Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Effects of world war 2 on society
Effects of world war 2 on society
Impact of ww2 on us society
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
The atomic bombings during World War II have been a controversial topic since not only after they were used but even before they were used. There are opinions that believe it was a necessary means to end the war, while opinions believe that another alternative means could have been used to end the war. In an article, written by Mark Weber, Weber states detailed reasons and proof to support his reasons that that there was no valid reason for dropping the atomic bombs. The argument presented by Weber is the most convincing concerning the atomic bombings because he gives details that shows that the Japanese were already defeated before the atomic bombs were dropped, the Japanese did not want to completely surrender all things to another county, …show more content…
Weber used many quotes from different people, yet nearly every person who was against the bombing came to the following conclusion: “the Japanese were already defeated” (Weber, Authoritative Voices of Dissent, paragraph 7). These views took into consideration the obstacles that the Japanese had already faced throughout the war. In 1945, the United States military air-raided the town of Tokyo, with nearly 2,000 tons of bombs; eleven weeks later, the United States military performed the same mission, but they used nearly twice as many tons of bombs and explosives than the first air-strike (Weber, A Beaten Country, paragraphs 2-4). These strikes nearly obliterated the capital of Japan, leaving millions of people either homeless or dead. This was a major obstacle that lead to the downfall of Japan because it shows that the Japanese were not as militarily equipped as the Americans. As a country as a whole, they were having to deal with loses of all their belongings such as their homes, due to being caught in the crossfires, their jobs, due to different factories either running out of raw materials or being destroyed in the crossfires and their rations, due to providing more for the soldiers. Therefore, by 1945, it was inevitable their defeat was close at hand, and they were not able to prevent it from …show more content…
This restricted surrender came with a price, although it was unknown to the Japanese at the time, which was the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. However, the Japanese government was insistence on the conditions that they had created: The Allies could have control over all aspect of their country, troops, territory, and war tools, but they could not have control over the Emperor. Because these were the terms that the Japanese has developed to end war, they knew would not be totally acceptable to the
The Japanese government believed that the only way to solve its economic and demographic problems was to expand into its neighbor’s territory and take over its import market, mostly pointed at China. To put an end on that the United States put economic sanctions and trade embargoes. We believed that if we cut off their resources and their source of federal income than they would have no choice but to pull back and surrender. But the
On August 6, 1945, the U.S. dropped the world’s first atomic bomb over Hiroshima. Three days later, a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. On August 15th, the Japan announced unconditional surrender in World War II. To this day historians still discuss why the U.S. decided to use the atomic bombs. Orthodox historians argue that the decision to drop the bombs was a military one designed purely to defeat the Japanese. Revisionist historians argue that the bombs were not needed to defeat Japan; the bombs were meant to shape the peace by intimidating the Soviets. After analyzing the documents in The Manhattan Project it has become clear that the U.S. used the bombs during WWII not only to defeat the Japanese, but also to intimidate the Soviet Union
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
This essay will explain through logic reasoning and give detailed reasons as to why the United States did not make the right choice. One of the most argued topics today, the end of World War II and the dropping of the atomic bombs, still rings in the American ear. Recent studies by historians have argued that the United States really did not make the right choice when they chose to drop the atomic bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Also with the release of classified documents, we can see that the United States could have made the choice to use other alternatives besides the use of the atomic weapon.... ... middle of paper ...
Before the polychromatic clouds of atomic bombs burnt to black the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the bloodstained shores of Okinawa seemed to lay the fateful path of Pyrrhic Victory before Allied troops who awaited to invade the Japanese mainland. During this time, Allied bombers under the command of Major General Curtis LeMay, launched a victorious offensive of fire-bombings which ignited the wooden city of Tokyo into consuming flames, leaving the Japanese capital in smoldering ashes, killing more than 100,000 people. Moreover, advancing in the west, the Soviet Army marched into Japanese occupied Manchuria, further crippling the weakened nation whose supply of soldiers and war materials dwindled; the fall of Japan seemed inevitable. However,
Historians have debated evidence that the atomic bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were not morally justified. Revisionist historians or advocates of revision, say the atomic bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were unnecessary and not needed. The bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, they say, caused many innocent lives to be lost along with the lives already lost from World War II.
In May of 1945, with Germany’s surrender, the Allied forces achieved victory in Europe. However, World War II was not over, and fighting continued against the Japanese in the Pacific. To finally end the war, United States president at the time, Harry Truman, made the decision to drop the newly invented Atomic Bomb on two navel bases in Japan: Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Although this did lead to the end of the Second World War, President Truman’s decision has faced much controversy in subsequent years, mainly surrounding the morality of his actions. I believe that given the Japanese mindset and the fundamental nature of war, that the dropping of the atomic bomb was justified.
President Truman said that the use of the atomic bomb saved “millions of lives” and brought the war to a quick end. However, ¬¬¬¬Long says there is no conclusive answer towards the possibility of the war resulting with fewer deaths or ending any sooner. Truman also said, “The world will note that the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, a military base. That was because we wished in this first attack to avoid, insofar as possible, the killing of civilians” (Webber). The United States Strategic Bombing Survey later on stated that Hiroshima and Nagasaki were targeted because of their activities and population, contradicting Truman’s statement. If the United States wanted to impress the leaders of Japan, they could have dropped the bomb elsewhere to give them a scare as well as one rather than
The fateful decision was made on July 25, 1945, the day when the official bombing orders were placed on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It was on this day that sent Miss Torako and many others like her to face their unfortunate doom in the microcosm of the end of the world. But it was only a few months later, on the Sixth and Ninth of August 1945, that these poor victims actually get to experience this tragedy. Some people estimated no more than 400,000 people were truly victimized from the effects, others said more. But even now, almost seventy years later after this terrible calamity, people were still utterly disgusted but gruesomely fascinated at the true brutality that these two atomic bombs brought to the world. This fact made people argued and debated for decades on end. Two sides, two perspectives, absolutely and completely different from one another, but nonetheless, never came to a proper conclusion. Should the United States really have dropped the atomic bombs on Japan? Was it, in all reality, truly necessary? To put it blatantly, yes, the United States should have dropped the two atomic bombs on Japan. It had to have been done. With those conditions a...
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.
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.
The effects of the atomic bomb might not have been the exact effects that the United States was looking for when they dropped Little Boy and Fat Man on Hiroshima and Nagasaki respectively (Grant, 1998). The original desire of the United States government when they dropped Little Boy and Fat Man on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was not, in fact, the one more commonly known: that the two nuclear devices dropped upon Hiroshima and Nagasaki were detonated with the intention of bringing an end to the war with Japan, but instead to intimidate the Soviet Union. The fact of Japan's imminent defeat, the undeniable truth that relations with Russia were deteriorating, and competition for the division of Europe prove this without question. Admittedly, dropping the atomic bomb was a major factor in Japan's decision to accept the terms laid out in the Potsdam agreement, otherwise known as unconditional surrender. The fact must be pointed out, however, that Japan had already been virtually defeated.
The dropping of the atomic bomb may be one of the most controversial topics in American history. Could there have been another way to end the war without obliterating two Japanese cities? Several historians have taken a side and stated their interpretation of the situation. There are numerous factors that can sway the argument either way depending upon how influential you determine those factors to be. Some main historians that debated this topic are Robert Maddox, Tsuyoshi Hasegawa, and Gar Alperovitz. Each of these historians provides us with different insight, and a different answer to the question, was it necessary to drop the atomic bomb to end World War II?
There are many people who oppose the use of the atomic bombs; though there are some that believe it was a necessity in ending the war. President Truman realized the tragic significance of the atomic bomb and made his decision to use it to shorten the agony of young Americans (“Was the Atomic Bombing”). The president knew of the way the Japanese fought. They fought to the death and they were brutal to prisoners of war. They used woman and children as soldiers to surprise bomb the enemy. They made lethal weapons and were taught to sacr...