Most Americans were in favor of ending the war easily, effectively, and with minimal cost (in lives, money, economic growth, etc.). Thus, the atomic bomb satisfied these objectives. “We [the USA] have used it to shorten the agony of young Americans.” This was a quote from Harry Truman, the president at the time of the bombing. He thought that by creating and using the bomb the agony of Americans in the military, and other Americans would be shortened if the war ended. Another reason for the quick end of the war using the atomic bomb was to minimize the Soviets influence on the region. “The soviets could gain a large foothold of the region.” The Soviets were beginning to influence Japan, and could have caused the soviets to cause an imbalance in the region, so the US decided that using the bomb would end the war before the Soviets had the chance to conquer.
Other Americans believed that using the atomic bomb was a barbaric tactic and shouldn’t have been used. Despite the previous argument there are many reasons to oppose the use of the atomic bomb. “95% of the people who were killed were Japanese civilians”. The US was mostly concerned about the lives of US military personnel while 95% of Japanese civilians were killed. By killing civilians it becomes more of a barbaric tactic and less of a military issue. Even though many lives were lost they may have been lost for unnecessary reasons. “The Japanese were ready to surrender and it wasn’t necessary to hit them with that awful thing”. Dwight Eisenhower even agreed that the atomic bomb was an “awful thing”, and Japan was going to surrender anyway, so the bomb was an unnecessary act.
The atomic bomb was a controversial issue with each side having credibility. People who argued for the use of the bomb argue in total fewer lives were lost, and the soviets couldn’t influence the region. People against the use of the bomb argue many Japanese civilian lives were unnecessarily lost. Though there are many trade offs think about how many human lives were lost.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
In the article, Ending The War Against Japan: Science, Morality And The Atomic Bomb, the author provides information on the war in the Pacific which involved the United States and Japan. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor the United States entered the second World War in 1941. United States gained control of Okinawa in 1945 which meant that the U.S had control, in the months of May through August there were major air attacks on Japan, the Manhattan Project and the two atomic bombs the United States dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki were part of the choice out of the many options that might have been given to President Truman and Secretary of War, Henry Stimson. They felt that dropping the atomic bomb was the best way to get the Japanese to give an unconditional surrender.…
- 629 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Although there were attempts at peace, Japan showed no signs of agreement towards a peaceful and unconditional surrender. Japan’s reluctance to stop fighting could have left to months more of fighting and thousands of more deaths. The atomic bomb ensured an enormous display that could quickly end the war. As Cuhrchill proclaimed, “the end of the Japanese war no longer depended upon the pouring in of their armies for the final and perhaps protracted slaughter… this nightmare picture [has] vanished… in its place the vision of the end of the whole war in one or two violent shocks” (Doc E). Churchill summed up the gist of America’s reasoning for implementing the bombs. The United States did not have to depend on the slaughter of millions of people in bloody, messy fights, and , instead, “a speedy end to the Second World War” could be reached with one machine (Doc E). However, once the first bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, the Japanese continued to resist. It wasn’t until a second bomb was dropped that Japan surrendered with a simple stipulation that their emperor remain in his position. This alone proves the military necessity of the bombs. Despite the attack on Hiroshima, Japanese still wished to continue their war. If not for the second bomb, who know how many lives would have been lost.…
- 639 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
I want to thank you for your response and clearly stating your perspective regarding the United States bombing Japan. However, I must respectfully disagree with your argument. I do believe the atomic bomb was necessary to end the war because without the bomb the United States was prepared to invade Japan. Statistically speaking the use of omb actually saved thousands of American and Japanese lives rather than invading Japan. I do concur with the questionable morality of using the bomb because killing many individuals was not an easy decision Truman had to make, consequently the decision ended the otherwise long and drawn out war. Japan was prepared to put a fight, no matter the circumstances. With the Japanese army and civilian militia expected…
- 186 Words
- 1 Page
Satisfactory Essays -
If the war continued, an invasion would be needed and such an invasion “… would have cost an estimated million casualties,” (The Decision to Drop the Bomb). It was even believed by President Truman “… that the bombs saved Japanese lives as well,” (The Decision to Drop the Bomb). Even though the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths, the quick end to the war they brought saved more lives in the long run than those that were lost in the…
- 658 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
This war did not seem like there would ever be an end until the US decided to unleash their new weapon of mass destruction, the atomic bomb. I feel that the bomb was unnecessary and unjustifiable for a variety of reasons. One reason was the amount of innocent citizens killed or injured due to the bomb. The bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki which were two highly populated areas at the time.…
- 677 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
The atomic bomb shouldn’t have been used in World War 2 to defeat Japan. America could have used other alternatives then the deadly atomic bomb. President Truman should of waited a few more weeks for russia to declare war on Japan. The thought of invasion by both of America and Russia probably had an even more scared effect on the Japanese government then the Atomic Bombs. America could of also continue the conventional bombings and blockade.…
- 141 Words
- 1 Page
Satisfactory Essays -
By dropping the atomic bomb, we were able to put an end to a war that could have continued for many more years. Though there was much controversy over the bomb, Truman, our president at the time, apprised America saying he was quite thankful for it and celebrated the scientific achievements of the minds that created it. America was the first country to create something of this caliber and he wanted us to realize how great it was. The pragmatic decision helped America to establish its military power on a global scale. It is believed that Japan did not believe that we had a weapon that could cause so much destruction, so we had no choice but to show them. The Japanese people do not believe in surrendering, they see it as dishonorable and are…
- 314 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
In WW2, the bomb wasn't the smartest thing America did. As they hurt many innocent Japanese people in the process. If President Harry Truman and the military thought out there plan to end the war. They could've ended it much more peacefully. If America were really wanted to drop the bomb, they should've dropped it on Germany, as they were the next threat during the…
- 457 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
The atomic bomb was a very good strategic move. The US was able to wipe out a large area of Hiroshima instantly, without killing any of their own men. In addition, they knew that if they used the bomb, they could end the war. On August 15th, Japan announced their surrender after being bombed just weeks beforehand.…
- 578 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
The atomic bomb was necessary in order to assure the war would end as soon as possible. On August 6th the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, on august 9th a second one was dropped on Nagasaki, and on August 10th Japan declared its intention to surrender. This is clear proof that atomic bomb was an effective way to end the war. Even if it did kill many people it might actually have killed less people then if we had kept the war going for much longer.…
- 833 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
As barbaric as the atomic bomb was, the opposing argument would point out that “the face of war is the face of death...the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki put an end to the Japanese war” (Document 3). It’s true that death is inevitable during war time, but over one hundred thousand Japanese deaths is excessive, especially when many were civilian deaths. Although the atomic bomb did bring an end to the war in the Pacific, “the Japanese were already defeated and ready to surrender” (Document 2). The bombing was unnecessary, and an excessive use of…
- 701 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Many Americans argued that the use of the atomic bomb could cause problems with our allies and enemies. If the bomb got in the wrong hands, people would be at danger. This is similar to how Kim Jong-un is consistently threatening the United States with an atomic bomb attack. One could argue that the use of the atomic bomb was a way for the United States to intimidate the Soviet Union, and show how powerful we are. However, it is clear that the United States bombed Hiroshima, to make them…
- 757 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
One is because before the atomic bombs, Japan had already been devastated and was close to surrendering anyway. This was because more than 60 of its cities were already devastated as a result of the conventional bombing. Also, the U.S was blocking the Japanese Home Islands with the American Embargo, cutting of trade and resources. In addition, the Soviets had already started attacking Japanese troops in the city of Manchuria. With these factors in mind, it was obvious that the Japanese were in no position to continue fighting. One possible reason the Japanese delayed surrender was because of honor. The Japanese people and government were very dignified group and wanted to go down fighting rather than to give up. But in their predicament, they would have had to give up eventually because they were losing both will and ability to maintain their position in the war. Many Americans also believed that the detonation of the bombs was pointless and avoidable as well as cruel and harsh. General Dwight Eisenhower proclaimed “I told him (President Truman) that since reports indicated the imminence of Japan’s collapse, I deprecated the Red Army’s engaging in that war. They believed that it was completely uncalled for to annihilate so many lives and they urged Truman and other government officials to not detonate them. Even some of the scientists that helped create the bombs believed this; “Those who advocate a purely technical demonstration would wish to outlaw the use of atomic weapons, and have feared that if we use the weapons now our position in future negotiations will be prejudiced.” It is clear that even within the U.S system, people were uncomfortable with the dropping of the…
- 1007 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
“We are in possession of the most destructive explosive ever devised by man” stated Leaflet B dropped on August 6th, 1945. Since the United States knew how destructive the bomb was, they should have not used it in the first place. Not only was japan in danger but Leo Szilard and 69 co-signers at the Manhattan Project stated “ the cities of the United States as well as the cities of other nations will be in continuous danger of sudden annihilation.” Most people working on the project for two and a half years did not even know what they were working on or hiding from the American public. Though, Japan killed and injured many Americans, the U.S. killed more people and left Japan with high levels of radiation for many years after the bomb was dropped. In conclusion, the United States was not in any way justified for the decision of dropping the atomic…
- 717 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
The propaganda taught in grade schools was that the United States dropped the atomic bomb to save American lives and end the war. President Truman and some advisors stated after the war, that somewhere between five hundred thousand to one million American lives would be loss with an invasion of the Japanese homeland (37). So, in an attempt to bring the War in the Pacific to an end they used the atomic bomb. They also justified the use of the atomic bomb by claiming using the bomb would save an untold number of Japanese lives. The information which came from President Truman and his administrative sounded sensible and salved the conscious of America, but was it the truth? In his book, historian J. Samuel Walker provides a step by step analysis of events leading to Truman’s use of the atomic bomb to bring World War II to closure and extensive coverage of the relationship of the United States and the U.S.S.R.…
- 525 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays