How Did The Us Dropped The Atomic Bomb Dbq

If a nuclear bomb was dropped today, it would most certainly lead to a nuclear war killing many people. But, in 1945, two atomic bombs were dropped on Japan by the United States just to end World War Two. Or one thinks so. Another theory about the atomic bomb droppings claims that the United States dropped the bombs to intimidate the Soviet Union in the post-Second-World-War era. Ultimately, this claim can be seen as credible because the war in Japan was on the brink of ending, the U.S wanted to make the Russians manageable by showing are capability, and America did not want to make allies with the Soviets. But, the statement can also be incredible in that the argument that the bombs were dropped to force surrender and to save lives is very

The releasing of the atomic bombs to intimidate the Soviets in the years after World War Two is a valid claim because the war in Japan was virtually over, the United States thought detonating the bombs would make the USSR controllable, and the United States wanted to avoid an alliance with the Soviets. Since the atomic bomb bombardment was very late in the war, it might have seemed unnecessary. As General H. H. Arnold of the American Army once said, “it always appeared to us that, atomic bomb or no atomic bomb, the Japanese were already on the verge of collapse” (Doc B). With the commander of the Army saying that the events at Hiroshima and Nagasaki were not needed, it shows that Truman and the White House coordinated these attacks for more than the obvious reasons. Most likely, it was to send a message to communist Russia and Stalin that the United States is a relentless global power equipped with the best weapons. This decision also sent the message that the United States will go at any lengths to stop what they perceive as “bad” or “evil” (communism) and would help start the Cold War as Russia began to develop true “evil” with their bombs. Along with the war in Japan practically over, making the USSR manageable for the U.S makes the claim

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. The great Winston Churchill in a recollection stated “We seemed suddenly to have become possessed of a merciful abridgment of the slaughter in the East and of a far happier prospect in Europe. I have no doubt that these thoughts were present in the minds of my American friends” (Doc E). Similarly to