“...a shattering flash filled the sky. I was thrown to the ground and the world collapsed around me…. I couldn’t see anything. It was completely dark…. When I finally struggled free there was a terrible smell and I rubbed my mouth with a towel I carried around empty waist. All the skin came off my face, and then all the skin on my arms and hands fell off. The sky was black as night, and I ran homewards towards the Tsurumi River Bridge. People by the hundreds were flailing in the river…” (Quoted in Harper, Miracle of Deliverance) At the end of World War II, the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Japan on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The atomic bombs were dropped after Germany surrendered and were stated to have been used …show more content…
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
...d by widespread hysteria and hostility between the two superpowers. The United States’ role as a peacemaker was forever challenged by the use of this weapon and for the rest of his time as president, Truman would fight to stop the spread of communism and the greatest fear of the succeeding presidents was the outbreak of nuclear war. The decision Truman chose changed the course of world history. From a moral standpoint, the loss of innocent lives is never fair. The tremendous cost of using this weapon was the lives of hundreds of thousands of innocent Japanese civilians from the immediate and long-term effects of bombs. Despite the moral arguments against this choice, this was the best one for the American cause. Truman’s obligation was first to the American people and as commander-in-chief, he made the decision he believed to best for his constituents.
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.
At that point in time, America was at a crossroads. They hit a dead end and the only logical way to get out was to use the bombs. If people tried to put themselves in Truman’s position, they would question and rethink their opinion almost instantly. In an article titled “Atomic Bomb: Why did President Harry S Truman Order the Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki?” it states, “as Chief Executive of the United States it was his duty to make every effort to end World War II” in order to justify Truman’s stance on the
On August 6, 1945, the United States dropped the first atomic bomb used in warfare against the city of Hiroshima, Japan. Three days later on August 9th, a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan. Just six days after the second atomic explosion, Japan announced its unconditional surrender to the United States after almost four years of war. Philosophers have argued that President Truman took a utilitarian point of morals when deciding to use nuclear weapons: do what is best for the largest number of people. Others say he blatantly ignored Kant’s teachings regarding the morality of attacking non-combatants. Regardless, President Truman was faced with one of the most morally difficult decisions any
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 ...
“With this bomb we have now added a new and revolutionary increase in destruction to supplement the growing power of our armed forces”- President Truman. In the 1945, President Truman was faced with an atomic dilemma in the most destructive war that mankind has seen so far. His choices were to either bomb Japan or let more American soldiers die. He chose to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He chose the most likeable choice in America at the time. If I was able to tell President Truman one thing, it would be, drop the atomic bombs on Japan and end the four year war for America. Japan started the war on America with the bombing of Pearl Harbor, America repaid the debt back to Japan many fold(top secret).
“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.
On August 6, 1945, the first bomb was dropped on the city of Hiroshima. Three days later on August 9, the second bomb hit Nagasaki. Whether the United States made a moral and ethical decision is still an ongoing debate. President Truman was faced with a difficult choice. The U.S. chose to adopt a stance that seemed to limit the amount of casualties in the war, by significantly shortening it with the use of atomic weapons. It was certainly a reasonable view for the USA to take, since they had suffered the loss of more than thousands of lives, both military and civilian. To the top rank of the US military the death toll was worth it to prevent the “many thousands of American troops that would have been killed in invading Japan.” This was a grave
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.
Truman was justified in dropping the Atomic bombs because of the situation at hand, but it is arguable because he had several alternatives. Right after America declared war on Japan, Germany also declared war on the United States. Thereby, causing a dilemma for the United States nation as a whole. If the US didn't finish the war with Japan quickly, they would have trouble backing up the allied powers. However, Truman could have found another way to defeat Japan with a less violent tactic.
To what extent was Harry Truman’s decision to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki justified?
Japan will never forgotten the day of August 6 and 9 in 1945; we became the only victim by the atomic bombs in the world. When the atomic was dropped at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, there was World War II. The decision of dropping the atomic bombs was affected by different backgrounds such as the Manhattan Project, and the Pacific War. At Hiroshima City, the population of Hiroshima was 350,000 when the atomic bomb dropped. Also, the population of Nagasaki was around 250,000 ("Overview."). However, there was no accurate number of death because all of documents were burned by the atomic bombs. On the other hand, the atomic bombs had extremely strong power and huge numbers of Japanese who lived in Hiroshima