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Atomic Bombing Dbq

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Essay To what extent were the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki justifiable? The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have been controversial. There is much controversy over the issue of whether or not the bombings were necessary to ensure Japanese surrender in the Second World War, on terms satisfactory to the United States of America. Taking Japan’s impending surrender into consideration, the usage of the atomic bombs was militarily unnecessary and immoral. Further, it lead to the extensive loss of civilian life, therefore making these bombings justifiable only to a lesser extent. However, supporters of the bombings generally are of the opinion that they were instrumental in the Japanese surrender. These supporters also believe …show more content…

It provided the tool that finally broke the deadlock between the acceptance of the Allied terms of unconditional surrender and the Japanese government (Source D, Extract 1). Also, it made a land invasion unnecessary (saving many lives, both Japanese and American), and provided Americans with a means to retaliate for Pearl Harbour, whilst also protecting America from further attacks by Japan (Source F). Furthermore, the atomic bombs were supposedly dropped on military bases (Source F). This was done, supposedly, in order to limit loss of life as the intention was to simply illustrate to the Japanese the determination of the Allies to use weapons of mass destruction until the terms of unconditional surrender were accepted (Source A, Extract …show more content…

However, this is a weak defence when taking Japan’s imminent defeat and peace efforts, as well as the likelihood of Japan’s surrender before the land invasion, into consideration. Furthermore, the usage of the bombs only accelerated the surrender of an already defeated enemy and resulted in high civilian casualty rates. This, along with the ulterior motives in the bomb’s usage, undermines any kind of justification even further. The usage of the atomic bombs was both highly immoral and militarily unnecessary, and had no function in bringing the war to an

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636 Words | 3 Pages

On August 6, 1945, the U.S. made history with a fatal blow to the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that ended WWII. To this day there is a controversy on whether the dropping of the atomic bomb, ordered by President Harry S. Truman, was justified or not, but in fact, it was. Thousands of Japanese would perish, but this act would, in turn, saved American lives and end the war. Throughout various battles, the Japanese consistently crossed lines of ethics of warfare, and in an attempt to bring justice and an end to the war Truman put forth a plan to bomb Japan. President Truman warned Japan of the upcoming attack and gave demands, but in the end, the Japanese denied those negotiations which led to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

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227 Words | 1 Pages

As the Japanese forces were considered the aggressors of the conflict by the Allies and Japanese veterans alike, the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was justified. Their aggression previous to the bombing was demonstrated through the attack on Pearl Harbour, which led to America’s involvement in World War II. The attack was not one born out of vengeance and was not strategically logical, whereas there was a reason behind the bombing of Hiroshima, that reason being that the Japanese military would not agree to the clauses presented in the Potsdam Declaration. This declaration was given to the military officials as an invitation to surrender before the first bombing, providing ample time for them to make a decision to hopefully end the

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813 Words | 4 Pages

With more and more US lives being lost or will be lost when invading Japan more and more, the US made the reasonable decision to drop the atomic bombs on Japan because like what Chamber said to win the war you have to end the other side and, “make it terrible, and the war will

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882 Words | 4 Pages

This image shows how big of a threat and danger Japan is- it also shows how important it is to bring Japan down. The atomic bombs are justified because of Japan’s aggressions towards U.S. The United States’ use of atomic bombs on Japan is justifiable because it saved thousands of American lives; the Japanese were given fair warning, and their aggressions towards the U.S.

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791 Words | 4 Pages

From these people's perspective, using the atomic bombs was a wise choice since it has protected many lives, families, and values. As Document 7 stated, a part of the population believed that there wouldn't have been an end to the war against Japan without the use of the atomic bombs, as the Japanese were persistent and would strive to win. According to Document 7, it states, “The Japanese refused to surrender,, fighting to almost the last man in every battle, committing mass suicide on Saipan, and unleashing suicide attacks at Okinawa.” This demonstrates that without the atomic bomb, there would’ve been more deaths on both sides as the war would’ve been dragged even further. Another reason why some were convinced that the atomic bomb was the right choice was because the Japanese were not

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345 Words | 2 Pages

Therefore knowing how the Japanese soldiers think about surrendering, the millions of lives saved by ending the war quickly and shortly, and the countless warnings given to the Japanese, I think dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was warranted and

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1248 Words | 5 Pages

As former Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson stated in his memoirs, “The principal, social, and military objectives of the United States in the summer of 1945 was the prompt and complete surrender of Japan” (Doc A). Agreeing with Stimson are a few nuclear physicists who state that an atomic bomb is “the proposal of a purely technical demonstration of that of the military application best designed to induce surrender” (Doc G). This common belief among Stimson and the physicists shows that common thought among the people and even the military itself was that the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were to force Japan to surrender. Even though it is a basic idea, it seems practical because after Pearl Harbor and the “Island Hopping” battles in the Pacific, why wouldn't one want to put an end to all of the chaos in a few seconds? Along with the belief that America was striving for surrender, the thought that America bombed Japan to spare American lives is very understandable and practical.

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863 Words | 4 Pages

The US decision to drop atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 has generated much controversy over the years. Some argue that the bombing was necessary to end World War II, while others believed that more than 200,000 civilians died in vain. The use of this disastrous weapon caused a split in society which came down to the usage being necessary for the victory of the Allied Powers as well as stopping more Japanese crimes or a merciless crime that greatly injured an already kneeling, surrendering nation and caused mass innocent deaths. Due to previous Japanese actions, the dropping of the atomic bomb was justified and needed to be done to protect Americans and other countries oppressed by the Japanese.

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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

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209 Words | 1 Pages

Although others may think differently, this mass killing was not necessary or justified. Japan was almost completely defenseless. According to the document Was The Atomic Bomb Of Japan Necessary, Dwight D.Eisenhower left something clear. “Japan was already defeated and dropping the atomic bomb was completely unnecessary” he said. The document also stated that the Japanese

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1139 Words | 5 Pages

After the bombs were dropped on Japan, the Japanese had officially surrendered their war a couple days afterwards. The destruction and casualties of this bomb was catastrophic. People were burned head to toe, exposure to radiation was severe, and the people were in a state of nightmare. The bomb “had more than two thousand times the blast power of the British Grand Slam, which is the largest bomb ever yet used in the history of warfare.” Japan had to surrender after this attack or they would have faced total destruction from the United States.

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1345 Words | 6 Pages

If people look back into history to the bombing of Japan on August 6, 1945, that killed around 129,000-226,000 people. Thinking that the United States killed that many men, women, and children Japan would have declared an all-out war against the United States. As bad as the effects were on Hiroshima only a few days later the United States dropped another bomb on Nagasaki that left about 80,000 dead and wounded. Even though, those were the only 2 nuclear bombs used ever, but it did indeed deter from World War II because Japan surrendered, but if the Empire of Japan did not surrender the Allied Forces were going to invade the main land of Japan and history states that would be the bloodiest battle ever written in history. On an island around 460 miles 38,000 allied forces were killed or missing and around 107,000 Japanese were killed.

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534 Words | 3 Pages

This caused Japan to surrender, and World War 2 ended. The atomic bomb was justified because the U.S. needed Japan to surrender to end the war. The atomic bomb was justified because it was one of the possible ways to end the war with Japan. Document 1, says “They concluded that no technical demonstration they might propose, such as over a deserted island, would be likely to bring the war to an end”. This indicates that there was no other way of using the same strategies, such as island hopping, which was to capture the surrounding islands to invade Japan.

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852 Words | 4 Pages

In the twentieth century, the United States dropped two atomic bombs, which were the most powerful weapons at that time, on Japan. It happened on August 6 and August 9, 1945. The atomic bombs killed 226,000 Japanese and ended the war. However, America should not have dropped the atomic bombs for two reasons. First, it was not necessary to drop the bomb to win the war militarily or to get the Japanese to surrender.

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965 Words | 4 Pages

Since the Japanese were willing to inflict the most harm possible, the war may have lasted several more years. By 1945, those involved in the war were shattered. Therefore, the use of the atomic bombs was justified because it put an end to an already horrific

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