendable. The Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki marked a turning point in human history and ended World War Two, which raised doubts about the usage of nuclear weapons. The atomic bombings caused mass civilian suffering. After the bombing, the immediate death toll from the bombings and the effects such as radiation sickness caused suffering among civilians (“Nippon Times”).
Bomb or No Bomb The dropping of the nuclear bombs on Japan’s cities Hiroshima, August 6th 1945, and Nagasaki, August 9th 1945, was a historical event that ended a war set to last for years to a swift end, many argue to this day that Harry S. Truman’s decision was inhuman and unethical. on the other side of the coin people argue that it was the best decision for everyone involved, including the Japanese. The reasons for this are found in simple mathematics, but the numbers you would be crunching would be in casualties. There are several estimates out there for the total death tolls between Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings to be near three hundred thousand, which makes our assault on D-day look like child’s play, but in comparison to the casualty
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.