The Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb
On December 7, 1941, Japan bombed the United States naval facility known as
Pearl Harbor. This attack brought the United States into World War Two. Within the
four years that followed, the United States--under the presidency of Franklin D.
Roosevelt-- researched and developed an atomic bomb. This was known as the
Manhattan Project. Such a bomb was more powerful and destructive than any ever
known to man. After FDR died on April 12, 1945, the decision to drop the bomb was left
in the hands of the new president, Harry S. Truman. On July 25, 1945, President
Truman gave the order to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. Twelve days
later, an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, exploding with the force of 15,000
tons of TNT and reaching 5400 degrees Fahrenheit instantly (Gup 80). Six days later,
Nagasaki was hit with a second atomic bomb. These decisions changed society's
perception of warfare for generations to come. Thousands of lives were ended. Most of
these were civilians and prisoners of war. There were several alternatives to dropping the
bomb. The introduction of this weapon began a nuclear arms race. Some say that the
atomic bomb saved lives, yet thousands were killed. President Harry Truman made the
wrong decision in dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki because the
bombs killed thousands of civilians.
When the bomb hit Hiroshima, 350,000 people were exposed (Gup 89). The
population of the city of Hiroshima was about 290,000. Of these, 40,000 were military
and 20,000 were Korean forced laborers. There have even been records showing that
there were at least 23 American ...
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To what extent was Harry Truman’s decision to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki justified?
Decisions are the hardest thing to do, especially considering how Harry Truman decided to drop the US Atomic bombs onto Okinawa and Iwo Jima. The role to end the war with Japan was in his hands, but it would require releasing the most horrendous weapon ever known. Although, there was some controversy over Truman’s decision. Some people say that it was unnecessary to use the Atomic bombs, such as the Federal Council of Churches and the Christian Faith. They stated that: “As American Christians, we are deeply penitent for the irresponsible use already made of the atomic bomb. We are agreed that, whatever be one’s judgment of the war in principle, the surprise bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are morally indefensible. ("8 Primary Pros and Cons of Dropping the Atomic Bomb")” People also
Historian Robert James Maddox starts the debate by siding with Truman and states that he made the right decision in dropping the bomb. Maddox uses several influential meetings, speculations and the presidents’ personal opinions on the situation to defend his statement. Some examples he uses include, Japanese military power and mentality, saving American lives, and unconditional surrender. In short, because the use of the atomic bomb occurred, the Japanese military lost their lust to fight to the end, countless lives were saved, and Japan surrendered. Therefore, although many Japanese lives were lost in the conflict the right decision was made by Harry Truman to authorize the usage of the bombs.
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 point 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 once classified documents, we can see that the United States ...
The atomic policy against Japan was closely related to the fear of Soviet expansion in Asia. U.S. leaders were strongly conscious of Russia’s agreement at Yalta to join the war against Japan three months past Germany’s surrender on May 7, 1945 (Fogelman, 124). Among the U.S. invasion of Japan planned for November 1, 1945, U.S. officials were doubtful about the cooperative mission with Russia in which Russia would have power at the peace table. However, the successful detonation at Alamogordo had transformed everything. The bomb guaranteed that the U.S. no longer required Russian aid to win in the Pacific (Wainstock, 132).
Many debates have been provoked based on President Truman's decision to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. The debate is not solely based on the bomb being dropped, but more on the actual necessity and intention of the bomb being dropped.
Throughout history, there have been countless wars between different groups of people because of race, religion, economic basis, and endless other reasons. More often than not the party that initiated the war was not justified in doing so based on Douglas Lackey’s “just war theory”. One action initiated by the United States that has been furiously debated since the decision was made is the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, and later Nagasaki. While some argue that President Harry S. Truman was wrong in making the decision that he did, I will be arguing that he was correct in deciding to drop an atomic bomb on Hiroshima because there is clear evidence that shows his actions were justified with both statistical proof as well as that the choice coincides with the criteria for “just war theory”.
Harry S. Truman became the 33rd president by the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt. President Roosevelt died on April 12, 1945 from poor health and exhaustion, only three months into his term. This made Harry S. Truman, President, since he was the Vice President when Roosevelt died. About two weeks after the death of Roosevelt, on April 24, Truman received a mysterious letter from Secretary Stimson. In the letter, Stimson referred to a “highly secret matter” he thought Truman needed to know about as soon as possible. The following day, April 25th, the men met in Truman’s office, with General Groves, the military director of the Manhattan Project (O’Neal 24).
President Harry Truman, 33rd president of the United States, had to face one of the most effective decisions of mankind. The atomic bomb was first served as an idea which was created underneath the United States government. With a nuclear weapon like the atomic bomb, came great responsibility. The idea of how to use and regulate the bomb was not yet implemented. Truman's decision to drop the atomic bomb changed the way Americans thought about war because of its traumatic after effects.
A huge proponent to the use of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and August 9 of 1945 was President Harry Truman. Although they value the ideas and contributions out in by the committee they choose, the president ultimately has the last say on war time decisions. It just so happens that President Truman wanted to drop the bomb. President Truman believed that Japan's leaders would not surrender to the terms outlined in Potsdam meeting. He saw it fit to drop the bombs and end all doubt.
During the final stages of World War II the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the country of Japan. On August 6, 1945 America dropped the first nuclear weapon ever used in war, an atomic bomb by the name of “little boy.” It killed approximately eighty thousand people, not including the amount of people that died due to the radiation exposure. Then on August 9, 1945 America dropped its second atomic bomb by the name of “fatman” that killed roughly forty thousand people. The dropping of the atomic bombs lead to Emperor Hirohito announcing Japan’s surrender in the war on August 15, 1945. “Why We Dropped the Bomb” written by Gar Alperovitz discusses the use of the atomic bombs, why they were used, and how it helped America gain political power. “Thank God for the Atom Bomb” written by Paul Fussel discusses how the atomic bombs were used to save lives against the Japanese. Gar Alperovitz’s article is a more persuasive piece compared to Paul Fussel’s article, because it provides facts and examples that help us understand why America used the atom bomb and how it helped America’s political status.
President Truman was the president that was possibly faced with the most important war decision of the modern war. After his decision, he lead America in inventing a warfare that can possibly destroy our world and cause many dangerous situations in the future. The bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 and the other bomb was dropped on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. The atomic bomb killed 70,000 people instantly and 100,000 over a certain amount of time(Crucible). The
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.
On December 7, 1941 Japan launched a surprise attack on a U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii with the possibility of forcing the U.S. to join World War II. About 2,400 Americans were dead, 21 ships had been sunk, and 188 aircrafts were destroyed. On August 6 and 9 of 1945, the U.S. retaliated and dropped two atomic bombs called Fat Man and Little Boy on the Japanese cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. The U.S. was not justified in dropping the atomic bombs on Japan because of the locations that were bombed, the terms of the Potsdam Declaration, and the lack of previous bomb testing.
On August 6, 1945 the United States dropped the first atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. This was an extremely controversial military strategy in the United States. Was the United States justified in the dropping of the atomic bomb? The U.S. feared the rise of communism and gave aid to any country against it. The U.S. also fought countries threatening the spread communism. One of these countries was Japan. We began a harsh and brutal war against Japan and against communism. This war was killing many soldiers and Japan was not backing down. President Truman decided to use the atomic bomb when things were getting worse. The decision to use the atomic bomb was a difficult one and many people wonder if it was the right choice.