The morning of August 6, 1945 in Hiroshima, Japan did not begin in any exceptional way; in fact the people had no idea that they were about to be part of one of the most significant mornings in all of history. At 8:15 am, the United States Army Air Forces dropped the first atomic bomb, ironically called, when one considers the enormity of the bomb's significance, the "Little Boy" Three days later the U.S. dropped a second bomb nicknamed the "Fat Man" on the town of Nagasaki, Japan. Historically, the use of the atomic bombs is seen as a decision that the United States made during WWII in order to end the war with Japan. Regardless of the motivation for using the bombs, they left a death toll of 210,000 in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This essay will focus on the first bombing in Hiroshima. The bombing of Hiroshima, Japan not only changed the physical and emotional health, and culture of the Japanese people, but also changed the world. The inhumane bombing of Hiroshima had severe short and long term effects on Japan due to the reckless and inconsiderate actions of both President Truman and the United States. The initial effects on Japan were overwhelming, the land was devastated. The bomb literally destroyed everything in its path. Almost no one within 800 meters of the bomb's blast survived. Shockingly just the shells of two buildings were left standing in the immediate vicinity of the explosion site. The decimated land was such a horrifying site, the US feared retaliation even after the Japanese surrender. The atomic bomb not only destroyed the city of Hiroshima, but also affected thousands of people and caused thousands of deaths immediately after the bombing. Source one indicates how the people exposed to the high temperature of t... ... middle of paper ... ... he has no regrets about using the bomb. In fact, he actually named the plane Enola Gay after his mother. Source six provides a quote from Tibbets stating that he "did as I was told," and that he was defending his country to the best of his ability. He also says that he knew that he would be killing a lot of people, but he would also save a lot of lives because then the US would not have to invade Japan. Tibbets recognizes that innocent people were killed but says, "We've never fought a damn war anywhere in the world where they didn't kill innocent people." These quotes provide evidence that displays that Tibbets believes it was completely necessary to bomb Hiroshima even knowing that countless lives would be lost. In conclusion the bombing of Hiroshima took numerous lives due to the irresponsible and insensitive actions of President Truman and the American nation.
The United States of America’s use of the atomic bomb on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki has spurred much debate concerning the necessity, effectiveness, and morality of the decision since August 1945. After assessing a range of arguments about the importance of the atomic bomb in the termination of the Second World War, it can be concluded that the use of the atomic bomb served as the predominant factor in the end of the Second World War, as its use lowered the morale, industrial resources, and military strength of Japan. The Allied decision to use the atomic bomb not only caused irreparable physical damage on two major Japanese cities, but its use also minimized the Japanese will to continue fighting. These two factors along
The first reason on why Truman made the right decision was because the atomic bomb ultimately helped to prevent the deaths of American troops. There would have been over 100,000 losses during the first stage of the attack against Japan, leading to over one million casualties of just Americans during the defeat of Japan(Tucker 1). Although there is no way to confirm the amount of predicted deaths, any amount of American deaths would have been avoided with the use of the atomic bomb. Comparing a million predicted deaths of Americans to the 140,000 (±10,000) that were actually killed in the Hiroshima bomb(Faragher 4), the decision implementing the bomb was executed in the correct way.
In August of 1945, both of the only two nuclear bombs ever used in warfare were dropped on the Japanese cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. These two bombs shaped much of the world today.
During the initial blast the A-bomb released about 85% of its energy as intense heat followed by a supersonic shock wave that is felt as a highly destructive high pressure air blast, which can easily demolish tall buildings, not to mention people. After the initial blast radiation covers the area, causing people, animals, and structures to practically disintegrate. Even years afterwards people were still dying and having health problems related to the radiation they were exposed to long before. There were many people that were strongly opposed to the using of nuclear weapons on Japan. But invading the is land instead of bombing would have taken perhaps 1 million us soldiers lives.
President Truman's decision to drop the atomic bomb on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the direct cause for the end of World War II in the Pacific. The United States felt it was necessary to drop the atomic bombs on these two cities or it would suffer more casualties. Not only could the lives of many soldiers have been taken, but possibly the lives of many innocent Americans. The United States will always try to avoid the loss of American civilians at all costs, even if that means taking lives of another countries innocent civilians.
There were many arguments and factors as to if Truman decided correctly and if the United States should have dropped the bombs. There were many disputes supporting the bombing. Some being the Japanese were warned early enough, it shortened the war, and it saved many Americans lives. There are also voluminous quarrels against the United States bombing the Japanese. Some of these are the bombing killed innocent Japanese civilians who did not deserve it, the Japanese was about to surrender before we bombed them, and the United States only blasted the Japanese because of racism toward them. Though there are many valid reasons for and against the bombing, there is still much controversy today whether president Truman made the right decision.
The dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan were ethical decisions made by President Harry Truman and the United States government. By the time of the atom bomb was ready, the U.S. had been engaged in military conflict for over four years and lost over 400,000 soldiers. Truman claimed, "We would have the opportunity to bring the world into a pattern in which the peace of the world and our civilization can be saved" (Winkler 18). The bomb was aimed at ending the war immediately and avoiding prolonged battle in the Pacific Theater and the inevitable invasion of Japan. President Truman hoped that by showing the Japanese the devastating weapon the U.S. possessed, that the war could be brought ...
Firstly, the bombings were unjustified because of the locations where the bombs were dropped. Neither cities were military or naval bases. Hiroshima was “… on a river delta and had been a fishing settlement for centuries” (Lawton) while Nagasaki was a shipbuilding city. Furthermore, Nagasaki had been bombed five times in the twelve months previous to the assault by the U.S. (“The Bombing of Nagasaki”). Both cities were also highly populated leading to high casualty levels. Before the attacks, Hiroshima had a population of 255,000 people and Nagasaki was home to 195,000 people. When these cities were attacked, 70,000 out of those 255,000 died in Hiroshima and 42,000 out of 195,000 perished in Nagasaki. This means that the bombings whipped out 27% of Hiroshima and 22% of the Nagasaki population (Total Casualties).
“My God, what have we done?” were the words that the co-pilot of Enola Gay wrote in his logbook after helping drop two bombs, one in Hiroshima and one in Nagasaki, that killed an estimated two-hundred thousand individuals. The bombings were completely unnecessary. Japan was already defeated because they lacked the necessary materials to continue a world war. The Japanese were prepared to surrender. There was no military necessity to drop the atomic bombs nor is there any factual information stating that the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were dropped to “save the lives of one million American soldiers.” The United States bombed Japan in August of 1945. The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were uncalled for and could have been avoided.
When looking at the aftermath of the atomic bomb in both Nagasaki and Hiroshima the devastation it caused is evident. The majority of the population in Japan could have never imagined such a catastrophic event. On August 6, 1945 and August 9, 1945 massive amounts of lives were changed forever when an atomic bomb fell from the sky and created an explosion as bright as the sun. These two bombs were the first and only accounts of nuclear warfare. (“Atomic Bomb is…”) The impact that the two bombs left on the cities of Japan was tremendous. The bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima devastated the country through structural damage, long term medical effects, expenses, and the massive loss of life.
In my opinion, the decision to use the atomic bomb was harsh and rash, but necessary to end the war and protect American lives and interests. Sometimes harsh decisions need to be made in order to serve the greater good. It was somewhat unjust to the Japanese civilians but in the end saved many military lives that would have been wasted if the war dragged on for who knows how many more years. This is why, in the end, I feel it was the best way to put the storm of World War 2 to rest.
Dropping the atomic bomb was a decision that no man would want to take on. Truman went with all the facts and his gut feeling. There was Great loss for Japan but even some of the Japanese soldiers were happy that the United States dropped the bomb. For it most likely saved their lives the emperor was willing to sacrifice everyone so he wouldn’t have to surrender. Whether you decide to agree with the bomb dropping or not it wasn’t about the bomb it was about ending the war. The atomic bomb is what ended the war quicker than any other options the United States had making it the best choice.
In this next quote, the president tries to justify his actions. “Truman himself, argued that the two weapons dropped over Japan (Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, and Nagasaki on August 9, 1945) brought World War II to a speedy conclusion and saved the lives of many American service personnel who would otherwise have been killed in the invasion of Japan,” (Rodney P. Carlisle, pg. 1). It is true that dropping the bombs ended the war, but this one decision ended the lives of thousands of innocent civilians who had nothing to do with the war. This is a violation of international law and is completely unacceptable from any standpoint. This next quote shows just how many people were affected by the bombings. “No one will ever know exactly how many people were killed in Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. It is most often said that about 80,000 people died either of the immediate effects of the bomb or of exposure to gamma radiation, which killed victims in twenty to thirty days. But the Hiroshima government says that the true death toll was 140,000 by the end of 1945. An area of the city about 6 miles, 10 km, across was devastated,” (Grant, pg. 6). Countless uninvolved people were killed during the bombings. The rest of their lives were filled with pain and sorrow because of one heartless decision the United States made. When the United States decided to drop the bombs on Japan, they decided to murder thousands of people. The atomic bombs caused severe and extreme damage to the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. “People came fleeing from the nearby streets… They were almost unrecognizable. The skin was burned off of some of them and was hanging from their hands and from their
Upon reading “Prompt and Utter Destruction: Truman and the Use of Atomic Bombs Against Japan” by J. Samuel Walker, a reader will have a clear understanding of both sides of the controversy surrounding Truman’s decision to drop atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II. The controversy remains of whether or not atomic bombs should have been used during the war. After studying this text, it is clear that the first atomic bomb, which was dropped on the city of Hiroshima, was a necessary military tactic on ending the war. The second bomb, which was dropped on Nagasaki, however, was an unnecessary measure in ensuring a surrender from the Japanese, and was only used to seek revenge.
Although WW II ended over 50 years ago there is still much discussion as to the events which ended the War in the Pacific. The primary event which historians attribute to this end are the use of atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Although the bombing of these cities did force the Japanese to surrender, many people today ask “Was the use of the atomic bomb necessary to end the war?” and more importantly “Why was the decision to use the bomb made?” Ronald Takaki examines these questions in his book Hiroshima.