The Final Bomb of World War II During World War II, the United States was at war with Japan. Originally, the United States was considered neutral in the war until Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. The atomic bomb was the product of the Manhattan Project in the U.S.. It was a bomb that would cause mass destruction, if the new president, Harry Truman, decided to use it. Truman was left with a difficult decision. The war could easily end if the atomic bomb was dropped yet many innocent people would be killed. Truman had 2 other options to consider, he could send American troops to Japan but was at risk of many casualties. Truman's last option was to drop the bomb and give Japan a warning prior to using the bomb which is exactly what the president decided on. Although using the bomb brought the war to a quick end, not only did the U.S. not give a proper warning to Japan, but many innocent people died. …show more content…
soldiers lives who would have been sent to fight in the mainland of Japan. Prior to the atomic bomb being landed on Japan, the United States had been at war with Japan for years which included many casualties on both sides. “only a few weeks before Hiroshima, 123,000 Japanese and Americans killed each other” (Thank God for the Atomic Bomb). This was written by Paul Fussell, a soldier in World War II. Considering how many casualties both sides had already faced, if this war continued on, casualties would continue rising for Japan and the United States. The atomic bomb brought the war to a quick end and prevented many more casualties from
He saw the bomb as a way to end the war and save lives by avoiding a costly invasion (Smithsonian 56). He was worried that getting caught up in an invasion would have caused the United States to lose many more troops. An invasion would show the United States was not giving up without a fight, it also would have made the death toll rise. If Truman did use the atomic bomb instead of invading, the American death toll would be much smaller, however the Japanese death toll would skyrocket, especially that of innocent people. Historians believe Truman did not decide to use the atomic bomb to solely finish off Japan, but to show the Soviet Union how powerful the United States really was (Thomas and Elliott).
In 1945, Japan was losing World War Two, but was split between surrendering or fighting till the end. As they chose to fight instead of surrender, that is when Harry Truman was notified about the successful test of the “most terrible bomb in history”. Multiple hours were spent doing research, and billions of dollars were used for its production. Since an atomic bomb is serious the heat released in a nuclear explosion creates a sphere of burning gas that can range from hundreds of feet. Since Harry Truman was president at the time it was his decision whether or not he was going to use the bomb to end the war.
The end of World War II can be credited to the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It is hard to imagine being in a world war for six years. Many citizens had their families torn apart. Being in the position to end it all, but at a cost is an impossible decision. Even though there are many people that can argue that the dropping of the bomb was over kill, the atomic bomb was a military necessity.
Women and children were killed, and entire cities were erased from existence. This clear lack of respect and ethical reasoning highlights that there were more negatives than benefits of the bombs. Document 8 says, “The record of General Macarthur’s operations from 1 March 1944 through 1 May 1945 shows 13,742 US killed compared to 310,165 Japanese killed.” These numbers support the fact that the number of Japanese casualties far exceeded that of America. The decision to drop the atomic bomb added to this total, and made the comparison between American and Japanese deaths even more striking.
Truman was the president of the United States at the time, so its obvious why he choose to drop the bomb. It would save more American lives this way. “It would have been morally wrong if we’d have had that weapon and did not use it and let a million more people die” (Doc L). If he didn’t drop it, about 400,000 to 800,000 American lives would have been lost (OI). If Japan couldn’t make war, there wouldn’t be war.
Moreover, as document 6 indicates through a letter from a soldier who fought in the Pacific, many believed that deploying the bomb saved countless American lives and facilitated an end to World War II. According to various arguments put up by supporters of the bombing, it can be inferred that the usage of atomic bombs was an essential and justified action. The belief is that Japan would have prolonged the war further, potentially costing many more lives. Additionally, the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki made Japan sorry for initiating conflict, and eventually led to
In 1945 World War 2 was coming to an end, President Truman was faced with a very tough decision on whether or not to drop the atomic bombs on Japan. On August 6 1945 an American B-29 bomber dropped the worlds first atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima, three days later another B-29 bomber dropped a second bomb on the city of Nagasaki in total the bombs killed well over a hundred thousand people. The use of the atomic bombs were necessary to end the war on Japan, although the bombs killed many people the use of the bombs saved hundreds of thousands of American lives, and eneded Japan’s reign of terror on the world. People believed that with only two atomic bombs ready that it was too risky to use one on a demonstration showing off the power of the bomb.
If the United States never dropped the atomic bomb then soldiers would have had to invade Japan which would result in a large number of casualties. “I have been convinced that we saved more lives than we took. It would have been morally wrong if we’d have had that weapon and not used it and let a million more people die”(Source 8). Due to the Japanese bushido mentality, they were never going to surrender, and they would fight until the last man was standing. “The Japanese had demonstrated near-fanatical resistance, fighting to almost the last man on Pacific islands, committing mass suicide on Saipan, and unleashing kamikaze attacks at Okinawa”(Source 11).
From only trying to help end a vicious war, to killing a total of 215,000 people with two atomic bombs. The Manhattan Project, developed by President Harry. S Truman the 33th president of the United States began a project alongside J. Robert Oppenheimer by bombing the two cities of Japan, Hiroshima and Nagasaki causing complete eradication and slaughtering many innocent people. The development of the atomic bombs started in Los Alamos, New Mexico during World War 2 in Sep 1, 1939 – Sep 2, 1945, a project called The Manhattan Project to end World War 2 by dropping two atomic bombs in the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki of Japan to get the Japanese to surrender and to show the power of the atomic bomb, but also the destruction it could cause
JFK once said, " Mankind must put an end to war or war will put an end to mankind." In 1939 Albert Einstein had written the US president of the potential to build a nuclear weapon. The US entrance into the war on December 7th of 1941 led to the president creating the Manhattan Project in 1942 where the atomic bomb was developed. On August 6th of 1945 US president Truman ordered the bombing of Hiroshima using the atomic bomb, 3 days later he ordered a second bomb to be dropped in Nagasaki. The US was justified in using the atomic bomb to end WWII because, America's technology was their greatest achievement, during the time of war death is inevitable, and Japan ignored all warnings given by America.
At this point in the war America had already suffered losses of more than 418,000 lives, both military and civilian. Thanks to the manhattan project they had a weapon of mass destruction within their grasp, the atomic bomb. It is right to say that the use of the weapon helped to near the end of WWII. Germany was already out of the picture, but Japan held its strength, conquering several hundred islands in the Indian Ocean. In an article
The Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Harry S. Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bomb is one of the biggest and deadliest controversial turning points in history. America’s president, Truman, decided that on August 6, 1945, the atomic bomb would be dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end World War II. President Truman’s choice to drop the bomb on Japan was considered one of the most debatable turning points. The settlement to drop this bomb was a wrong decision because this bomb killed more than 70,000 innocent people with 10,000’s dying later. Also, bombing a country that was going to surrender in a few months would not be necessary, and last but not least, the atomic bomb could give ideas for the world to start nuclear warfare.
The article states, “It achieved its primary objective of shortening the war.” (History on the Net 15) Dropping the bomb actually shortened the war, which also means there were less deaths compared to how many more there would have been if they did not drop the bomb, and the war may have gone on for much longer without the bomb. The article adds, “President Truman and the Allies issued a final ultimatum to Japan, known as the Potsdam Declaration” (History on the Net 19). The president and the Allied powers gave further warning about the bomb and even issued a final compromise, Japan still didn’t do anything and refused to cooperate, which forced the US to drop the atomic bomb on Japan.
President Truman and his associates believed that if they dropped the bomb they would receive surrender from Japan. Thus, saving millions of American lives, and ending the war. Nevertheless, by saving American lives they would sacrifice thousands of Japanese civilians. They had other idea to have Japan to surrender, but were willing to take the one that would have the most consequences. They were thinking too much about the US instead of creating actually peace within the nations.
The dropping of the atomic bombs on World War II on the city of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was a very important part of World War II. The atomic bomb ended the war between America and Japan. This was just one of the important events during the battle in World War II. The Battle at Pearl Harbor, where the Japanese attacked U.S. soil was also why the americans bombed Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Some believe that the United States was correct in dropping these bombs on Japan because of the attack on Pearl Harbor while others believe that it was very wrong to dropped the bomb.