The Atomic Bombs Of Hiroshima And Nagasaki

710 Words2 Pages

Emma Cadman
Ms. Moulton
U.S. History II
5/27/2014
In August 1945, The United States dropped two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These bombs led to the surrender of Japan and the end of World War II. The atomic bombs caused the death of 240,000 Japanese citizens. Today, 69 years after the bombings, U.S. citizens still question whether dropping the bombs was the right choice. President Truman made the choice to drop the atomic bomb because he knew if the United States invaded Japan they would lose many American lives. He knew the war would also go on much longer, and could have ended in compromise between the nations, rather than a Japanese unconditional surrender. Truman also wanted to show off America’s new weapons and supremacy. All these factors led into Truman’s decision. President Truman had America’s best intentions in mind when he chose to drop the atomic bombs. The United States was justified in dropping the atomic bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki because it ended the war without losing American lives, let the U.S. dictate terms of the end of the war, and proved their superior power over the Soviet Union and other nations.
Dropping the atomic bombs ended the war without losing the lives of any American people. “The Japanese troops had demonstrated time and again that they could fight and inflict heavy casualties even when the outlook was hopeless” (Military Considerations). Every beach invasion led by the American soldiers was met by relentless Japanese soldiers. This island hopping campaign led to too many unnecessary American casualties. At the time, it was estimated that a full out invasion of Japan could have led to 1 million American casualties. “The invasion could have been the greate...

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...over them as a way to become the sole victor of World War II. The atomic bomb did exactly so and the United States and United Kingdom were the winners of the war. The United States was justified in dropping the bombs because it proved our power over other post-war nations.
The United States made the right decision to drop the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Without the bombs the U.S. would have invades Japan and lost the lives of thousands of innocent American soldiers. This invasion could have ended the war with a compromise rather than the intended unconditional surrender of Japan and stepping down of the Japanese emperor. The bomb achieved a successful end of the war, but also helped the United States show their power of other countries, especially the Soviet Union. The U.S. was justified in dropping the atomic bombs in Japan.
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