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The Pros And Cons Of The Bombing Of Hiroshima

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Imagine the sudden loss of 70,000 lives: 70,000 futures obliterated, 70,000 bodies decimated, and 70,000 families grieving. That was the impact of the bombing of Hiroshima. Similar results happened at Nagasaki. The decision of whether or not the United States should have dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki has been heavily debated for decades. The atomic bombing of Hiroshima was not a military necessity because there were other options, it was ethically wrong, and the United States was already winning.
First, the United States had various other options that would result in fewer total deaths. In fact, the president of the United States at the time, Harry Truman, had thought of many other solutions (Doc. 1). They could invade …show more content…

They were so desperate that they were sending kamikaze to U.S. ships in the Pacific (Doc. C). This action showed America just how desperate the Japanese truly were, meaning that they were already winning the war (Doc. C). According to the Air Force Strategy Bombing Survey, “certainly prior to 31 December 1945, and in all probability prior to 1 November 1945 (well before the date of the [proposed] invasion) Japan would have surrendered even if the atomic bombs had not been dropped” (Doc. K). This means that the Survey agreed that the war would have ended even without the bombing. Furthermore, Dwight Eisenhower stated, “I was one of those who felt that there were a number of cogent reasons to question the wisdom of such an act.... first on the basis of my belief that Japan was already defeated and that dropping the bomb was completely unnecessary, and second because I thought that our country should avoid shocking world opinion by the use of a weapon whose employment was, I thought, no longer mandatory as a measure to save American lives. It was my belief that Japan was, at that very moment, seeking some way to surrender with a minimum loss of 'face' (Beck). In simple terms, he concluded that Japan would have surrendered without the destructive bomb and that the bomb was not mandatory to end the

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(source 2)AKA THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WERE AGAINST THE DECISION EVEN THOUGH THEY WANTED THE WAR TO END They wanted a quick end to the war and agreed that the use of the atomic bombs would be an effective method but they believed it was unjustified to do so on Japan.(source 2) Unless the details of the attack were made public and Japan was given an opportunity to surrender, the atomic bomb attack would not be justified. (source 2) The sheer possibility of the use of atomic bombs would be enough to keep Japan at bay.(source 2) “The added material strength which this lead gives to the United States brings with it the obligation of restraint and if we were to violate this obligation our moral position would be weakened in the eyes of the world and in our eyes. ”(source

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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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According to Document G, a memoir of General H. H. Arnold, whether or not the bombs were dropped, the Japanese were already on the verge of surrendering. The United States had already killed about 241,000 people, wounded 313,000, and destroyed about 2,333,000 homes, making it increasingly evident that their decision to drop the bomb was just a selfish and easy manner to end the war. The document also states that the air force was aware that the destruction of most Japanese industries and the prevention of the arrival of the incoming cargo had made it impossible for Japan to carry out a large-scale war. With this fact, the knowledge of their increasing vulnerability was in effect throughout the military and the white house, bringing to light the leverage the United States had going through with the bombings. Overall, the decision to drop the bombs can be viewed as unnecessary as the U.S could have kept fighting knowing that

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The strategy of the war was to destroy the Japanese military by any means necessary. The total manpower of the US was more than the Japanese so bombing was not the only option. There was a costlier yet more humane way to do this that was not reliant on the atomic bomb. On the down side millions of lives just on the American side would be lost. Also, the longer the fighting the more likely communism was to spread and then the task would be more to handle than the US felt they could alone.

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The United States decision to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima was barely motivated by the idea that it would intimidate the Soviet Union. Dropping the atomic bomb was designed to demoralize the Japanese and demonstrate to them that if they did not surrender, th . In Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson’s memoirs in document A, he writes, “The total strength of the Japanese army was estimated at about 5,000,000... I was informed that such operation (the invasion of Japan) might be expected to cost over a million casualties, to American forces alone” (Doc A). Stimson’s memoirs were written with the intention of being published and he knew he had to defend the government’s decision to drop the bomb and is writing from the point of view of someone

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“Dropping the atomic bombs on Japan saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of U.S. soldiers and some believed it was the only way to end the war quickly.” in Dropping the A-Bomb Saved Lives. As a result of dropping the bomb Japan lost lives of soldiers, civilians and land. Japan also lost power in their government because of the bombs, and many business, houses got destroyed and created some tension between the governments. The U.S. only had a few choices since Japan wouldn't surrender the U.S. had to do something.

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In Document 2, Admiral Leahy says, “The use of this barbarous weapon at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was no material assistance in our war against Japan. The Japanese were already defeated and ready to surrender.” Some Americans felt as though the weapon should not have been used because the Japanese were ready to give in. COME BACK Not only were the Japanese ready to surrender but it was morally wrong to bomb multiple cities without realizing what the outcomes may be.

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As stated by Admiral William Leahy, Chief of Staff to President Truman, "The use of this barbarous weapon at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was of no material assistance in our war against Japan. The Japanese were already defeated and ready to surrender…" (Document #2). The Japanese forces were surrounded, suffering significant losses, and the United States troops were already at the border of the mainland. Therefore, the use of the atomic bomb was an unjustified flex by the United States, disregarding the human lives in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan was destined to fall, nevertheless, the US saw it necessary to drop an A-bomb.

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The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was a very controversial event in history that led to the inevitable end of WWII. Some think that the bomb was necessary to end the war and without it, the war couldn’t end. But others think the bomb was overkill because the Japanese were already on the brink of surrender. Dropping the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki had positive and negative effects.

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There were around 90,000-146,00 people that died in atomic bombing of Hiroshima and There was even more people that died 39,000–80,000 people in Nagasaki. (http://blog.nuclearsecrecy.com) In August of 1945 President Truman decided to drop two atomic bombs on Japan. There were other options to end WWII rather dropping atomic bombs on Japan. Due to the atomic bombs being dropped, a lot of people died that was innocent along with massive destruction, There was other things they could have done,and it was legal.

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was right in dropping the bomb is because if we didn’t, then we had the possibility of losing supplies. If we were to fight on the front then we would have to supply our men with weapons, food, and clothing, making it hard to keep supplies in stock for the people back home. Paul Fussell states, “The people who preferred invasion to A-Bombing seemed to have no intention of proceeding to the Japanese front themselves”. This quote shows that people didn’t want to fight on the front so it would be a waste of our supplies that we could use for something else. And one of the most important reasons of why we would’ve run out of supplies is because trade was slow and not many countries wanted to trade so we wouldn’t have sufficient supplies.

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Comments left by readers of the US History Magazine, American Heritage, basically say that the Japanese Islands were also very difficult to attack, as Japan still had millions of troops still stationed there, leaving no choice but to attack from the air. The Japanese army left no point of vulnerability for the US to take advantage of, and any land invasion would surely be stopped, as Japan had around 12 divisions defending the island. The first atomic bomb did not force surrender from Japan, but the second, combined with Russia planning to invade, forced Japan’s hand. The decision to drop the bomb was made quickly, as any land lost to Russia in Japan or China would never be returned to the countries. These comments from others give useful reasons on why the US Military dropped the atomic bombs: to end the war quickly before Russia gained a strategic advantage on the Islands of Japan before the long anticipated Cold War.

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A quick surrender by Japan was needed in order for Russia to stop pushing forward through Asia (“THE AMERICAN YAWP”). However, if they had just waited then Japan would have surrendered before an Allied invasion and before Russia was settled in their new communist land. The U.S. didn’t want to show a dependency on Russia either and they wanted to seem strong enough to not need their help, but in reality, the Soviet Union was pivotal in victory in Europe and in the Pacific. By dropping the atomic bombs on a population that Americans believed at the time was racially inferior and a defenseless target, they could demonstrate to the Soviet Union and the rest of the world that the U.S. was simply better than everyone else.

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Besides, allied forces of Germany surrendered directly resulted the Fascism’s strength declined. Before America came to a decision of dropping the atomic bomb, they had intercepted military secret and issue the Potsdam Proclamation to warn Japan Armed Forces to surrender. But Japan mistakenly believed America and other countries’ attitude of armistice, so brushing aside and keeping the field had become their policy until the great disaster strikes. Finally America’s decision is dropping the atomic bomb. All this signs indicate granted that America was not reached the decision, Japanese capitulate is inevitable.

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However, the Japanese were committed to fight to the bitter end of the war and see it all the way through, regardless of the fact that the United States demanded unconditional surrender from the small country of islands. This further emphasizes that since the Japanese were not simply going to give up, Truman came to the conclusion that in order to save millions of lives, he had to take thousands. President Truman decided to drop the atomic bomb on Japan to warn the world about the new found power of the United States, force an unconditional surrender of the Japanese, and save millions of lives. With the controversy over whether or not Truman should have dropped the bomb, some consider the decision irrational and unnecessary.

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