Imagine the sudden loss of 70,000 lives: 70,000 futures obliterated, 70,000 bodies decimated, and 70,000 families grieving. That was the impact of the bombing of Hiroshima. Similar results happened at Nagasaki. The decision of whether or not the United States should have dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki has been heavily debated for decades. The atomic bombing of Hiroshima was not a military necessity because there were other options, it was ethically wrong, and the United States was already winning.
First, the United States had various other options that would result in fewer total deaths. In fact, the president of the United States at the time, Harry Truman, had thought of many other solutions (Doc. 1). They could invade
…show more content…
They were so desperate that they were sending kamikaze to U.S. ships in the Pacific (Doc. C). This action showed America just how desperate the Japanese truly were, meaning that they were already winning the war (Doc. C). According to the Air Force Strategy Bombing Survey, “certainly prior to 31 December 1945, and in all probability prior to 1 November 1945 (well before the date of the [proposed] invasion) Japan would have surrendered even if the atomic bombs had not been dropped” (Doc. K). This means that the Survey agreed that the war would have ended even without the bombing. Furthermore, Dwight Eisenhower stated, “I was one of those who felt that there were a number of cogent reasons to question the wisdom of such an act.... first on the basis of my belief that Japan was already defeated and that dropping the bomb was completely unnecessary, and second because I thought that our country should avoid shocking world opinion by the use of a weapon whose employment was, I thought, no longer mandatory as a measure to save American lives. It was my belief that Japan was, at that very moment, seeking some way to surrender with a minimum loss of 'face' (Beck). In simple terms, he concluded that Japan would have surrendered without the destructive bomb and that the bomb was not mandatory to end the
By July 1945, it was clear that Japan had been weakened by violent attacks, but there was no indication of any weakening of their determination to fight. In addition, the total strength of the Japanese Army was estimated to be close to 5,000,000 men, which posed an even greater threat to the United States (Blanche M. Touhill, 452). In order to end the war and bring down this large, determined army, the Potsdam Declaration was created. This ultimatum was designed to “spare the Japanese people from utter destruction”, as said by Truman (Kevin B., 605). This rejection shows that the Japanese army and government were aware of the possible dangers of the continuation of war and their choice to decline to surrender.
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
Strategically, dropping the bomb was definitely a good choice. The war was taking long and it cost us a lot of money and lives, we needed to end it. The A-bomb did it - after dropping the second bomb on the 9th of August 1945, the Japanese surrendered. (pg. 15) Politically?
“Dropping the atomic bombs on Japan saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of U.S. soldiers and some believed it was the only way to end the war quickly.” in Dropping the A-Bomb Saved Lives. As a result of dropping the bomb Japan lost lives of soldiers, civilians and land. Japan also lost power in their government because of the bombs, and many business, houses got destroyed and created some tension between the governments. The U.S. only had a few choices since Japan wouldn't surrender the U.S. had to do something.
Truman stated that he based his decision on military effectiveness not economically. An amphibious assault invasion like the Normandy Landings would have cost an estimated million casualties. President Truman believed that the bombs saved Japanese lives as well. For Truman, dragging out the war was not an option (The Decision to Drop the Bomb.). The blasts on Hiroshima and Nagasaki would cause 166,000 casualties in Hiroshima and 80,000 in Nagasaki.
During WWII there were many deaths and terrible battles but the worst of all of them was America dropping the Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This tactic of bombing a city was the wrong decision by America, it was completely barbaric and was an act of total war something no country should ever use. The main issues with this decision was that it wasn’t an attack on a military base like Pearl Harbor but it was an attack on a populated city and Japan was prepared to surrender because they knew America and the Allied Powers would win the war. The main argument others have is that the Atomic bomb saved lives by creating a fast end to the war so it wouldn’t be strung out resulting in more deaths on both sides but Japan was prepared to surrender
In Document 2, Admiral Leahy says, “The use of this barbarous weapon at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was no material assistance in our war against Japan. The Japanese were already defeated and ready to surrender.” Some Americans felt as though the weapon should not have been used because the Japanese were ready to give in. COME BACK Not only were the Japanese ready to surrender but it was morally wrong to bomb multiple cities without realizing what the outcomes may be.
The bomb needed to be dropped for the war to end or the Japanese would have kept on fighting. If the Japanese refused to surrender when Germany did, when were they going to? “I regarded the bomb as a military weapon and never had any doubt that it should be used”(Doc 1). The bomb needed to be used not demonstrated to clearly show the war can only go
was right in dropping the bomb is because if we didn’t, then we had the possibility of losing supplies. If we were to fight on the front then we would have to supply our men with weapons, food, and clothing, making it hard to keep supplies in stock for the people back home. Paul Fussell states, “The people who preferred invasion to A-Bombing seemed to have no intention of proceeding to the Japanese front themselves”. This quote shows that people didn’t want to fight on the front so it would be a waste of our supplies that we could use for something else. And one of the most important reasons of why we would’ve run out of supplies is because trade was slow and not many countries wanted to trade so we wouldn’t have sufficient supplies.
Was the Atomic Bombing of Japan Necessary? The atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States during World War II are highly controversial and disputed amongst historians. Some argue that the bombs were necessary to protect millions of lives if the war continued but others argue that the bombs were unnecessary and could have been avoided. In the article “Was the Atomic Bombing of Japan Necessary?”
Comments left by readers of the US History Magazine, American Heritage, basically say that the Japanese Islands were also very difficult to attack, as Japan still had millions of troops still stationed there, leaving no choice but to attack from the air. The Japanese army left no point of vulnerability for the US to take advantage of, and any land invasion would surely be stopped, as Japan had around 12 divisions defending the island. The first atomic bomb did not force surrender from Japan, but the second, combined with Russia planning to invade, forced Japan’s hand. The decision to drop the bomb was made quickly, as any land lost to Russia in Japan or China would never be returned to the countries. These comments from others give useful reasons on why the US Military dropped the atomic bombs: to end the war quickly before Russia gained a strategic advantage on the Islands of Japan before the long anticipated Cold War.
As stated by Admiral William Leahy, Chief of Staff to President Truman, "The use of this barbarous weapon at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was of no material assistance in our war against Japan. The Japanese were already defeated and ready to surrender…" (Document #2). The Japanese forces were surrounded, suffering significant losses, and the United States troops were already at the border of the mainland. Therefore, the use of the atomic bomb was an unjustified flex by the United States, disregarding the human lives in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan was destined to fall, nevertheless, the US saw it necessary to drop an A-bomb.
The United States decision to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima was barely motivated by the idea that it would intimidate the Soviet Union. Dropping the atomic bomb was designed to demoralize the Japanese and demonstrate to them that if they did not surrender, th . In Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson’s memoirs in document A, he writes, “The total strength of the Japanese army was estimated at about 5,000,000... I was informed that such operation (the invasion of Japan) might be expected to cost over a million casualties, to American forces alone” (Doc A). Stimson’s memoirs were written with the intention of being published and he knew he had to defend the government’s decision to drop the bomb and is writing from the point of view of someone
This show of force may also have prevented the atomic bomb from ever being used again. Japan ready to Surrender Slide The document includes the japanese surrender ceremony, a man giving away his military sword, and the Japanese tradition of Seppuku “After the government’s strictures
However what these sceptics don 't realize is that the use of the atomic bomb not only helped end the war, but facilitated the dominance of the United States that the Japanese finally gave in to. In the section titled, NOTES OF THE INTERIM