ipl-logo

Atomic Bomb Argumentative Essay

1242 Words5 Pages

In just one minute after being dropped, the atomic bomb exploded on Hiroshima, killing about 140,000 people in the blink of an eye. This forced Japan to surrender to the United States, ending the war effective immediately. However, was Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bomb a military necessity? This has long been a question that may people have pondered. Some say that the bomb was not needed; the Japanese could not handle another invasion of the U.S. military and would have given up anyways. On the other hand, some people say that Truman made the right decision to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki because more American soldiers would have been injured or killed invading Japan. There can be many arguments to support both sides …show more content…

They say that it killed many innocent people in Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and the surrounding cities that were impacted by the blast. However, as stated earlier in the paper, more people were killed by invasions and air raids than the atomic bombs. So, in comparison, the bombs didn’t kill very many people. Another good point the other side can make is that Japan would have surrendered anyway, even if the atomic bombs had not been used. Maybe they would have eventually given up and surrendered to the US, but more soldiers’ lives would have been taken for the Japanese to realize that they were already basically defeated. Back in the article, “70 years ago, World War II ends in a flash” by Thomas Stearman, it says, “Japanese forces were outnumbered by U.S. forces five to one, yet it took us 83 days to defeat them, but then only when most of the 130,000 defenders had been killed. (U.S. killed was 12,613).” (Paragraph 4) Many Japanese soldiers were dying, they were outnumbered “five to one,” and even with the bombs, it took them 83 days to surrender. However, 130,000 soldiers were already dead. If we had not used the bombs, the war would’ve lasted longer, and more people would have died. All in all, the atomic bombs helped the United States win the

Show More
Related

Pros And Cons Of Truman's Decision

430 Words | 2 Pages

Truman’s Decision President Truman was justified in his decision to drop the atomic bombs in Japan. Truman faced many pros and cons of his decision, however, the pros outweighed the cons. There were very few alternatives to the extreme, the casualties in the Pacific were growing and the rate the war it would save lives. Although, there were many lives lost Truman made the right decision for his country.

Read More

Pros And Cons Of Truman And The Use Of Atomic Bombs

642 Words | 3 Pages

But he had no compelling reason to do so. The bomb provided a promising way to bring about a prompt Japanese surrender without the disadvantages of other alternatives, and in Truman’s mind, its use did not require a lengthy consideration” (Walker pg. 96). After the bombs were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, people decided that the bombs were actually required. The people thought that if the bombs weren’t dropped, thousands of American lives would have died while America invaded Japan. The problem with this logic is that many people died in those bombings.

Read More

How Did Truman Use The Atomic Bomb Dbq

301 Words | 2 Pages

As stated in document A, President Truman believed that it was his duty as president to use every weapon available to save American lives. By making the decision to employ atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it successfully brought an end to World War II. Now, while these bombs did ultimately spare thousands of American lives, it did also put an end to about 200,000 lives as shown in document E. Document A stated that Admiral William Leahy, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, opposed using the bomb because it killed civilians indiscriminately. He believed that an economic blockade and conventional bombing would convince Japan to surrender. As an opposite end of the spectrum though Truman’s advisor, James Byrnes thought that the use of “the A-bombs would not only cause Japan to surrender, but also impress the Soviet Union, and hopefully stop its expansion” (Doc C).

Read More

Truman Justified Dbq

798 Words | 4 Pages

It stopped the fire raids, and the strangling blockade; it ended the ghastly specter of a clash of great land armies” (Doc 5). This quote from Henry Stimson explains how the fighting between Japan and America was like no other, the militaries were very powerful and that meant there would be more blood, and more death, and the use of the Atomic bomb was the least horrific outcome to the war. Secondly, the use of the atomic bomb saved many lives on both sides of the war, and that is another example of why Truman’s decision is justified. The reason President Truman’s decision is justified is because the bomb saved many lives on both sides of the war, even though there were innocent deaths, there would have been hundreds of thousands to even millions of deaths on each side of the war, so yes the decision is justified because it ended the chances of dying in war drastically. One piece of evidence from the pilot of the Enola Gay states “I am convinced that we saved more lives than we took.

Read More

Truman Made The Right Decision Dbq

645 Words | 3 Pages

Truman’s decision to bomb Japan was right for many reasons. One piece of evidence that shows Truman made the right decision is when Japan captured our American troops and kept them as prisoners, they beat and starved them and even went as far as executing them, he talks about this in his radio report to the American people. " against those who have starved and beaten and executed American prisoners of war" (DocF). A second piece of evidence that shows Truman made the right decision is he was just trying to save the lives of thousands and thousands of young Americans. He talks about both of these pieces of evidence in his radio to the American people. "

Read More

Harry Truman Dbq

179 Words | 1 Pages

President Harry Truman was justified in dropping the atomic bomb since it saved millions of American lives by ending the war as soon as possible, and established the United States as the greatest country in the world. With the bomb, America could “attack those that have hurt [America]” and save many American lives (Truman, Doc A). As part as revenge for Pearl Harbor, America was able to redeem itself against Japan with this bomb. It would make a statement to the world and force an unconditional surrender from Japan, as fast as possible. That would end the war and potentially save millions of young American soldiers.

Read More

Why We Have Dropped The Atomic Bomb Dbq

985 Words | 4 Pages

So, Truman made the difficult but necessary decision to drop the first atomic bombs. The mass destruction caused the Japanese to realize that they had already lost the war, and they needed to give up. All in all, the action taken by President Harry S. Truman was the right decision because it ended the war and saved American soldiers’

Read More

Atomic Bomb Dbq Essay

611 Words | 3 Pages

To begin, these bombings were unjustified based on the moral principles the United States broke. In Document D, readers are told one survivor’s experience the day of the Hiroshima attack and the hysteria the bomb caused. The survivor confirms the dangerous smoke, dust, and debris in the air and the suffering residents went through. These bombs caused pregnant women to birth babies with birth defects, radiation exposure, and an increase in cancer rates in the nation (Counting the Dead). In Document G, the Commander of the U.S. Army Air Force at the time discusses other effects the bombs caused, like hundreds of thousands of deaths, a greater number of wounded

Read More

Atomic Bomb Dbq Essay

676 Words | 3 Pages

At this point in the war America had already suffered losses of more than 418,000 lives, both military and civilian. Thanks to the manhattan project they had a weapon of mass destruction within their grasp, the atomic bomb. It is right to say that the use of the weapon helped to near the end of WWII. Germany was already out of the picture, but Japan held its strength, conquering several hundred islands in the Indian Ocean. In an article

Read More

Dbq Essay On Hiroshima And Nagasaki

517 Words | 3 Pages

The deployment of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki by President Truman during WWII is a contentious issue still debated today. With an aim to achieve victory over Japan without any further loss of life or military resources, some say that his decision was logical and ultimately successful in accomplishing national goals. However, others regard this act as immoral claiming that such violence could never be justifiable under any circumstance. In support of dropping the atomic bomb, proponents asserted that it was crucial to quickly end the war and avoid further loss of American lives. According to Document 3, Secretary Stimson believed that deploying the bomb was crucial to quickly end the conflict and avoid a land invasion of Japan, which would have caused more American lives to be lost.

Read More

Argumentative Essay On Dropping The Atomic Bomb

863 Words | 4 Pages

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.

Read More

Hiroshima Bombing Argumentative Essay

797 Words | 4 Pages

The atomic bomb was a terrible thing. It killed 150,000 in Hiroshima and 75,000 in Nagasaki, plus many survivors became horribly disfigured from the intensive heat, and death from radiation is uncertain it may not kill the victims for days, weeks, months, or even years. (Although the bomb did save the USA from sending foot soldier to Japan, the Japanese were ready to surrender on terms that they can keep their empire and we had no need to use it). Japan was the first to feel the destructive power of the atomic bomb. Killing a quarter of a million people and costing two billion dollars of war replenish.

Read More

Atomic Bomb Persuasive Essay

735 Words | 3 Pages

Japan was losing yet they were not willing to surrender so he had to decide the best way to end the war quickly with the least amount of casualties. He decided to drop the atomic bomb and we still talk about this important decision today. Although the atomic bomb caused major destruction in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, President Truman thought it was a military necessity to end world war II and justified by the fact that the bomb forced Japan to surrender, it ended the war quickly, and it saved thousands of lives. First of all, Japan was unwilling to surrender so this meant that the war could have continued for numerous months. They showed no indication of surrender and if the fighting would have continued

Read More

The Atomic Bomb Argumentative Essay

581 Words | 3 Pages

President Truman was treating people even worst by putting them through the torture of the bomb and the resulting effects of the bomb. Time became a major factor into the decision, and dropping the bomb was a result of that fear. On the other side of the argument, the Japanese did bomb Pearl Harbor which was the catalyst that got America involved in the first place. We as a country should not need to compromise with the nation who started the battle.

Read More

Atomic Bomb Persuasive Essay

775 Words | 4 Pages

Many people are for it, while many people are against it. Personally, I can see the reasoning from both sides. Some people say that it was unacceptable that we used the atomic bomb, because although the Japanese attacked us first, they feel it was unjust to the Japanese to hit them back in such an intense way. People who see it negatively mostly say their reasoning is that the two atomic bombs hit and killed many innocent women, children, and families. Although this may be true many feel as though they are ignoring the fact of the offensive attack the the Japanese took upon

Read More

More about Atomic Bomb Argumentative Essay

Related Topics

Open Document