Why Was The Decision To End Simply Involved In Bombing Japan?

On August 6, 1945, citizens of Hiroshima were greeted with a brilliant flash of light, instantly vaporizing seventy-thousand Japanese citizens. This was the atomic bomb Little Boy. Only three days later, the atomic bomb Fat Man fell on Nagasaki, resulting in eighty-thousand deaths. In addition, hundreds of thousands would later perish at the hands of radiations sickness, which was not yet understood at the time. It was then and still is a point of contention between scholars, but, ultimately, President Truman made the right and just decision in bombing Japan. Even after four years of war against the Americans, “… the Japanese military was refusing to give up their fight,” (The Decision to Drop the Bomb). The war had waged on, and American citizens and soldiers had grown exhausted. In other words, the war needed to end soon. Although some argue that the bombing was unnecessary as Japan was willing to surrender soon, that simply does not appear to be the case. Okinawa remained in the hands of American troops and the firebombing of Japanese cities continued. Unfortunately, if the war did not end soon, America would have to launch an invasion of Japan, and “… Japan had an army of 2 million strong stationed in the home islands guarding against invasion,” (The Decision to Drop the Bomb). Simply put, the war needed to end and Japan
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