The use of the atomic bomb against Japan was completely justified in both cause and impact. An intense weapon was necessary to force a quick Japanese surrender. The bomb saved thousands upon thousands of American and Japanese lives that would have been lost if the war continued or an invasion occurred. The bomb was the only way to end the suffering of the millions who were being held captive by the Japanese oppressor. The weapon of mass destruction also sent a powerful message to the shaky Soviet allies. The choice to use the atomic bomb was justified because it compelled a Japanese surrender, saved countless lives, served as retribution for the sufferings of many people, and acted as an anti-Soviet deterrent.
At 8:15 AM on August 6th of 1945 an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, killing more than 75,000 people. Not only did the 10,000 pound atomic bomb change the innocence of America, it also changed how millions of people view war. To this day, people still have bittersweet feelings about what the United States did to Japan. Some say that the atomic bomb saved many American lives and others argue that it was unnecessary and immoral. While many deaths and injuries occurred in Japan, America was afflicted by the Hiroshima bombing whether people agree or disagree. In the article America’s Hiroshima, Peter Schwenger describes how the United States was affected by Hiroshima, and what followed after the event.
On August 6, 1945, the United States of America dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. For a considerable amount of time, there have been debates and arguments about whether or not dropping the bomb was justified.. The United States was indeed justified because of the attacks by Japan on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, which happened three years before the atomic bomb falling on Hiroshima. It was important to stop the war as soon as the US could because it spared many American, and Allied lives. Until that point in World War Two, there had never been any battle that took place in the US. Women, men, and children had no reason to stress over being killed in their own country until the date that lays dark in US history, December 7, 1941, the ambush of Pearl Harbor. On that day, the Japanese brought forth and aerial attack featuring 423 planes, touching base in Pearl Harbor, which lead to the death 2,403 and wounding 1,178. Hitting eighteen American ships, it almost completely disabled the United States Navy in one day. Unknown to many citizens, the attack obliterated 180 fighter planes utilized as a part of the US Air Force. Due to the unjustified Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, it is without a doubt that the atomic bombs falling on Hiroshima, and Nagasaki, Japan, were indeed justified.
As World War 2, came to a close, The United States unleashed a secret atomic weapon upon the enemy nation of Japan that was quickly recognized as the most powerful wartime weapon in human history. They completely destroyed the entire Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and essentially vaporized countless innocent Japanese lives. Some historians believe that it was a foolish, brutal decision to use the atomic bomb on a weakened Japan, and that the civilians of the country did not deserve that kind of mass-annihilation. On the opposite side, other historians assert that dropping the bomb saved countless American and Japanese lives by ending the war faster than a regular invasion would have. What is undisputed is that this sad event dramatically changed the course of human history.
... then turned to incidenary bombing at low altitudes with devastating results. In a few months 180 square miles of 67 different cities were destroyed; 2, 510,00 Japanese homes were destroyed leaving about 30% of the population homeless. With between 268,157 to 900,000 Japanese civilians killed there were more Japanese civilians killed by American weapons than were Japanese soldier and the majority of these deaths were direct results of firebombing. The United States then dropped two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki killing 200,000 people and within days the Japanese surrendered. While the morality of the bombing of Japan is highly questionable the effectiveness is not. The bombing led directly to the surrender of the Japanese and saved the lives of the many American troops that would have been lost had the United States engaged in the invasion of the mainland.
America was greatly affected by the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. American reactions varied due to many factors. While many reactions to this end to the war were positive, some Americans questioned how this situation was handled and wondered if other things could have been done to end World War II.
The United States had every right to drop the bomb on Japan. If there was an invasion instead of the bombing, over 500 thousand U.S. lives would have been lost, and over a million Japanese people would have been killed. The Japanese would have fought to the last inch of the island, and the casualties would've been astronomically higher if "Little Boy" and "Fat Man" weren't dropped on Japan.
One representative of the anti-bomb school of thought is Gar Alperovitz, a college professor who has written two books on the topic. Though I concede that Alperovitz is right that the targeting of civilians in the dropping of the two atomic bombs was wrong, I agree more with Spencer Tucker, an advocate for the bombs who has a PhD from the Virginia Military Institute, and his statement that dropping the bombs was the best way to end the war quickly and avoid the loss of many more American lives. Ray Skates, who wrote The Invasion of Japan: Alternative to the Bomb, concluded that t...
This investigation focuses on the use and necessity of the atomic bomb in World War II. To what extent did the atomic bomb dropped by the United States during World War II save lives? This will be investigated using websites, books, military accounts, and newspaper articles. Military calculations of what potentially could have happened had the United States invaded Japan instead of dropping the bomb will be researched. Also, information from the Manhattan Project, reinterpretations of the event, and military strategies of several countries will be used. The physical effects of the bomb on the victims will also be considered. Alternate opinions of why the bomb was dropped will be discussed.
Some regard the atomic bomb as “the thank God for the atom bomb”. This places God on the U.S. side and regards the bombs as our saving grace. This bomb forced the Japanese to surrender which in turn proved the U.S. to be the heroes who saved the American’s lives.1 The Americans intended on ending the war but did not expect to end it with such a large number of casualties. The results of the atomic bomb and how it effected the Japanese people both emotionally and physically will be addressed. “The bombs marked both an end and a beginning—the end of an appalling global conflagration in which more than 50 million people were killed and the beginning of the nuclear arms race and a new world in which security was forever a step away and enormous resources had to be diverted to military pursuits”.2
The bombs dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima caused massive amounts of damage and ruined thousands of lives, but they saves many more lives by ending the war quickly. Many questions pop into the heads of people that might have doubts whether or not the bombings were necessary. Such questions might include: Why, exactly, was the bomb dropped? Was the second bomb necessary? Was Japan about to surrender? Was there a way to end the war less savagely? Would our current leaders have made the same decision? Was any authority opposed to the idea? Should we have bombed military bases instead of cities? These and many other questions arise. Before these are analyzed, a brief background on the bombs and the tests are in order (O’Neal 47).
is the only country to use nuclear weapons against an enemy. The bombing caused more than 200,000 people to be killed immediately, and even more died later due to radiation poisoning and other various injuries, and it also caused 80% of the buildings to be flattened instantly. For years a debate has raged over rather the bomb should or should not have been dropped during the final weeks of WW2. The primary sources in this collection of documents touch upon the standing of the decision to drop the Atomic Bomb. The documents are as follows: A memorandum of the Recommendations on the Immediate Use of Nuclear Weapons, June 16, 1945, a Petition to the President of the United States, July 17, 1945, President Harry S. Truman: Press Release on the Atomic Bomb, August 6, 1945, a photograph of Hiroshima, August 6, 1945, a U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey, 1946, and an Eyewitness Account of the Hiroshima Bombing, 1945 written by Father Johannes Siemes. Based on these six documents, it is evident that there should have been a better approach in handling Japan, and that the bombings were not necessary to follow through
Thousands of lives should have not been the solution to ending the years long war. Many of those who lost their lives due to the atomic bomb are honored today and mourned for because there was and is no reason for lost lives. Many may say the bomb was justified because it saved American soldiers and ended the war, but lives of soldiers were already lost at Pearl Harbor and dropping of the bomb accumulated the death toll more than what it should've
In total the casualties and losses added to a number in between 150,000-300,000 killed, many stories recount the horror which happened as a result of the war. Opinions state that the Americans shouldn’t have dropped the bombs, saying that innocent people didn’t need to die and that their retaliation to Pearl Harbour was somewhat harsh. The Japanese were also willing to surrender on the condition that the Imperial family was retained, but they were denied this right and Japan decided to fight onwards. Following the dropping of the Hiroshima bombing, the Russians had invaded Japan and arguably this would have led to their Surrender, meanin...
..., in a way that would undoubtedly change the image of the American military. The bomb on Hiroshima did just that, and left Japan with only the option to consider a surrender that would end the war. The first bomb was a horrific, necessary military operation. The bomb that destroyed Nagasaki just three days later, with a warning after the fact, was an animalistic attack. With the combination of the bomb on Hiroshima and the Russian invasion, the attack on Nagasaki was completely unnecessary. If the United States had never used the second bomb, the same conclusion would have been reached, but without the added destruction and brutal murder of innocent, noncombatant Japanese.