Atomic Bomb Decision

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The year was 1945. World War II was nearly over. Germany had been defeated and the allied forces were sure to win the war. The only unsure thing was how many lives would be lost in defeating Japan. The United States decided to drop the atomic bomb on August 6, 1945. On that day the Enola Gay dropped "Little Boy" on Hiroshima. Three days later the United States dropped "Fat Boy" on Nagasaki. 240,000 civilians, mostly women and children, lost there lives on these two days. On August 14, 1945 Japan surrendered unconditionally. Was it necessary? I believe that the U.S. could have used other means to bring about the end of the war. This paper will note a few reasons for dropping the bomb, followed by a discussion of several alternatives to it's the use.

There were a few reasons why the United States dropped the bombs. As Phillip Goodman points out, President Truman was under tremendous pressure from several sources. One source of pressure was his military advisors, who thought that an invasion of Japan would be too costly. A second source of pressure was domestic in nature. In particular, President Truman was under tremendous pressure to please the public because he was up for re-election. In addition to this pressure, there was a hatred for the Japanese, political problems that the U.S. had with Russia,(Doug Long),and the revenge that Americans wanted for the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor.

Having said this, it does not seem to be obvious that the U.S. chose the right response. Admiral William D. Leaky, Chief of Staff to Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman, said that "It is my opinion that the use of this barbarous weapon at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was of no material assistance in our war against Japan." With all the alternatives that were at our disposal, I believe Admiral Leaky was right. According to Phillip Goodman, there were five major alternatives to dropping the bomb: using the atomic bomb in a non-combat demonstration, modifying the U.S. demand for unconditional surrender, allowing the entrance of the Soviets into the war, continuing conventional warfare, and pursuing "Japanese peace feelers."

One alternative was to showcase the power of the atomic bomb in a non-combat demonstration. The dropping of the atomic bomb on an unpopulated area of Japan with international observers would have shown Japan the power of the bomb and they would probably have surrendered.

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