The Benefits Of Dropping The Atomic Bomb

During World War II, President Harry S. Truman ordered for an atomic bomb to be dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima on August 6th ,1945. The second and last atomic bomb to ever be dropped was in the city of Nagasaki on August 9th, 1945. Many Americans believed dropping the atomic bomb was necessary to end the war in a more timely manner, however, many others believed dropping the atomic bomb was too extreme of a measure to take against Japan. With the creation of the atomic bomb, the United States had a weapon of mass destruction that no one else yet had. Therefore, with the power the atomic bomb possessed, some people believed its use should only be used as a last resort. If Japan would not surrender during this war, then the United

After the attack on Pearl Harbor naval base, many Americans lived in fear of what was to come. With the fear of how the United States would react, multiple notable scientist wrote to President Truman in hopes of convincing him to refrain from the use of a bomb with the amount of power the atomic bomb had. In hopes of convincing the president, they wrote “we...had to fear that the United States might be attacked by atomic bombs…[but] with the defeat of Germany, this danger is averted...atomic bombs may very well be an effective method of warfare [to end the war speedily]...however, attacks on Japan could not be justified...unless terms [were to be] imposed...and Japan were given an opportunity to surrender”. The scientist, who have thoroughly studied atomic power, believe that yes, an atomic bomb would be very effective in ending the war, however, the repercussions would be far worse. The power of the atomic bomb, to some Americans, is too powerful and should not be used during the war against Japan because they believe the war can be fought how every other war has been fought thus far. The scientist as well believed an atomic bomb should only be used as a last resort option if the Japanese shall refuse to surrender. However, if Japan does not

Secretary of War, Henry L. Stinson, met with President Truman “on April 25th, 1945 to discuss the atomic bomb” and later wrote a book called “On Active Service In Peace And War”. During this meeting, it was discussed that “within four months we shall in all probability have completed the most terrible weapon ever known in human history, one bomb of which that could destroy a whole city”. Many test were performed on the atomic bomb before it was used on Japan and the conclusion of the bomb being “estimated to have been as at least as destructive as 20,000 tons of TNT”. Americans knew that if the United States were to drop an atomic bomb, the destruction on Japan would be just as devastating to them as Pearl Harbor was to America. However, the bomb that Japan dropped on the United States naval base was nowhere near as destructive as the atomic bomb. Pearl Harbor was devastating, but the atomic bomb, if dropped on Japan, could “within minutes of exposure to this intense radiation… [could] have incapacitated human beings and have resulted in their death within days or weeks”. People of the United States wanted to end the war as soon as possible and if this meant dropping the atomic bomb that would destroy Japan, they thought it was worth it. By ending the war in a timelier manner, money and lives would be save, at least in the United