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The Pros And Cons Of The Atomic Bomb

743 Words3 Pages

On the morning of April 6th, 1945, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, America dropped a bomb developed to destroy homes on Hiroshima, Japan. Instantly, 18,000 people were killed, and around 400,000 more died from radiation effects afterward. Nine days later, on April 15th, Japan surrendered and the war between Japan and America ended. With many American people questioning if the bomb was needed to end the war, America released an article stating that the bomb was a necessary evil. But, many still wonder whether or not America should have dropped the atomic bomb. When looking at both Japan and America’s sides during the Pacific War, it is clear that President Truman should not have made the decision to drop the bomb. One of the many who disagreed with Truman’s decision, Admiral William E. Leahy, Truman’s Chief of Staff, expressed his thoughts on dropping the bomb in his memoirs, ‘I Was There’ …show more content…

The Japanese were already defeated and ready to surrender.” (Leahy, I Was There) Leahy goes on to say, “wars cannot be won by destroying women and children.” He and others who disagree with Truman’s decision argue that Japan was already going to surrender to America. This argument is supported by General H.H. Arnold, Commander of the American Air Force in the second world war, in his memoirs. He says, “The surrender of Japan was not entirely the results of the two atomic bombs… as a result of our raids, about 241,000 people had been killed, 313,00 wounded, and about 2,333,000 homes destroyed. Our B-29s… had made it impossible for Japan to carry on a large scale war. Atomic bomb or no atomic bomb, the Japanese were already on the verge of collapse.” (Memoirs of General H.H. Arnold,

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