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The Pros And Cons Of The Atomic Bomb

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Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb World War II was one of the most destructive conflicts in all of human history, with an estimated 60 million deaths. It involved the axis powers made up of Germany, Japan, and Italy battling against the allied powers of Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States after the bombing of pearl harbor. This war was caused not only by the harsh terms of the Treaty of Versailles, but also the economic depression in Germany leading to conquest to regain former power. War began in 1939 when Germany invaded Poland, the United States having been provoked by Japan ended the war by dropping an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. A war can be considered just if it is a nation defending its homeland or protecting an oppressed …show more content…

The United States' decision to bomb Japan is ethical, because it gave them the chance to have an impact on the course of the war and the events after it. The source is a document from secretary of war Henry Stimson to United States President Truman. It discusses a meeting between Stimson and President Truman regarding the possibility of using the atomic bomb against Japan. The secretary of war states that “It is an atomic bomb, It is a harnessing of the basic power of the universe. The force from which the sun draws its power has been loosed against those who brought war to the far east.” The document suggests that Turman intended to use the bomb in hopes of saving American lives, and justified it by claiming the Japanese started the war and had refused to surrender. Truman believed that the use of the atomic bomb would shorten or end the war with Japan. James Byrnes who was one of Truman’s advisors for the atomic bomb. He wanted to keep the Soviet Union …show more content…

America's awareness of the Russian expansion while struggling with Japan creates a justifiable reason for the use of the atomic bomb. James Byrnes was one of Truman's advisors on the atomic bomb. In addition to defeating Japan, he wanted to keep the Soviet Union from expanding its influence in Asia and to limit its influence in Europe. The first image on this source shows a picture of Joseph Stalin spreading Russian influence all across Europe. He is shown reaching into Germany and Finland. The other image shown on this source, is president Truman holding a bill to Joseph Stalin while holding the atomic bomb. This is telling us that the bomb was needed to intimidate Russia into cooperation. The secretary of war hoped that “using the atomic bomb now, would prevent a future war and the bomb from ever being used again.” The United States became aware of the Russian expansion in Europe and needed a way to prevent it. The show of force that was the atomic bomb may have prevented this future war with Russia. This show of force may also have prevented the atomic bomb from ever being used again. Japan ready to Surrender Slide The document includes the japanese surrender ceremony, a man giving away his military sword, and the Japanese tradition of Seppuku “After the government’s strictures

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Overall, the work is worth reading and is recommendable for students and scholars with interest in the Truman administration, atomic warfare and weapons, the second world war, relations between the US and the Soviet, and those curious of knowing the reasons that led to Truman’s decision to use two atomic bombs on

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Harry Truman gave many warnings before he put in place the dropping of the atomic bomb. He wrote a press release announcing the Atomic bombing of Hiroshima on August 6th,1945 defending using the atomic bomb. He stated that “japan began the war from the air at Pearl Harbor. They have been repaid manyfold, and the end is not yet (Doc 8)”. Truman was tired of his country suffering from this long World war he put

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When America had dropped the atomic bomb, Japan was in a very weakened state. The navy and air force were destroyed, the land had been surrounded by other armies, and the supplies had been cut off (David M., 421). By these observations, it can be concluded that Japan was in a position much weaker than the had been at the start of the war and recognition of defeat could be seen. This defeat, however, was not declared by Japan and they continued to decline to surrender. Their decline to surrender ultimately led the need of the atomic bombs.

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President Truman and the rest of the political party were hoping that the atomic bomb would be America’s trump card while dealing with war. Germany was the main target that the United States wanted to hit but they have already surrendered so the only target that was left was Japan. Albert Einstein had written President Roosevelt to let him know that there was a nuclear chain reaction had a great potential for mass destruction. President Truman and the rest of the political party were hoping that the atomic bomb would be America’s trump card while dealing with war. Germany was the main target that the United States wanted to hit but they have already surrendered so the only target that was left was Japan.

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The United States’ order to drop the pair of nuclear bombs was debated until logical conclusions were presented. The decision to finally deploy the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was a diplomatic measure calculated to intimidate the Soviet Union in the post-Second-World-War era. America needed to show that they ruled the world stage, and they needed to make Russia more manageable. In addition, the atomic bomb was not required to win the war, displaying that the United States exploited the war as an excuse to show their force and power to other countries on the world stage.

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The U.S. carelessly made decisions about the atomic bomb and how it would be used. The United State’s main focal point was to assure that Japan will surrender but the U.S. never thought about the outcomes and how it would affect Japan. Doc A states, “Truman believed that it was his duty as president to use every weapon available to save American lives.” This reveals how the president selfishly made this decision thinking only about his nation’s safety while not even considering the lives that would be deeply affected in Japan. Document A again explains how American officials were already debating on how to use the atomic bomb without even knowing how this powerful bomb would work.

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As Dwight D. Eisenhower remarked to Harry S. Truman in July of 1945 in document C, “it was my personal opinion that no power on earth could keep the Red Army out of the war unless victory came before they could get in” (Doc C). The private conversation between Eisenhower and Truman means that what was said was not censored and was Eisenhower speakly freely to the president, which provides a sense of honesty. Eisenhower expressed his concern of the growing power of the Soviet Union and president Truman also held similar beliefs. In 1941, he is quoted as saying, “ If we see Germany winning, we ought to help Russia and if we see Russia winning we ought to help Germany and that way let them kill as many as many as possible” Truman holded no love for the Russians and the desire to show off to the Soviets played a minor role in the decision to drop the bomb. The main reason for dropping the atomic bomb was to force the surrender of the

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“A world without nuclear war would be less stable and more dangerous for all of us”. These words were spoken by Margaret Thatcher who supported the thought of using atomic warfare, and she wasn’t alone in this idea. President Harry S. Tuman also believed that during WWII, the use of the newly constructed atomic bombs were a crucial move that the U.S. military needed to make. The events that occured on April 6, 1945 changed the course of the war, and the invention of “Fat Man” and “Little Boy” made nuclear warfare possible for future conflicts. The atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was a military necessity during World War II.

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The releasing of the atomic bombs to intimidate the Soviets in the years after World War Two is a valid claim because the war in Japan was virtually over, the United States thought detonating the bombs would make the USSR controllable, and the United States wanted to avoid an alliance with the Soviets. Since the atomic bomb bombardment was very late in the war, it might have seemed unnecessary. As General H. H. Arnold of the American Army once said, “it always appeared to us that, atomic bomb or no atomic bomb, the Japanese were already on the verge of collapse” (Doc B). With the commander of the Army saying that the events at Hiroshima and Nagasaki were not needed, it shows that Truman and the White House coordinated these attacks for more than the obvious reasons. Most likely, it was to send a message to communist Russia and Stalin that the United States is a relentless global power equipped with the best weapons.

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He wanted to end the war before the Soviet Union had a chance to intervene. However, President Truman stated in his diary that he only wanted the bomb to be used on military targets. He believed that the United States had a moral obligation to take the moral high ground (Dannen,

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On August 6, 1945 the United States dropped an Atomic bomb called the Little Boy on Hiroshima in Japan. A few days later the united states dropped another atomic bomb called the Fat man on the city of Nagasaki. The dropping of an atomic bomb in Hiroshima and Nagasaki ended the wars quickly, as Japan saw the devastating effects it had on their people and country. The decision to drop the bomb was a very hard one to agree on but changed lives for others. There are many pros and cons of the atomic bombs.

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America had their hands on a weapon that was capable of bringing the World War ll to a sudden stop, with the atomic bomb they stopped Japan from fighting a war no other countries wanted to fight. America had the right to use the atomic bomb on Japan because the strong military had an opportunity to surrender, Japan wanted to keep fighting, and America wanted to keep their people safe. On December 7th, 1941, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, killing a total of 2,403 people. Japan was a confident force that needed to be stopped. Six days after the Nagasaki bombing, Japan surrendered, causing the war to come to a halt.

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Shortly after the bombing, the Soviets looked at us as enemies. According to several historians, the bombing was done to show intimidation to the Soviet Union. Joseph Stalin the leader at the time was outraged and stated in a speech, “Our cannons are ready for war even though they have had no break since the last war.” Stalin found this to be a personal offence of America flexing its Muscles. The bombing of Japan was the primary cause of the nuclear arms race and the cold war.

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Though the US attempted to justify that these bombs were to end WW2 as quickly as possible to shorten the extent of people's lives being taken and destroyed, this is entirely untrue; there was a better plan that would have had the same effect. According to President Truman and others as a part of his administration, The atomic bombings were necessary to cut the war in the Pacific short, avoiding the US invasion of Japan and saving thousands upon thousands of Americans. 1

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"But it is hard to imagine how the U.S. government could have prevented a Communist victory short of getting involved in a massive military intervention, which would have been risky, unpopular, and expensive"(Tindall 964). "The discovery of the Soviet bomb in 1949 triggered an intense reappraisal of the strategic balance of power in the world, causing Truman in 1950 to order the construction of a hydrogen bomb, a weapon far more powerful than the atomic bombs dropped on Japan, lest the Soviets make one first"(Tindall 964). The onset of the cold war the ideology drove more of the Soviet behavior. "American 's traditional commitment to democtatic capitalism, political self determination, and religious freedom conflicted with the Soviet Union 's preference for spheres of influence on its periphery, totalitarianism at home, and state mandated atheism"(Tindall 970). Kennan stressed that U.S. needed to be responses to the Soviet adventurism.

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