Why Was The Atomic Bomb Justified

On August 6, 1945, the United States of America dropped the world’s first atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, a decision that ushered in the nuclear age and marked the end of World War II. When the atomic bomb exploded 70,000 people were killed instantly and thousands more died of radiation sickness within weeks. Three days later, a second bomb killed 40,000 people in Nagasaki (Lawton 4). Was the United States justified in the dropping of the atomic bombs? The use of the atomic bomb have been questioned for the past 73 years. Although the United States’ decision to drop the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki resulted in the social and economic destruction of Japan, ultimately the bombings were justified as this action led to a quick end to the war and displayed the military might of the United States to other threatening and powerful countries.

The creation and use of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II was imminent as intense weapons were needed to end the war and coerce an immediate Japanese surrender. The progression towards the decision to drop the atomic bombs is extremely important here. The Allies had been battling a massive war with Japan since 1941. They dreaded

Over 180,000 Japanese were killed in these two bombings and thousands more died later due to radiation sickness (Langley 84). However, when the United States was suffering through a dark period, it is a fair decision to use atomic weapons to shorten the amount of casualties. United States President Truman knew of the way the Japanese fought. They fought to the death, and they were brutal to the prisoners of war. Besides, United States had suffered the loss of over 418,000 lives, both military and civilian (Perry 286). Therefore, dropping the atomic bombs on Japan spared thousands of American and Japanese lives and was the only way to end the