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Is War Ever Justified

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The question whether war is ever justified, and if so under what circumstances, is one which has been forcing itself upon the attention of all thoughtful individuals in looking at the utilitarian and deontological view on the ethics of war I found that both schools of ethics lead to difficulties when considering the rights and wrongs of warfare. To analyze the ethics involve I started with researching what is war and the history surrounding my topic of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. War is considered an armed conflict by a government or other large organization to stop or defeat something that is viewed as dangerous or bad.
August 6th and August 9th 1945, were days that brought an enormous change to the history of the world. On these days in Hiroshima …show more content…

The debate over the legitimacy of the atomic bombings of Japan generally revolves around what it was going to take to get Japan to agree to an unconditional surrender and what that might cost in American and Japanese lives. Those who supported the use of the bomb took the utilitarian view that it would end the war quickly and thereby save even greater numbers of American and Japanese lives by avoiding an Allied invasion of the home islands. In the context of The Just War Theory, however, the issue still comes down to the legitimacy of targeting civilians in industrial cities this line had already been crossed. Utilitarian considerations, such as the doctrine of double effect, only apply if the intended target is indeed military. Strategic bombing in World War II essentially was a decision to kill people not because of their military role, but because of their nationality. The United States decision to bombing Hiroshima and Nagasaki in my opinion based on the Just War Theory was not justified, because the Japanese nationals were punished collectively because of the actions of their

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Prompt And Utter Destruction Summary

1394 Words | 6 Pages

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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How Did Truman Use The Atomic Bomb Dbq

301 Words | 2 Pages

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).

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Potsdam Declaration Dbq

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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Was Hiroshima Justified Dbq Essay

697 Words | 3 Pages

Kids and others frightened at the sights they saw when the blackness rose, skin burned off, people holding an organ, and many other frightening things. Was the dropping the bomb in both Hiroshima and Nagasaki justified? Do others believe it was a good idea? The correct answer is we don’t know. Just like many other political statements, millions disagree on this topic.

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Atomic Bomb Justified Dbq

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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Drop The Bomb Dbq

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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To What Extent Was Truman Justified In Dropping The Atomic Bomb

608 Words | 3 Pages

WWII-Atomic Bomb Thousands and thousands of kids, families gone in seconds from one bomb that was ordered to hit the enemy forces by the United States president. The U.S had a tough decision to make when fighting the second world war and when the first know thing was made called the atomic bomb. The question is, was president Truman justified in dropping the two atomic bombs and killing thousands of lives in a blink of an eye to end the war? Truman wasn’t justified in dropping the bomb because of all the lives that had to be sacrificed. If he just stuck to the original plan and kept going from island to island then maybe less lives would of been taken.

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Hiroshima Bombing Dbq

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Nagasaki was a strategic place to drop the bomb because of the torpedo plant, but Hiroshima only had a military base, so why drop on Hiroshima? Therefore, was the United States’ decision ethical and fair to the

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Essay On Was The Us Justified In Dropping The Bomb On Japan

728 Words | 3 Pages

That is to say, the U.S. had believed it was only fair that they avenge the death of their fallen soldiers. In the end, the U.S. was not justified in the bombing of the Japanese because due to this atomic weapon, many innocent lives were taken as a result of using the atomic weapon for something other than deterrent, defense

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Atomic Bombing Dbq

1327 Words | 6 Pages

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.

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Rhetorical Analysis Of Truman's Announcement Of The Atomic Bomb

630 Words | 3 Pages

Imagine living in a period in which the realities of war encased the world, and the lethal potential to end all suffering was up to a single being. During World War II, tensions between Japan and the United States increased. Despite pleas from US President, Harry Truman, for Japan to surrender, the Japanese were intent on continuing the fight. As a result, Truman ordered the atomic bomb, a deadly revolution in nuclear science, to be dropped on the towns of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. President Harry Truman, in his speech, “Announcement of the Dropping of the Atomic Bomb,” supports his claim that the dropping of the A-bomb shortened the war, saved lives, and got revenge by appealing to American anger by mentioning traumatic historical events and

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Just War Theory: The American Revolutionary War

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War is a conflict that has been seen by every human civilization to some extent, and is sure to be seen by those in the future. These hostile situations can be caused by a variety of situations, including land, resources, philosophy, and religion. Though the exact cause and result of each war is different, there are ways to gauge the effectiveness and permissibility of the actions of governments and armed forces during war. This is the premise of Just War Theory. Just War is philosophy of rating a war as ethically just or not, which has three basic requirements along with a scale for comparison.

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Atomic Bomb Justified Research Paper

1838 Words | 8 Pages

The atomic bomb made this justified because this made the long lasting war end and people knew they were going to survive and see their loved ones again. Soldiers have been exhausted physically and mentally thought the war and

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Persuasive Essay On Hiroshima And Nagasaki

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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Why Was Hiroshima Justified

1840 Words | 8 Pages

the bomb’s code name was “Little Boy”. Three days later, on August 9th, 1945, America dropped another bomb on Nagasaki with the code name “Fat Man”. As many as 200,000 deaths were caused by “Little Boy” alone and many people would die of radiation for years to come. The dropping of the Atom bomb on Hiroshima is an extremely debatable issue with no right or wrong answer. In this essay I will describe both sides to the argument then conclude using my final opinion on whether I am for or against the dropping of the bomb on Hiroshima.

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