...When people hear the words “atomic bomb”, the first thing that most likely comes to mind is the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States. This was a crucial part of World War Two, as this was the breaking point for Japan. There is much discussion about if Japan should have surrendered right after the bombings, or if discussing it and surrendering a few weeks later as they did was the best plan. As there is much discussion about this aspect of the bombings, there is also much discussion about if the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were necessary for Japan to surrender. There is evidence to prove that the Japanese government believed that the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was necessary for Japan’s quick surrender, however, Japanese citizens and the United States believed it was unnecessary. Once the war had finally come to an...
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...Was the decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan justified? The dropping of the atomic bombs was justified because the Japanese were not willing to surrender, therefore Truman didn’t have much of a choice but to drop the atomic bomb. The US wanted Japan to surrender to reduce the number of American lives lost. The dropping of the atomic bombs was justified because Japan wouldn’t surrender, so Truman was left under pressure. Hiroshima was bombed on August 6, and Nagasaki on August 9. The two cities were part of the Japanese war effort. One was an army center and the other was naval and industrial (Document B). This explains why it was justified because Truman bombed the important places that would eventually attack the United States. The bomb...
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...I’ve heard you ordered the use of the atomic bombs against Japan. After you’ve found out the Manhattan project had been successful, I know you had to make a decision to move forward with it or not. At first you and the Allies put out a demand for an immediate unconditional surrender, but Japan had refused. So since Japan had refused, you made a hard decision to drop the atomic bomb and put an end to the long four years of war with Japan. I understand why you strongly want to drop the bomb; however, for my sincere advice to you, I strongly suggest you don’t. Dropping to atomic bomb on Japan can lead to many disadvantages. For instance, when other countries realize that America had help this type of power, they will began the race to develop their own. Thousands of innocent Japanese people will die from the impact of this bomb and millions more will be affected by the residual radiation. Japan will be close to surrender anyways, and dropping the bomb will definitely insult in a major way. Most of all, it will forever create a great amount of animosity and anger between the two nations, that will exist for many years to come. Overall, the way you are using the atomic bomb is not justified because along with many others, we believe such...
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...The Second Great War was the war of Hitler and his allies against the world. In the timeline of the 1900’s in 1939 to 1945 is when the second world war initially started and concluded. Therefore the war crime caused a massive massacre ranging about to 50 - 80 million deaths of the world’s population, furthermore it included war-related disease and starvation. On August 6, 1945 is when the Japanese generals refused to accept defeat, so the US unleashed an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima. By August 8, 1945, Russia declared war on Japan and seized Manchuria that was powered by the Japanese. August 9 is when the US released the atomic bomb named FAT MAN on the city of Nagasaki, following on when the projectile LITTLE BOY descended on the city...
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...“The atom bomb brought an empty victory to the Allied arms, but it resulted for the time being in destroying the soul of Japan.” –M.K Ghandi. On August 6, 1946, during World War 2, a U.S B-29 bomber dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Three days later, the United States dropped a second explosive on Nagasaki. Because of the widespread damage and death the atomic bombs produced, using them wasn’t the ideal way to end the war or make Japan surrender. Due to the atomic bomb’s power, blasting Japan resulted in the unnecessary death of thousands of people and the ruination of the area. After the U.S bombarded Japan, there were “estimates of killed and wounded in Hiroshima (150,000) and Nagasaki (75,000)” (Hiroshima and Nagasaki Death Toll). In total, this adds up to...
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...Truman’s Decision - Was the bombing of Hiroshima justified or not? It was on the afternoon of 6th August 1945 that an event was believed to change and save the world forever. Harry Truman had made a life changing decision to drop an atomic bomb named “Little Boy” in Japan’s Hiroshima. The result of this weapon ended up in destroying more than 4 square miles of the city. The company who made the bomb was called Enola Gay. The motive behind the doing of this was to threaten Japan and make them surrender in World War 2. It is a fact that this was the first time in history that a nuclear weapon was used. This event is still one of the most important topics in history. It has been debated by an abundance of historians: Was it justified despite 129,000 innocent citizens died? There isn’t a definite answer to this but there were both sides to the story. Bombing was justified It is widely believed that the bombing was brutal and cruel. However, it was the reason that ended World War 2, and if America did not drop the bomb, the losses of soldiers would be even at a larger number than the amount of people who died in the drop of the bomb. It has also been said to save a lot of American’s lives and soldiers. This statement is backed up by the quotation “Fighting would be fierce and the losses heavy.” that was said by Harry S. Truman in 1955. This quote can tell us that during that time he believed that if the war was still going on, it was very likely that the upcoming invasions...
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...between living by the Army Ethics now and living by it back in World War II. In the reading, “Thank God for the Atom Bomb” by Paul Fussell, the author supports the United States’ decision to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. Fussell fills his writing with emotion and logic to demonstrate how dropping the atomic bomb was a selfless and necessary action to protect the American people. Selfless service is putting the needs of others before the needs of one’s self. It means one will be faced to choose the harder right over the easier wrong. In the Army, selfless service is taking care of the lives of the men and women that are risking their lives for the nation. That is exactly what President Truman was doing when he decided to drop the atomic bomb....
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...Hiroshima: Why America Dropped the Bomb Ronald Takaki Back Bay Books September 1, 1996 Joseph Marty Professor J. Cosco U.S. History Since 1865 November 27, 2011 Throughout the recent years of history, there has been an intense debate justifying the use of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima as well as Nagasaki a few days after, but many others argue that it was unjust to use such a weapon of massive catastrophe on an almost defeated nation at the time during the end of World War II: Japan. Ronald Takaki, author of the book Hiroshima: Why America Dropped the Bomb was an avid writer in the terms of Asian-America equality and morals based on his own experiences. In this book, he gave many thorough details explaining plausible reasons as to why Truman decided to launch the devastating attack on an already weak Japan. Takaki has used many sources including military reports, personal letters, and self recordings to further expand on this debate based approximately on facts more than moral opinions. When America had already won the war in Europe, there was still one more target left deemed as a threat to society according to the government. That target was Japan. The commander of the Pacific forces at the time was General Douglas Macarthur and he was never consulted about the use of the atomic bomb. Macarthur was only notified two days before the official use of the atomic bomb. The general was very depressed to hear about the use of the bomb because he...
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...as I can see, the atomic bomb has deadened the finest feeling that has sustained mankind for ages. I regard the employment of the atom bomb for the wholesale destruction of men, women and children as the most diabolical use of science.”-Mahatma Gandhi, an Indian anti-war activist; giving his opinion about the United States’s atomic bombs drop on Hiroshima, Japan. The outcomes of World War I had repleted many countries with fears, therefore they tried to avoid wars with each other. However, World War II started and it lasted from 1939-1945. The global war involved two military alliances, which are the Allies and the Axis. The Allies alliances included the Soviet Union, United States, England, and Republic of China. While the Axis alliances...
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...Was America right to drop the bomb on Japan? In some ways yes, America was right to drop the bomb on Japan because it was a quick way to end the war and was an easy way to stop the conflict between the countries. On the other hand the Japanese still didn't back down immediately after America’s air force dropped the bomb. The fact that Japan didn’t still back down immediately could be argued as America was insisting that they surrender; this would mean that they had to give up their emperor. This kept Japan fighting for longer, if America didn’t insist that Japan should surrender Japan would of fought for less time and this could of avoided a lot of conflict between the countries. Also, in a way it was sort of helpful for Japan that America dropped the bomb as it avoided Japan becoming communists by Russia, but this point could be argued on why America’s air force didn’t drop an Atomic bomb as well on Russia to avoid Japan becoming communist. The fact that America dropped the bomb on Japan could be seen as beneficial for Japan as from when America dropped the bomb Japan has been re- born and developed; Japan has now developed as one of the largest countries in the world for manufacturing. In other ways no, America was not right to drop on Japan because the effects of the Atomic bomb were far worse than the bomb Japan dropped 4 years before. The effects of the atomic bomb would have been unfortunate for the innocent Japanese victims involved in it, America could argue this...
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...initiated a project to start the development of the atomic bomb. This project, led by Robert Oppenheimer, a theoretical physicist, was code named the Manhattan Project. On August 6th, 1945, the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, by the United States of America. A second bomb was dropped three days by the U.S. later on Nagasaki. Before these devastating events, World War II was drawing to an agonizingly slow close. In the events prior to this bombing, an estimated 2,420,000 Americans and Japanese men were killed. Starting at the unwarranted attack on Pearl Harbour, Japanese soldiers bombed army bases, ships, and anything that would result in the cause of casualties. This was the start of...
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...Dropping of the Atomic Bomb When it comes down to President Harry Truman dropping the atomic bomb on Japan, it seems everyone has their own personal view or opinion on rather or not he made the right decision. I’m trying to imagine myself in Truman’s time period and the position that he had to take, and I wonder. What would I have done if I was in his shoes? What would I have done differently? Was President Harry Truman’s decision completely unnecessary? Oddly I would have to say I agree with his decision, and I will explain why. First, let me explain to you what led us to the most drastic decision in history. Responding to the drop in Pearl Harbor. “When you have to deal with a beast you have to treat him as a beast (Understanding the drop of atomic bomb, pg. 1). The US had been fighting a long and massive war since 1941. Four years to be exact, is a long time for any fight. Especially when there’s no sign of either of them giving up. This began to put pressure on both leaders from the American casualties and the Japanese attitudes to end the war quickly as possible. Although Germany had finally giving up and surrendered, the Japanese had not. They were going to fight until they couldn’t fight no more, and that’s what they did. The winning of this war was so crucial and meant so much to them. They were willing to kill themselves in explosive air planes in order to kill them. This is how serious this war was to them. Truman later had American air strikes leave millions of...
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...destructive nature of the atomic bomb: We have discovered the most terrible bomb in the history of the world. It may be the fire of destruction prophesied in the Euphrates Valley era, after Noah and his fabulous ark. Yet, despite his characterization of the bomb as the fire that would destroy the world, Truman goes on to state: This weapon is to be used against Japan between now and August 10 It seems to be the most terrible thing ever discovered, but it can be made the most useful. How could a Christian man justify using what seemed to be the very power of God against enemy cities with the intent to kill over 100,000 innocent civilians with the power from one atomic bomb (Goldfield, D., Abbot, C., Anderson, V., Argersinger, J., Argersinger,P, Barney, W, Weir, R. ,2010)?” “Truman’s argument for the use of atomic weapons against Japan focused on the fact that the targets were strictly military and no innocent civilians would be harmed: I have told the secretary of war, Mr. Stimson, to use it so that military objectives and soldiers are the target and not women and children. Truman further argues that the U.S., on account of its reputation as a leader of the civilized world, would never bomb a civilian city: Even if the Japs are savages, ruthless, merciless and fanatic, we as the leader of the world for the common welfare cannot drop this terrible bomb on the old capital or the new. Moreover, Truman stated that the U.S. had no moral reprehensibility for using atomic weapons against Japan...
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...order to advance; the usage of incendiary bombs, and even atomic bombs, were common occurrences. However, two main bombings that resulted in utter despair and the highest death counts were in Dresden, a city in Germany, and Hiroshima, a city in Japan. While tactics such as bombing counted to most people as acceptable actions within war, the motivation behind these particular attacks may not have been strong enough to account for the deaths of thousands, and it is a controversy still prevalent today. Kurt Vonnegut, an author held prisoner of war in Dresden, discusses his experience and knowledge gained from the Dresden firestorm in his novel Slaughterhouse Five, which alludes to the point that all bombings such as these, are unnecessary. Late at night on February 13, 1945, the city of Dresden experienced a horrific massacre that would result in the death of the inhabitants of almost the entire city, done by the Royal and American air forces. Due to what the Americans and British refer to as, “negative intelligence,” at that time, to them Dresden was known to be “an important industrial area, producing electric motors, precision instruments, chemicals, and munitions,” (Irving, 69). It was supposedly a center for communication and transportation, containing German postal and telegraph systems also, which is another reason why the allies felt it was an intelligent strategy to obliterate the city (Irving, 72). However, in reality, Dresden was the center of arts, containing theaters...
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...Deepali Shinde Professor Kalra Academic Writing 101 19th September 2015. Was United Nations justified in dropping atomic bombs on Japan? World War II also known as The Second World War was a global war that was fought from 1939 to 1945 in Europe and Asia. The Second World War was debatably the most consequential period of the 20th century. World War II led to vital advancements in technology and set the base for post war social changes, that includes the end of colonialism by the Europeans, the civil rights movement in the United States., and the American Women’s Rights Movement in 1950s, in addition to the initiatives for research and exploration of outer space. The prime fighters were the Allied Nations that included Britain (leading combatant) and its Commonwealth nations, USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and America. The other combatants were the Axis nations that consisted of Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan and their allies. The war was won by the Allied forces. One significant consequence of the Second World War was the Cold War between the two superpowers of the world, that is, United States of America and the Soviet Union (USSR). Japan is an island country located in East Asia in the Pacific Ocean. Japan is a leading country when it comes to technological establishments but lacks natural resources, particularly in iron and oil. After the World War I the fascist governments increased their expenditure on military supplies and training. This...
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