Persuasive Essay: The Use Of Atomic Bombs In WWII

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The Use of Atomic Bombs in WWII Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bombs on Japan in WWII was not the correct course of action. In August 1945, two atomic bombs were dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the US. The decision was not the correct course of action because Japan was most likely already facing surrender, the US could have dropped a bomb in a less populated area, and it was not morally justified to kill innocent civilians. Japan was most likely planning to surrender before the US had dropped the atomic bombs, according to the U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey. Killing hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians, even though they were planning on surrendering, is not acceptable. The U.S. Strategic Bombing survey found that 74% of urban areas in Japan entertained doubts about a Japanese victory and nearly 50% in urban areas felt certain that victory for Japan was impossible (U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey, 1945). This proves that the Japanese would soon have surrendered, even without the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. …show more content…

Tokyo Bay would have been a much better location to bomb because it would destroy the emperor and other Japanese leaders. The bombs would still be taken as a very serious threat, and would cause the Japanese to surrender, without the need to kill so many people. During WWII, Japan had 3.2 million casualties, and contributing greatly to that number was wrong (Source 3). Also, the US faced the risk of upsetting the Japanese further by killing so many civilians, and causing hatred and danger to the US, but if they would have bombed a location like Tokyo Bay, they could have minimized death, anger, and still had the outcome of