Essay On The Atomic Bomb

Why did the U.S. use the atomic bomb? The years leading up to World War II and the dropping of the atomic bombs were hectic and disordered, from the rise of Hitler in 1933, U.S. isolationism in 1934, to the death of U.S. President Roosevelt. The war showed no signs of ending and the security and freedom of nations around the world were in danger. Order was nowhere to be found, and the decision to even consider using the atomic bomb was unpreventable. The U.S. used the atomic bomb because it was the only way Japan would surrender, the world wanted to end the war as soon as possible with as little casualties as possible, and because of resentful feelings toward Japan.

It didn't save them, it obliterated them in a quick, painful, and inhumane manner. The bombs did not defeat Japan. In conclusion, Japan had already been defeated and avenged. Japan did not want a war with Russia and would have surrendered had the Soviets had the time to declare war, but the United States stopped the Soviet maneuver with a surprise atomic bombing. I agree President Truman wanted to end the war quickly but in my opinion, too quickly.

Japanese pilots were volunteering themselves to be Kamikazes, or suicide pilots. Lastly,the aftermath dropping the bomb left the cities with radiation poisoning, and therefore people couldn't live in those areas for a long time. Overall, I believe that Truman's decision for dropping the atomic bomb in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan was unjustified and uncalled for. The bomb killed about 80,000 innocent Japanese civilians. The Japanese were defeated and they were ready to surrender.

A land invasion would result in heavy casualties against on either side. The United States would be facing a different type of enemy as well. The only choice was to drop the atomic bomb on Japan. While some may argue moral and ethical beliefs, they cease to think about who the real victim was and how many lives it saved on either side. On December 7, 1941 Japan surprisingly attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor, killing 3,000 Americans.

If that had happened, they could have avoided the attack and saved thousands of lives, and Japan would have surrendered anyways. Obviously, if the bombings weren't necessary to win the war, then bombing Hiroshima and Nagasaki was wrong. War is fought by soldiers and not by killing innocent civilians. Even if the bomb dropped on Hiroshima was to pressure Japan to surrender, there was no need to drop a second one on Nagasaki. The dropping of the atomic bomb on Nagasaki and Hiroshima in 1945 by the Americans is a very controversial issue with no definite answer.

What is undisputed is that this sad event dramatically changed the course of human history. To choose whether or not it was morally sound to use the atomic bomb, we must first examine the background as to what circumstances it was dropped under. In 1945, American soldiers and civilians were weary from four years of war, yet the Japanese military was refusing to give up their fight. American forces occupied Okinawa and Iwo Jima and intensely fire bombed Japanese cities. But Japan had an army of 2 million strong stationed in the home islands guarding against Allied invasion.

The atomic bomb should not have been used and even the creators of the bomb agreed as they hid the secret of the bomb from the United States people in attempt to prevent the bombs from ever being used (Did the U.S. 1). The United States should have realized that a weapon of mass destruction, like the atomic bomb, was too powerful when the people who built it in the first place discouraged its use. Also, only limited warning was given to Japan. The United States did not provide warning of a bomb, only a warning for Japan to accept unconditional surrender or risk “prompt and utter destruction.” In the first and also the only warning given to Japan, not once was the bomb ever... ... middle of paper ... ...the world's first atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. This unjustified act on behalf of the United States would become one of the darkest days in the history of the world.

Truman had to make the fatal decision on whether the bomb was to be dropped on Japan. With the idea of going to war, Truman had to think about the lives of the thousand American soldiers. The American soldiers had begun using the method of island hopping, because the bomb was not available. The idea of dropping a bomb was that the war itself could possibly end in its earliest points. The dropping of the atomic bomb could also justify the money spent on the Manhattan Project (Donohue 1).

Three days later, August, 9, the second bomb was dropped on, this time, Nagasaki. Japan surrendered to the United States almost immediately after. Though this operation ended the conflict rapidly, the president shouldn 't have dropped the nuclear bombs, because the radiation caused people to get diseases and cancers, also innocent lives were lost, which left people orphaned or without families. The Japanese people showed a resistance in caving in. They fought till the last guy.

First off, it would be hard to imagine how Japan would have been surrendered without the atomic bomb. Therefore to save many American lives, President Truman believed that it was his duty to end the war as soon as possible. But the bombs took away innocent lives and killed civilians indiscriminately. “Atomic Age America” written by Martin