Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
Uses of atomic bomb in world war 2
The atomic bomb for and against
The Truman Dilemma
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Uses of atomic bomb in world war 2
The atomic bomb for and against
The Truman Dilemma
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
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).
Szilard’s Last Resort Imagine being the ultimate decision maker responsible for deciding if the world’s deadliest weapon should be used on your enemy’s cities. In 1945, this was the position Harry S. Truman was in, but fortunately, he did have advisers who were willing to voice their opinions. Leo Szilard’s petition to the president claims that the atomic bomb should not be used on Japan based on the current stage of the war.
The Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Harry S. Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bomb is one of the biggest and deadliest controversial turning points in history. America’s president, Truman, decided that on August 6, 1945, the atomic bomb would be dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end World War II. President Truman’s choice to drop the bomb on Japan was considered one of the most debatable turning points. The settlement to drop this bomb was a wrong decision because this bomb killed more than 70,000 innocent people with 10,000’s dying later. Also, bombing a country that was going to surrender in a few months would not be necessary, and last but not least, the atomic bomb could give ideas for the world to start nuclear warfare.
The reason they say that Truman decided to drop the atomic bombs was so that they could try to get ahead of the Soviet Union. Gar Alperovitz is one of the most popular advocators for this reason. He stated that Truman dropped the bombs to demonstrate the power of America, and so that Russia could not enter the war to get new territorial acquisitions. If the Soviet Union was allowed to enter the war, then they could get some of the Japanese assets in China, which would have favored Russia greatly. Alperovitz’s conclusion was that Truman did this “to convince the Russians to accept the American plan for a stable peace”(Harry).
The U.S. carelessly made decisions about the atomic bomb and how it would be used. The United State’s main focal point was to assure that Japan will surrender but the U.S. never thought about the outcomes and how it would affect Japan. Doc A states, “Truman believed that it was his duty as president to use every weapon available to save American lives.” This reveals how the president selfishly made this decision thinking only about his nation’s safety while not even considering the lives that would be deeply affected in Japan. Document A again explains how American officials were already debating on how to use the atomic bomb without even knowing how this powerful bomb would work.
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
Paul Ryan once said, “If we don't make tough decisions today our children are going to have to make much, much tougher decisions tomorrow.” This is relevant to Harry Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bomb because he had to make a difficult decision that affected many people and their children. Harry Truman made the right decision in dropping the atomic bomb. The atom bomb should have been dropped because it saved millions of American lives. Also, the atomic bomb was an extreme form of revenge for the attack of Pearl Harbor.
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.
The first reason they should have not uses atomic bombs is because the Japanese did not have enough time to look for an opportunity to surrender. According to Ralph A. Bard, that was the United States undersecretary of the Navy during World war II in June 27 1945, the Japanese were looking for a reason to surrender, so before the bomb is actually used, “Japan should have some preliminary warning... the Japanese government may be searching for some opportunity which...use a medium of surrender”( Document 2). In this quote, he says that the Japanese should have more time or warning before dropping the bomb because he feels that this would give them the perfect opportunity they are looking for to surrender and end the war. He also says that the United States is a “great humanitarian nation” with a “fair play attitude.”
On August 6th, 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Two days later, the Soviet Union invaded Japan, sweeping through their Northernmost main island. The next day, we dropped another bomb on Nagasaki. With each bomb, tens thousands of people were killed instantly, and many more from the aftereffects of the bombling. We all know about this, but what most people don’t know about is the why we dropped it instead of invading Japan or just doing normal bombing and increasing the naval blockade.
That being patience, The U.S. would have to wait a fairly long time for all of these plans to actually work. Japan’s forces were relentless when it came to surrendering, they would go as far as enrolling citizens no matter their age or suicide bombing (Kamikaze). Dropping the Atomic Bomb on Japan would not only end the war but fix many additional issues that the U.S. were facing. As well as potentially saving hundreds of thousands of American lives compared to the conventional war plan. In Choices, Truman, Hirohito, and the Atomic Bomb, it notes, “The interim Committee additionally concluded that using the atomic bomb to end the war would make the Soviet Union ‘more manageable in the postwar world.”(pg.63)
If they dropped the atomic bomb on Japan, they would not have to worry about them fighting back and would not have to keep making more weapons just to defeat the Japanese. It is expensive to manufacture weapons over and over, dropping the atomic bomb would just be a one time thing and it would save time as well. Also, If the Americans and Japanese fought on the island of Kyushu, then more Americans would die as well, if they dropped the atomic bomb then lots of lives would be saved. Also, Nicholas Kristoff said that military officials were likely to fight on, furiously, until the end willing to "Sacrifice 20 million Japanese lives," as late as August of 1945.” (Doc. I)
Thesis statement: Though many speculate that the act of dropping the atomic bomb on Japan (Hiroshima and Nagasaki) while not doing so on Europe (Germany and Italy) was racially motivated, racism played little to no role in these bombings. The United States of America and her allies were willing to end World War II at any cost, had the atomic bombs been available they would have been deployed in Europe. In the 1940’s there is no doubt that the United States of America was engulfed by mass anti-Japanese hysteria which inevitably bled over into America’s foreign policy. During this period Japanese people living in both Japan and the United States of America were seen as less that human.
President Truman and his associates believed that if they dropped the bomb they would receive surrender from Japan. Thus, saving millions of American lives, and ending the war. Nevertheless, by saving American lives they would sacrifice thousands of Japanese civilians. They had other idea to have Japan to surrender, but were willing to take the one that would have the most consequences. They were thinking too much about the US instead of creating actually peace within the nations.
As all the world has known, the biggest atomic bomb in warfare history by the end of World War 2 is the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima that hit on August 9th, 1945 by the direct order of our 33rd president of The United States Of America; Harry S. Truman. He thought this bomb would bring a close ending of the war (World War 2) and it definitely did but it was too much to handle afterwards when it hit. There was no choice for Truman because there was no other way to bring the war into a close. It was the last call, but they didn’t realize that after they released the bomb, it was hard to decide whether it was a mistake or the right decision. The bomb killed innocent people of 199,000 (plus more).