In 1947, the United States was put in a difficult position. While the Japanese emperor did not want to lose his position, or lose honor, they could either fight until the last man stands or find another way. With the creation of an atomic bomb becoming more and more feasible, with the help of Mr. Einstein, it seemed like a great idea. But, there were many things they didn’t think about when they jumped to the idea of dropping the bomb; some were Japan’s surrender and the future of the civilians. The bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima was not necessary.
In the final stretch of World War II, Japan was in its spiral downwards, ready to call it quits. As stated in Document B, conventional bombing, as well as island hopping had destroyed over 60% of its cities. The United States blockaded all of their home islands; some of the islands were necessary for supplies as well. With the Japanese already losing a lot of what little they had left, the Emperor was ready to surrender; the United States knew this as well. If the United State would have changed the “unconditional surrender”, the Japanese could have kept their emperor and they would have surrendered faster. World War II was a war between governments, by dropping the bomb; they put the innocent people of Japan in danger too. The two cities were of limited military value. Civilians outnumbered troops in Hiroshima five or six to one. Japanese lives were sacrificed simply for power politics between the United States and the Soviet Union (as stated in Document B). By dropping the bomb the US was hurting the citizens (people not involved in the war) more than they were the government, the people they were really fighting against. Between the two cities, there was an estimated 105,066 dead, and 94,000 injured; that’s almost 200,000 causalities total (document A).
Some would say the dropping of the atomic bomb was necessary because it ended World War II. They’re wrong because if the United States would’ve compromised and given them time to decide, or changed the “unconditional surrender”, Japan may have had to surrender before the dropping the bomb, rather than after. Compromising and giving them time would have saved almost 200,000 lives.
In conclusion, the bomb was not needed. There were hundreds of thousands of lives lost, the sacrifice of innocent civilians, all at the expense of the stubbornness of the United Sates. So, because of the reasons stated above and more, the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima was not necessary.
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