The Pros And Cons Of Atomic Bombs

The United States dropped atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, on August 6th and August 9th of 1945, respectively. This event resulted in the death of an estimated 200,000 Japanese people, a lot of which were civilians, and it remains as one of the most controversial topics in world history. People are divided on the belief that it was necessary or that it was unnecessary, each with their own valid points to back up their reasoning, yet, the bombing of Japan had more pros than cons and therefore was most definitely a necessary action in World War II. Most view the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese as the reason for the bombing of Japan, there are a multitude of overlooked factors that were also partially the cause of the

Ten thousand died on the Bataan Death March.” (The American Yawp). There were an estimated 75,000 soldiers in total that had to walk the Bataan Death March, a lot of which were American soldiers, a lot of which also died during the March. The Japanese had also battled the United States in other instances such as the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, both of which were gruesome and resulted in major losses. Also, by this time it was 1945, and the major war in Europe had ended, but Japan still continued to fight and showed no signs of stopping. The United States had tried various other ways to stop Japan before coming to the atomic bomb, as they had tried normal bombing raids over Japan as well as naval blockades, yet Japan refused to back down. The United States kept trying, especially with the Potsdam Declaration, “It was to spare the Japanese people from utter destruction that the ultimatum of July 26 was issued at Potsdam. Their leaders promptly rejected that ultimatum. If they do not now accept our terms they may expect a rain of ruin from the air, the likes of which has never been seen on this earth.” (Harry Truman Announcing the Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima

WWII had caused major casualties of United States citizens fighting in the war as well as the fact that a lot of funding went towards the war. Though this funding was necessary in creating a positive impact during the war, as when the iron curtain was created by the Soviet Union, many people had been cut off from vital supplies but the United States had stepped in to help. Franklin Roosevelt“in carrying out this Executive Order, including the furnishing of medical aid, hospitalization, food, clothing, transportation, use of land, shelter, and other supplies, equipment, utilities, facilities, and services.” (FDR, Executive Order No. 9066 (1942)). Also, the war had prompted an economic boom in the United States as people had mobilized for war, with plenty of new employment opportunities for both men and women as well as increased production of goods for war. While the war had also caused some inflation to occur and shortages of goods that were directed towards war efforts, it had also caused a period of prosperity in the United States that lasted for years. This period of prosperity caused many positive effects along with the G.I. bill (which focused on helping veterans), such as the fact that, “Roughly 40 percent of Americans owned homes in 1945, but that figure climbed to 60 percent a decade after the close of the war. Because the bill did away with down payment requirements, veterans could