Atomic Bomb Dbq Essay

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Was America right to use atomic weapons against Japan? The dropping of the atomic bomb in Japan at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, was the end of WWII. However, there has been much conflict considering the use of the bomb. In this essay, I will discuss reasons from both sides of the argument and justify my opinion. 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 …show more content…

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. With a demonstration it would for one, give the Japanese proof of the bomb and two, show them how destructive the bomb is. Furthermore, an attack on civilians is not regarded, despite the extent they are involved in the war effort. The military is a force that knows that they are putting their life on the line for their country, willingly making a commitment and understanding death is a possibility. However civilians are entirely different, as their involvement in war is scarce. They cannot be considered necessary to a war effort. Thinking with a humane mindset it is more ethical to continue to fight a long and hard struggle, rather than slaughter many innocent