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How Is The Atomic Bomb Justified Dbq

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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. …show more content…

Document 3 helps expand on the perspective of Harry Stismon which states , “But this deliberate, premeditated destruction was our least abhorrent [horrid] choice. The destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki put an end to the Japanese war. It stopped the fire raids and the strangling blockade; it ended the ghastly specter of a clash of great land armies.” This statement helps understand the mindset of Americans. The atrocities committed by Japan brought the allies together for goodness and the betterment of the entire world. However, this also helps us understand that this evil was necessary as stopping Japan with this major attack also meant for stopping other nations from being threatened further (nations like Russia and …show more content…

Document 7 states “The Japanese had demonstrated near-fanatical resistance, fighting to almost the last man on Pacific islands, committing mass suicide on Saipan and unleashing kamikaze attacks at Okinawa. Fire bombing had killed 100,000 in Tokyo with no discernible political effect. With only two bombs ready (and a third on the way by late August 1945) it was too risky to "waste" one in a demonstration over an unpopulated area such as Tokyo’s harbor. Only the atomic bomb could jolt Japan's leadership to surrender.” With this understanding of this statement we can discern that Japan was willing to go unimaginable lengths in order to win against America as well as not having any room to just surrender and prevent any further damages to both nations. With that being said, we can see that America used the atomic bomb as a pseudo last resort in order to push Japan off its legs and bring good for the rest of those

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Name: Course Instructor: Class: Date: Critical Book Review: Prompt and Utter Destruction Introduction Within weeks, word on the US dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki began to spread that the main reason behind the bombs was to save the lives of Americans (Bernard). It was put that hundreds of thousands of American military causalities were saved through the bombings.

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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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Although this atomic bomb appeared to be needed, it was seen to be an immoral instrument of destruction by many. The Nippon Times had stated, “This is not war; this is not even murder, this is pure nihilism. This is a crime against God and humanity which strikes at the very basis of moral existence” (David M., 419). In addition, there was no advantage of hurling the bomb without announcing the possession of it to Japan. Through this announcement, Japan may have been more aware of the true power America had and may have resulted in them surrendering (David M., 421).

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At the end of World War II we still had one more stubborn enemy the Japanese. After Hitler's defeat two chooses arose to deal with the Japanese. One attack the mainland or use the United States secret weapon. If the United States wouldn’t have used this weapon the Japanese still thought they could win and would they would all rather die than lose the war. The Japanese were the main reason the United States joined the war because of pearl harbor.

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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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The doubts about the U.S. decision in 1945 have been discussed, analyzed, and there are still many controversies. In August 1945, the U.S. decided to use both of its two atomic bombs on Japan to end the war between them during WWII. The atomic bomb has killed about 200,000 people in the Japanese community and brought destruction to the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Even though the bomb had terminated the war by Japan surrendering, there were many who were against the action of using the bomb. The reason behind that perspective is that many innocent people have died, and Japan was near surrendering, so there was no need for a major event.

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The deployment of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki by President Truman during WWII is a contentious issue still debated today. With an aim to achieve victory over Japan without any further loss of life or military resources, some say that his decision was logical and ultimately successful in accomplishing national goals. However, others regard this act as immoral claiming that such violence could never be justifiable under any circumstance. In support of dropping the atomic bomb, proponents asserted that it was crucial to quickly end the war and avoid further loss of American lives. According to Document 3, Secretary Stimson believed that deploying the bomb was crucial to quickly end the conflict and avoid a land invasion of Japan, which would have caused more American lives to be lost.

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Women and children were killed, and entire cities were erased from existence. This clear lack of respect and ethical reasoning highlights that there were more negatives than benefits of the bombs. Document 8 says, “The record of General Macarthur’s operations from 1 March 1944 through 1 May 1945 shows 13,742 US killed compared to 310,165 Japanese killed.” These numbers support the fact that the number of Japanese casualties far exceeded that of America. The decision to drop the atomic bomb added to this total, and made the comparison between American and Japanese deaths even more striking.

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The decision to drop the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was justified because, in war, death will happen no matter what, the Japanese had already done so much damage to the US with Pearl Harbor, they had it

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This led to the use of the atomic bomb as a military weapon to defeat Japan. Document 3, shows an image of the U.S. holding onto Tokyo, Japan, while shoving an aid raid into their mouth with the text “A taste of his own medicine”. Based on the text, this indicates that Japan has treated the U.S. harshly enough for the U.S. to take revenge on Japan. For example, the Pearl Harbor incident where many American lives were at the cost of Japan’s surprise attack. This made the U.S. angry at how Japan deceived them because Japan delegated that they wouldn't attack them.

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“I was informed that such operations might be expected to cost over a million casualties, to American forces alone” (Document A). In addition, if American did not bomb Japan, then there will be more American casualties. With using the bomb, it help to insure that there will be less American casualties. “Others emphasize the opportunity of saving American lives by immediate military use, and believe that such use will improve the international prospects, in that they are more concerned with the prevention of war than with the elimination of this special weapon” (Document G). Hence with uses of the bomb, it help to insure that there will be less American

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927 Words | 4 Pages

The atomic bomb dropping was the last resort for the Americans during the brutal pacific front warfare. Fighting the war on the pacific homefront was different than in Europe because the terrain was different, the weather was vastly different, and the jungles were booby-trapped. The Americans tried the strategy of island hopping, the goal was to take over the islands one by one, and work closer to the mainland. They also wanted to establish bases on those islands and be closer to the enemy. The Japanese had the bushido mentality; death before dishonor.

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The background essay states that, “there was reason to believe that the war could be won without either the atomic bomb or a land invasion. This was because an allied naval blockade had already put a stranglehold on Japan. The Japanese people were facing the prospect of slow starvation.” The US military and government “understood that such an invasion might cost hundreds of thousands of lives,” yet they still chose to go through with the bombing. Anteceding this, the US had “cracked Japan’s diplomatic code and learned that the Japanese had approached the Soviet Union to help negotiate surrender.”

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852 Words | 4 Pages

In fact, Ralph A. Bard, Undersecretary of the Navy wrote to Secretary of War Stimson in a June 27, 1945 memorandum. “I define this decision as an emotional and reckless decision, Japanese government may be searching for some opportunity which they could use as a medium of surrender” (Bard). In fact, the Japanese government expressed desire to end the war, and would have accepted conditional surrender before the mainland invasion in November. The reason for dropping the bomb was forcing Japan to surrender unconditionally. In America’s opinion, Japan had lost the war; they did not have any capital to negotiate with.

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942 Words | 4 Pages

On August 6, 1945, the United States of America dropped the world’s first atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, a decision that ushered in the nuclear age and marked the end of World War II. When the atomic bomb exploded 70,000 people were killed instantly and thousands more died of radiation sickness within weeks. Three days later, a second bomb killed 40,000 people in Nagasaki (Lawton 4). Was the United States justified in the dropping of the atomic bombs? The use of the atomic bomb have been questioned for the past 73 years.

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