ipl-logo

How Did Truman Have The Right To Drop The Atomic Bomb On Japan

761 Words4 Pages

The Atomic bomb is a release of nuclear energy, due to the sudden release in energy it causes a violent explosive power, creating a tremendous amount of damage. In Hiroshima, the Atomic bomb killed 14,800 more people per square mile than the traditional fire bomb (National Archives United States). The war in the Pacific, against Japan was the first war in history to practice nucleic weapons. It is believed that when Truman was faced with the choice on whether or not to drop the bombs, despite his morals, he decided that dropping the bomb was essential to scaring and dismissing Russia. Which brings us to 1945 on August 6th when the first Atomic bomb was dropped, even though Truman did not have the right to drop the Atomic bombs on Japan. Firebombing was working to defeat Japan, Truman’s first priority should have been defeating Japan, not being focussed on Russia, and the people of Japan had nothing to do with it so we shouldn’t be killing them. Because of the Atomics bombs being such a devastating and heavyhearted time, 72 years …show more content…

They’re mindset is if you stand on the battlefield you are to devote your body and soul till honorable death or victory (Japanese View History Second War). They would argue that the Atomic bomb is the only way that we could’ve gotten Japan to surrender. But that point is invalid and incorrect because it states, “Japanese soldiers”, the US bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Hiroshima and Nagasaki were critical parts of Japan that had innocent civilians living in them, not Japanese soldiers who would do anything to have victory or honorable death. It was unreasonable to bomb the innocent children and wives who had nothing to do with any of it. To conclude, Truman did not have the right to drop the Atomic bombs on Japan because by dropping them he killed innocent children and families who had nothing to do with the

Show More
Related
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
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
775 Words | 4 Pages

Truman and the A-bomb The drop of the Atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the following Japanese surrender on September 2nd was the way Truman and the United States ended the bloodiest war ever fought in history. Nowadays there is a lot of speculating on whether or not the president chose the best option by using doing so. Although there is still a strong moral controversy about the bombing, this writer’s opinion is that Truman made, after all, the best thing among his other options. Just saying that dropping the A-bomb was the right thing to do is not enough without the proper explanation.

Read More
174 Words | 1 Pages

The atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II serve as examples of the advancement of warfare technology the United States had made. However, the atomic bomb drop was unnecessary and simply used as a display of power by the Truman administration. Although the Japanese were certainly defeated and close to surrender Truman’s administration decided to drop the bombs in order to ensure that the United States was the sole victor of the war without relying on their Soviet allies. Truman was intolerant of communism and afraid that allowing Joseph Stalin have any influence during the war would spread communism. Therefore, Truman took the decision to drop the atomic bombs which then served as what historians call it “atomic

Read More
905 Words | 4 Pages

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

Read More
506 Words | 3 Pages

The answer is very simple. America knew the risk being taken if Japan didn’t surrender and that is why America dropped a second atom bomb on Nagasaki to make sure they would surrender. In conclusion, Truman was justified in dropping the atomic bomb on Japan to end WWII. It was a demonstration and act of strategy, moral and politics.

Read More
466 Words | 2 Pages

After Hiroshima, Japan still refused to surrender so Truman dropped another bomb at Nagasaki. Nagasaki ended up with around 80,000 casualties and it ended up being the last bomb that Truman dropped because Japan unconditionally surrendered. With a death toll of over 210,000 Japanese and an estimated 12 Americans, the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings have left a large mark in history as some of the deadliest bombings in history. Truman had other options aside from bombing large cities in Japan. This is why many people are split on whether he was justified or not.

Read More
721 Words | 3 Pages

The first reason that the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were somewhat justified is the the Japanese would not surrender without the bombs being dropped. This is clearly shown by a Japanese slogan in the summer of 1945 that says “The sooner the [the

Read More
840 Words | 4 Pages

Over half a century has passed since the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but the debate over the decision to drop it is still alive and well. While there are valid points for both sides, the evidence and reason shown leans in favor of the side protesting the dropping of the bombs. The atomic bombs have caused so many problems since they have been dropped - problems that could have easily been prevented. If Truman just stopped to assess the situation with a clearer perspective, he would easily be able to see that the dropping of such a bomb would leave lasting psychological and physical negative effects, that Japan was already in a fragile state and would have surrendered soon anyways, and that if he were to go through with the atomic bombs he should have at least warned Japan.

Read More
794 Words | 4 Pages

Truman’s intention was “to save as many American lives as possible” and be compassionate for the women and children in Japan (Truman). The actions taken by the United States towards Japan were unethical, but mandatory. The Bombing of Hiroshima killed and injured thousands of people. Many homes were lost and structures were demolished (“New Bomb…”). Nevertheless, Japan was starting to fall.

Read More
876 Words | 4 Pages

Firstly, the American government was actively rounding up American citizens who had Japanese descent for fear of them being spies for Japan. For this reason, I believe it this choice was not made in the best interest of the Japanese people and it was easy for President Truman to look at the Japanese causalities as numbers, rather than people. Secondly, I feel this choice was made to completely demoralize the Japanese people from going to war again as punishment for Pearl Harbor. To support this point, Hiroshima and Nagasaki were not military bases they were populated cities filled with noncombatants. I feel President Truman made this choice to end the war as quickly as possible with the smallest number of American casualties with the bonus of getting vengeance for Pearl

Read More
1817 Words | 8 Pages

When Truman was considering using the atomic bomb to end the war with Japan in the Pacific, he had many things to consider. One of the major considerations was the moral aspect of how many Japanese civilians would die in an invasion versus a bombing. Based on the behavior of both the Japanese Imperial Army and the United States Army, it has been estimated that a land invasion would have ultimately led to 5-10 million Japanese casualties which was significantly higher than the 200,000 that were killed across both the bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Choosing the option that results in fewer casualties is morally superior and by using the atomic bomb, Truman was able to accomplish this. The atomic bomb allowed the Japanese to avoid a long, agonizing end to the war, and despite the deaths that did occur, it was the moral decision for the pain it prevented.

Read More
508 Words | 3 Pages

During the war, the important decision to use atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August of 1945 was both dangerous and a controversial issue. People may have argued that the atomic bombs used were needed in order to win this war, others also believe that it had caused an unnecessary amount of death and suffering. The use of atomic bombs by the United States in the war was unjustified for both parties that had been involved. During this time, Japan was ready to leave and surrender[1], saying bombs that were used were not necessary. Some Japanese diplomats had been negotiating with allies such as the Soviet Union, using negotiators as a type of sweet talk with other allies.

Read More
556 Words | 3 Pages

The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki has been controversal for decades. Truman’s decision is correct because Hiroshima still is a symbol of triumph ending a horrendous global conflict. Truman and his advisors were confused about whether they should bomb Hiroshima or not. Also Henry Stimson wanted to warn Japan about the bomb so they could surrenodor. But Truman also affected hundred thousand lives.

Read More
683 Words | 3 Pages

Truman wanted to show dominance over the Soviet Union by giving Japan no warning about the bombings. He wanted to show off America’s scientists while bringing the war closer to an end. The bombs were dropped on populated cities with no defense, not on military bases. Death in war is only legal against military, not civilians. The radiation created many environmental problems, like mutilated animals and affected rainfall.

Read More

More about How Did Truman Have The Right To Drop The Atomic Bomb On Japan

Open Document