There have been few national catastrophic events that have remained relevant to each new generation of people. Some of these circumstances occurred naturally while others caused great damage purposefully. The Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings of World War II are among the moments in time that are recognizable to each person worldwide. Although these bombings were extremely significant during the war and lead to Japanese surrender, there are many speculations concerning whether or not the bombings were crucial for the victory of the United States. The Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings were both extremely necessary because other strategies of the United States to end the war would not have been as effective, the United States needed a way to intervene …show more content…
Since the Japanese soldiers had the main focus of honoring their country no matter what the consequence was, surrender from the country was not easily retrieved. In a photo obtained from one of the kamikaze attacks on United States ships in the Pacific Theater, a ship is completely exploding where people are aboard (Document C). Kamikaze was the Japanese technique of crashing planes into American ships while the pilots of the planes died for their country. This concept was honorary for Japanese soldiers. If these people would willingly die for their country, they would certainly not give up a victory over the entire war with ease. Although these suicide missions were done out of desperation, they did have an enormous effect on the American ships. The usage of Atomic Bombs was mandatory because of the driving force of the Japanese military: a win no matter what losses were faced. Overall, in order to tarnish the determination of the Japanese military, the catastrophic events of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were …show more content…
The United States did try to verbally reason with and even warn the Japanese, but they refused to surrender this easily. Japanese kamikaze occurred more and more and America needed to stop the destruction and interfere with the hopes of the Japanese to win. Without the immediate Japanese surrender following the bombings, American lives would have been lost on the battlefields of the continuation of the war. The bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki ended many lives; therefore, the intentions behind them were and are still remarkably controversial. Undoubtedly, these attacks were military necessities and the consequences of them not occurring would have been far worse than the consequences that prevalently took
The U.S. should have been patient and thought of what the effects of their actions would be and not acted on it. Document C illustrates how Japan at the time was already deciding to surrender due to the influence of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Knowing how much damage it had done they were open to giving up to not have more things happen to them. Also, Document D discussed how using different tactics could have been acted upon. Frank stated “You see what sort of weapon we had but did not use”, this explains how one can give a warning, a statement but nothing was given a chance or an explanation.
According to Document G, a memoir of General H. H. Arnold, whether or not the bombs were dropped, the Japanese were already on the verge of surrendering. The United States had already killed about 241,000 people, wounded 313,000, and destroyed about 2,333,000 homes, making it increasingly evident that their decision to drop the bomb was just a selfish and easy manner to end the war. The document also states that the air force was aware that the destruction of most Japanese industries and the prevention of the arrival of the incoming cargo had made it impossible for Japan to carry out a large-scale war. With this fact, the knowledge of their increasing vulnerability was in effect throughout the military and the white house, bringing to light the leverage the United States had going through with the bombings. Overall, the decision to drop the bombs can be viewed as unnecessary as the U.S could have kept fighting knowing that
In late July of 1945 at the Potsdam Conference, the Allied leaders gave the Japanese a chance to surrender, and they totally rejected it (Doc. 1). After the American invasion of Iwo Jima, the Japanese defenders felt discouraged and defeated, as well as desperate to do whatever it took to win (Doc. D). So, by dropping the bomb and ending the war quickly, the opportunity for the Japanese to brutally attack the U.S in a desperate scramble to win was eliminated. Although Japan would need to use money to rebuild the destroyed areas, ending the war saved both sides from spending even more trying to clutch the victory, as the United States alone spent over 4 trillion dollars on the war (Harrington, John and Suneson, Grant.). In all, both sides were relieved by dropping the atomic bomb and ending the war more
The dropping of the bombs were necessary and fair due to the refusal of the Japanese to surrender, the millions of lives saved by a quick end to the war, and the warnings given to the Japanese. To begin, the Japanese soldiers have it ingrained in their brains that it is dishonorable to surrender. The author of Drop the Bomb as agreed by saying that “the Japanese have demonstrated a willingness to fight to the death”. During the war there were many times for the Japanese to surrender, but it was never done. With this in mind, they would have continued to drag out the war, which shows that dropping the bombs sped up the war which lessened the casualties.
Japan was weakening, “The food situation gradually becoming worse and worse…” Stated in source H. America had many industrial resources to use against Japan and so Japan had essentially been defeated. Japan pushed only for the sake of their countries honour as the shame of unconditional surrender goes against their code of honour. Furthermore a warning was given to Japan with America promising to drop the atomic bomb, however there was no evidence and so it could have easily been deemed a bluff. An American nuclear scientist stated, “A demonstration of the bomb best be made… Japan could then be asked to surrender.” This source seems somewhat reliable as it is from one of the American scientists and they would know the strength of the bomb.
August 6th and 9th, 1945 were the dates that marked on Japanese’s hearts, and Americans as well. Those were the dates that Japan had an obliteration with in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japanese soldiers and innocent people of different races were killed grossing over 121,000 deaths. Some people would say it was an excellent idea and some people would it was THE worst idea. There was a discussion, a debate rather on whether or not to resort the use of the atomic bombs.
World War II introduced the most dangerous weapon in the world, the atomic bomb. When the US used it on Japan we went to far and caused unnecessary damage to the people. Many people believe this to the only truth but, the real truth is that dropping the atomic bomb was a necessary evil we had to use in order to win the war in World War II and future wars to come. It save many american soldiers lives, stopped the Soviets from joining, and helped us win against Japan. First and foremost, World War II caused many casualties for both sides of the war.
Japan had to accept unconditional surrender; if they disagreed with that request, America would drop the bomb. What made the Japanese surrender was the retention of their emperor; anything else couldn’t have forced a Japanese surrender, including the attack of the atomic bomb. As Japan's Prime Minister Suzuki spelled out on June 9, 1945. “Should the Emperor system be abolished, they [the Japanese people] would lose all reason for existence…. [and have] no choice but to go on fighting to the last man” (Butow).
Was America Justified in dropping the atom bomb on Hiroshima in August 1945? On August 6th, 1945 at 8:16 AM, a great yet horrific event in history occurred. This event is known as the dropping of the atom bomb on the city of Hiroshima, Japan, the event that would begin and end the pain and suffering of millions. The atom bomb was dropped by an American B-29 Superfortress bomber named Enola Gay and
The deadly bombing on Japan saved the lives of many in America, prevented them from attacking the U.S like the one on Pearl Harbor, and it brought a sense of peace to the U.S. It is significant to the understanding of WWII because the events of the atomic bombs were the end of
President Truman and his associates believed that if they dropped the bomb they would receive surrender from Japan. Thus, saving millions of American lives, and ending the war. Nevertheless, by saving American lives they would sacrifice thousands of Japanese civilians. They had other idea to have Japan to surrender, but were willing to take the one that would have the most consequences. They were thinking too much about the US instead of creating actually peace within the nations.
However, the Japanese were committed to fight to the bitter end of the war and see it all the way through, regardless of the fact that the United States demanded unconditional surrender from the small country of islands. This further emphasizes that since the Japanese were not simply going to give up, Truman came to the conclusion that in order to save millions of lives, he had to take thousands. President Truman decided to drop the atomic bomb on Japan to warn the world about the new found power of the United States, force an unconditional surrender of the Japanese, and save millions of lives. With the controversy over whether or not Truman should have dropped the bomb, some consider the decision irrational and unnecessary.
According to an excerpt from Three Narratives of our Humanity, “It is hard to imagine that the Japanese would have surrendered without the atomic bomb”. The bomb was a necessary step in the war to defeat the ever growing Japanese military. Dropping a bomb seemed like the most efficient way to kill a large amount of the Japanese without having to but insert thousands of American soldiers into enemy territory. According to a World War II veteran, “The people who preferred invasion to A-bombing seemed to have no intention of proceeding to the Japanese fronts
The dropping of the atomic bombs on World War II on the city of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was a very important part of World War II. The atomic bomb ended the war between America and Japan. This was just one of the important events during the battle in World War II. The Battle at Pearl Harbor, where the Japanese attacked U.S. soil was also why the americans bombed Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Some believe that the United States was correct in dropping these bombs on Japan because of the attack on Pearl Harbor while others believe that it was very wrong to dropped the bomb.
On August 6, 1945, the Japanese city of Hiroshima was the first city in history to be targeted by the world’s first deployed atomic bomb during World War II (1939-45). The explosion wiped out nearly everything within a two kilometer radius. After World War II, it was said that the city would be uninhabitable but most of Hiroshima was rebuilt later on, though one area was left as is as a reminder of the devastation of the atomic bomb. Today the city of Hiroshima has been revived and has become a symbol of peace and prosperity.