In your opinion should President Truman have authorized the use of the A-Bomb at the end of WWII. Write your answer on the WFG blog. It should take your 1:30 to 2:00 minutes to read your answer to the class during your exam period.
President Truman was justifiable in dropping the atomic bombs in the spirit of total warfare. Total warfare is,” military conflict in which the contenders are willing to make any sacrifice in lives and other resources to obtain a complete victory”, (Encyclopedia Britannica). This means that every citizen of the Axis powers is technically an enemy. By dropping the A-bomb on Hiroshima it killed 66,000 and killed 42,000 people at Nagasaki, (Hiroshima & Nagasaki Atom Bombs). All of these casualties can be considered necessary in ending the war with Japan from the total warfare perspective. The civilians in both Hiroshima and Nagasaki were given a five-day warning before the bombs were dropped. These people were advised to take their families and leave the cities since there would be an air raid. Additionally, within both of these cities there were military training facilities and ground bases.
“And do not forget, these 'innocent' citizens killed and harmed during the bomb were spending their entire day learning how to kill their enemy. Classes were replaced with drills, work replaced with mock battles - if Hiroshima had not been bombed, it would have turned into the military base Americans so feared, and then it would have been too late.”, (The Age of Hirohito: In Search of Modern Japan by Daikichi Irokawa)
There is a multitude of evidence showing that if America did not drop these bombs that World War II would of continued to drag on, and potentially more lives would have been taken.
"Total War (military)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 25 May 2013.
"The Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki." Hiroshima & Nagasaki Atom Bombs. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 May 2013.
Truman should not have issued the use of two atomic bombs at the end of World War II. The goal Truman was supposed to accomplish was to at least defeat the Japanese or have them surrender. He was trying to avoid putting his men in danger once more, so he avoided the options of invasion or blockade. The U.S had enough casualties as it is. Another option Truman had was to surrender to Japan but that was not an option whatsoever. The last option was the use of bombs. There were several ways he could have used the bombs. They were warning Japan and then dropping it, dropping it without warning, dropping it on an uninhabited island, dropping it on a military occupied island, or dropping it on a city without warning. Out of all of those options, Truman chose to drop it in a city without warning.(Gulotta) In fact, he dropped two bombs on two cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He chose the option where not only did he kill the enemies and persuade the Japanese to surrender, but he also ended up choosing the option that ended up killing many innocent civilians. If the bomb was the only way to get the Japanese to surrender, the use of the bomb can be considered acceptable as long as only one bomb is used in one city and a warning is issued. If the U.S did not have to succumb to violence to get the Japanese to surrender, the use of the bomb as just a threat would be a good option that way the killing of the innocent could be avoided. If there was no other option but to use both bombs, Truman should have authorized the use of the bombs as long as there was no motive for power and the Japanese refused to surrender.
In my opinion, the decision making of President Truman in which he authorized the use of the A-Bomb at the end of WWII was right. If he escaped the burden of Nuclear Bomb, the imperialistic war by Germany and Japan would involve the greater sacrifice of innocent people. The victory of the Allies put an end of the Imperialism and brought the long-term peace in global dimension.
A-bomb has clearly intimidated the life and peace of mankind in modern history. The dropping of A-bomb on the Hiroshima in the WWII gave the endanger warning of it. We were greatly surprised by the destruction power of the A-bomb and deeply recognized the fear of Nuclear War. NPT, Nonproliferation Treaty, was the by-product of it and the global society has made an endeavor not to use in war, but to use in peace the Nuclear Power.
The peace doesn't come by itself. When we do our best not to fear being involved in war, the peace protects our life. A-bomb of Hiroshima sent both signals of the peace, which was ready for war, and the war, which was left by greediness.
Source: "NPT Treaty." UN News Center. UN, n.d. Web. 25 May 2013.
In my personal opinion, Truman should have used the atomic bomb at the end of World War II. Due to the multiple warfare advancements the U.S. needed to show that they could compete. Another reason Truman should have dropped the bombs is because the Japanese had a huge will to win. This would mean total war, and millions of U.S. and Japanese would die before the battles ended. If the war were to continue, more money would be spent on the war which could either hurt or help the economy, so again, by dropping it the Japanese might surrender. Truman needed to drop the bombs in order to save American lives, and the military’s reputation, at the end of World War II.
During WWII various new forms of warfare had been developed and implemented. For example, the Germans used “blitzkrieg” (lightning war), the British used radar and sonar. Aircraft carriers replaced battleships as the centerpiece of naval warfare. With all of these new advancements, each military had to continue to upgrade. If not, one country could fall behind the advancement trend and its enemy could wipe them out. The U.S. had to keep up with industrialization of aircrafts, tanks, vehicles and even the development of the atomic bomb. Germany, Japan, and the USSR were also trying to develop an atomic bomb. However, the U.S. was the first ones to make one that worked. So in order to show the rest of the world that we created this weapon, and opportunity would need to arise where it would be plausible. Yes, I understand that millions of innocent people would die, but this is war, and millions of innocent people die every day because of greed.
The Japanese soldiers felt they were obligated to fulfill an ancient warrior pact meaning that they would fight to the death to defend their islands. Japanese “Kamikaze” pilots would crash their planes into Allied ships if they were about to go down or ran out of ammunition. The Japanese were not going to surrender until they had been nearly wiped out. Using the battle of Iwo Jima as an example, it took six weeks to take the tiny island of Iwo Jima, which was defended by just 20,000 Japanese soldiers. Over 6,000 U.S. soldiers were killed in the process and nearly another 20,000 wounded. The U. S. military estimated that an invasion of the mainland would result in over 1,000,000 Americans either dead or wounded, and nearly double that in Japanese. In April, 1945 the Japanese government announced a war policy that every civilian on the island would answer the call to arms if the country were invaded as even women and children were taught to use grenades and attack with spears. When you have women and children attacking you, would you attack back? This is a problem today with modern warfare because most militaries will not attack children, even if they had guns. In order to avoid having US soldiers have to point a gun at women and children, President Truman had to make a huge decision which brought our great nation to a crossroad.
No one knew how devastating the explosions and the aftermath of the bombs would be. If the war were to continue, it could cost $2 billion or more. By dropping the bombs on the cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, 199,000 Japanese died. Using these numbers in comparison to the estimates by the U.S. military, I believe that 1 million U.S. soldiers were saved, and almost 1.9 million Japanese lives were saved. The U.S. ceased money going towards the war effort so the economy could begin to prosper again. The U.S. contributed to the development of weapons of mass destruction which defined the U.S. military for years to come, and potentially saved lives during the Cold War. We could never know what would have happened if Truman hadn’t dropped the bombs, and today we are at peace with Japan. Another point, as my mom always says, “Everything happens for a reason.”
in my opinion, President Truman was justified in his dropping of the two atomic bombs at the end of World War II. By the end of the war, America had suffered 418,000 casualties. As a final move to end the war that had so scarred the world, Truman needed something that the world had never seen before. Now, America had come a long way in the war effort. World War II was an exceptional showing of American power and determination, not to mention loyalty. Throughout the course of World War II, the Manhattan Project was secretly the face of American innovation and came into play at the best possible timing. When the atomic bombs were dropped, they did more than end the war. They assured the world of what many thought was already true: America was, and still is, one of the strongest nations in the world. While there is a downside, and many long term effects arose after the droppings of these A-Bombs, it was still necessary that they be dropped. It's rather contradictory that people all over the world fight for peace, but that doesn't make them selfish. President Truman was a man who had a good head on his shoulders and knew what was right for the American people. In OK-ing the dropping of the atomic bomb, President Truman was ultimately looking out for the safety of the people he represented. After the bombs were dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the collective death count of Japanese citizens surpassed 100,000- almost a quarter the amount that America had lost over the entire six year period of World War II. While it came with gruesome side effects and consequences for the Japanese, it was the one thing that America needed to really tip the Japanese over the edge into surrender. Also, not to mention that the Japanese were given a five day grace period, giving them adequate time to evacuate the cities that happened to double as military bases. Although it was horrifying, scarring, and deadly, the dropping of the Atomic bombs were necessary. It ended a conflict that had been going on for two long and proved to those doubting it that Americans were certainly as strong as they said they were. When the atomic bombs were dropped, it brought justice to something that could have gone on for much longer, something that cost thousands of American lives, but also ultimately saluted American pride and bravery.
Truman’s decision to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was valid. By the end of the war, America’s victory seemed uncertain, as the American military had suffered 416,800 casualties. After learning of the success of the Manhattan Project, Truman realized that he was facing a decision of unparallel gravity, a decision that no one in the world ever had to contend with before. Truman held the ability to end World War II in the Pacific theater with Japan, but it would involve killing many innocent people and unleashing the most disastrous and vile weapon the world has ever seen. Truman had limited options, all of which seemed futile if he planned on winning the war.
One option Truman had was to simply invade Japan. This option could possibly produce one million American soldiers dead, with at least as many Japanese soldiers killed, as well as many civilians, all for a possible American victory. Truman needed an option that would both guarantee and secure a win for America. The second option Truman had was to blockade Japanese ports so that millions of citizens would die of starvation, which could convince the Japanese Emperor Hirohito to surrender. Unfortunately, this tactic would be unfruitful, for Hirohito and his military vertebrae would not concede in order to upkeep their reputation. Another option, though implausible, was for Truman to surrender to Japan. If Truman surrendered, millions of Asians, especially in China, would be killed and subjected to be ruled by Hirohito. Hirohito could take control of Asia and want to expand his grip of control across the Pacific to America, and an event like Pearl Harbor could happen again. America’s submission to Japan would be more of acquiescence; no American citizen would agree with Truman if he surrendered, especially after the immense war effort in America with victory bonds and victory gardens. The operative word within every American war effort off the battlefield was “victory”, so the American citizens expected and deserved nothing less. Truman needed to end the war with a bang – an atomic bang.
Hence, the only viable option was to drop the atomic bombs. If the bombs were dropped, then an estimated 200,000 Japanese soldiers and civilians would be killed, with no American casualties. It was the best option across the board: it ensured America’s victory, controlled the impending belligerence of Japan’s emperor, and affirmed as few as possible American deaths. Thus far during Truman’s presidency, he secured Germany’s surrender and was hoping for Japan’s as well to end the most heart-wrenching and shocking war America had seen yet. Truman was the beacon of light for America throughout the storm of fear and insecurity that loomed over the world during the war, and he was determined to continue radiantly illuminating.
President Truman was right about using the atomic bombs in 1945 against Japan because the Japanese were not going to surrender unless they were deprived of all hope and this could only be accomplished by starting to kill civilians, just like they had. There were two choices that could have been made by President Truman and these were invading Japan, which would have resulted in the death of up to 1 million Americans in combat, or dropping the bombs, which would have resulted in no American casualties at all but the same outcome. This expected outcome was the surrender of Japan, which would not happen unless enough damage was caused to the civilians in Japan for them to disobey the Bushido Code “Death before dishonor.” Which pushed them to fight to the death with that purpose. The use of the atomic bomb was definitively the right call and the use of them both was extremely significant because it showed the world that America had the capability and resources to make more than one. The use of these bombs was the right decision because even though it took hundreds of thousand of innocent lives in Japan, it saved millions of Japanese and American soldiers.
In 1945, the Second World War came to an end as two of the three Axis Powers relinquished their previously dominant holds upon Europe, leaving only the Japanese remaining. Winston Churchill of Great Britain, Harry Truman of the United States, and Joseph Stalin of Russia needed to pressure Japan into an unconditional surrender. Willing to surrender only if they could keep their ruling emperor, the Japanese refused to back down. The meeting of the Allied Powers took place at the Potsdam Conference in Potsdam, Germany July 17- August 2 of 1945. Out of the options of invasion, blockading the island nation, and the deployment of a super bomb big enough to destroy a whole city, Truman justifiably decided that bombing Japan was indeed the right decision.
Morally, President Truman had a real dilemma to deal with and make a decision about in a very short amount of time. He was just in deciding to drop the Atomic Bombs on Japan because he knew that the war could not go on much longer in the devastating way that it was. It would have been better off in the long run to destroy just two Japanese cities with bombings than to risk continuing a war that had the potential to destroy the entire country. The lives that were lost were not lost in vain considering the full extent of damage that could have been caused if the war had continued or even increased in intensity. Many claim that the bombs did in fact cause long-term damage in that the harsh and irreversible radiation caused unexpected mutations in many citizens and unborn fetuses. This argument can be countered with the fact looking at the bigger picture (that of an unseeingly unending war), damages to just one country's people and land that only lasted a few decades was not as bad as what could have happened had Japan attacked other European and Pacific nations. Dropping the bombs decreased the risk of damage to Europe and Australia had the Japanese persisted in continuing to battle. Fat Boy and Little Man, although causing decades worth of irreversible damage to the people of Japan, saved the country from the extensive damages that could have been caused to the had the Allies invaded, as well as the rest of the world had Japan refused to cease warfare.
With a death toll of that killed 90% of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, 80,000 people were immediately killed upon impact. On August 9, 1945, the city of Nagasaki suffered an estimated 40,000 deaths by the second Atomic Bomb dropped by the United States. Emperor Hirohito finally announced the unconditional surrender of Japan on August 15, 1945 at 12:00 o'clock
I believe that Truman was right in ordering the dropping of the two bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Truman did have other options; however, I think that the most sensible one was to drop the bombs. Truman’s ultimate goal when he ordered the dropping of the bombs was to get Japan to unconditionally surrender. However, Japan would not surrender without being able to keep their emperor in power.
Given these circumstances Truman had options; he could have invaded Japan’s main island. Doing this he and his cabinet both figured there would be too many casualties. If all went according to plan the estimated casualties were about 100,000, and in the worst case about one million. In both cases it was too many casualties after how many soldiers the US had lost on the Europe front. Another idea Truman considered was to blockade Japan’s main island and not let anything get in or out, eventually they would have to surrender. However, Truman and his cabinet decided against this as well because they thought it would be too expensive and Japan would fight it. Then the use of the A-Bomb came up but there were different ways to use it. There was the option of warning Japan then dropping it on that city, however, this would not have had a big enough effect. Then they came up with dropping it on a military occupied island or uninhabited island. These ideas were shut down as well because by doing this Japan would only want to fight more. Finally Truman decided to order the dropping of the A-Bomb on a city without a warning. Though this would end with major Japan civilian deaths, this would get Japan to unconditionally surrender. I believe that Truman was right in ordering the dropping of these two bombs on Hiroshima, on August 6th, 1945, and Nagasaki, on August 9th, 1945. It was because of these two bombs that Japan surrendered on August 14th, 1945. In all, without the use of the A-Bomb, the US would have suffered many more casualties and would have wasted large amounts of money.
After years of brutal warfare both on land and at sea, the American troops desperately needed an end to World War II. President Harry S. Truman was faced with a choice that could change combat forever. The decision as to weather or not to drop the atomic bomb on Japan, and immediately bring about an end to the war, fell on him and his elite cabinet. Ultimately, the United States dropped the atomic bomb on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and ended the war in the in the most efficient way possible. I agree with the decision that Truman made because it was necessary to bring about an end to the war and all the other options required more time, money, and lives lost for the United States military. The other costly options included intensely bombing several Japanese cities, waiting for the soviet union to join the war against Japan, allowing the Japanese emperor, Hirohito to remain in power or a land invasion of Japan. Japan had no intention to surrender and so the war would have continued until one country simply ran out of supplies or man power. Although President Truman did not know all the harmful after effects that the bomb would bring he had the nations best interest in mind. The US notified Japan that they had forty eight hours to clear out of the cities before the bomb was dropped. Both atomic bombs caused an immense amount of destruction and killed many innocent civilians but this same amount, if not more of destruction, and lost lives would have occurred if the war was not terminated by the dropping of the atomic bomb
"Was the U.S. Justified in Dropping Bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki?" – Debate.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2013.
President Truman was correct in his decision in the use of an atomic bomb. The Japanese military, at the time, believed in the Bushido Code; loosely translated to “the way of the warrior”. The word represents all that is of value to the Japanese soldiers at the time: stressing loyalty and honor to the nation under which they fought. Phrases like “Death before dishonor” , and “never surrender” were what scared The United States. We saw the Bushido Code’s extremes in battles in the Pacific Theatre during the battle for Iwo Jima and the attack on Pearl Harbor. Many Japanese pilots had little flight time (under 100 hours) and were very young (as young as 16). The planes the soldiers were flying had no parachutes, a locked cockpit door, no landing gear, and was rigged with explosives on the interior so that, on impact, the plane would explode. There was no escape for the Japanese, all in the name of honor. During our battle for Iwo Jima, Japanese soldiers dug elaborate underground tunnels in which they hid, all in order to stall the American forces from getting to Japan. Few Japanese soldiers were taken prisoner, for most all soldiers either died in combat against the Americans, or committed suicide in the name of death before dishonor. The Bushido code was an impossible enemy to fight against: too many lives were at stake and our president wanted to minimize American war casualties. It was estimated that another 1,000,000 Americans would die as a result of a Japanese invasion. Some believed that in order to force Japan into surrender, every single Japanese soldier had to be killed.
Truman was faced with a tough decision but he made the right call. The use of the two atomic bombs was necessary in the surrender of the Japanese at the end of World War II.
Sources: Gulotta Power Point slides http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Iwo_Jima http://www.samanthaseiple.com/wwii-kamikazes-the-bushido-code-and-the-aleutian-war/
President Truman should not have dropped the atomic bomb on Japan at the end of WWII. Not only were there countless military casualties, but there were also countless casualties of innocent civilians. There were roughly 150,000 - 246,000 + casualties, along with lasting affects that continue to have an impact on our society. Following the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, many people died of radiation sickness, cancer, and other long-term effects. Hardly anyone perceived the damage it would have on the world. Woman who were pregnant at the time of the bombings gave birth to defected babies due to the impact of the radiation. In addition, dropping the atomic bomb created a diabolical world-wide mindset, setting the stage for unnecessary nuclear warfare in the future. President Truman's decision to drop the bomb was heavily influenced by Russia because he wanted to prove that America was capable and entirely serious about what would soon become the Cold War. During the Potsdam Conference, Truman insured that Stalin would lead Russia to enter the Pacific war. When Stalin agreed, Truman wrote in his diary: "Fini Japs when that comes about" (Lasscson). The connotation of Truman's comment signifies that he was trying to make an impression on the Russians. As the Allies were defeating the Axis powers and Russia was soon to enter the war against Japan, it was fairly obvious that Japan was not likely to win the war. As a result, President Truman's decision to drop the bomb was not justified as a reason to quickly and completely end the war. Also at the Potsdam Conference, an ultimatum was proposed to Japan: either surrender unconditionally or there would be a very destructive weapon. Unfortunately, Japan did not surrender, underestimating the affects of the atomic bomb that was soon to be dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6th and August 9th of 1945. Professor Oppenheimer, one the the developers of the atomic bomb during The Manhattan Project, reflected later in his life: "But I do not have the feeling that it was done right. ... our government should have acted with more foresight and clarity in telling the world and Japan what the bomb meant" ("J. ROBERT OPPENHEIMER"). Instead of dropping the bomb without warning, Truman should have chosen a less destructive approach. Another option would have been to drop the atomic bomb with warning or even drop it on an uninhabited or military island. If he decided to go with either of these options, he would still have been able to achieve the same results: ending the war with Japan and proving to Russia that America is capable of such destruction. The Allies would have still won the war and many, many casualties would have been prevented. The 34th President of the US, Dwight Eisenhower, also agreed that it was not necessary to drop the atomic bomb on Japan as a means to end the war. "First on the basis of my belief that Japan was already defeated and that dropping the bomb was completely unnecessary, and second because I thought that our country should avoid shocking world opinion by the use of a weapon whose employment was, I thought, no longer mandatory as a measure to save American lives," ultimately concluding and concurring with my opinion that it "...wasn't necessary to hit them with that awful thing" ("HIROSHIMA").
Works Cited
"HIROSHIMA." Hiroshima: Quotes. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 May 2013. .
"J. ROBERT OPPENHEIMER." J. Robert Oppenheimer and the Atomic Bombings of Japan. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 May 2013. .
Lsaacson, Walter. "Essay: Why Did We Drop the Bomb?" Time. Time, n.d. Web. 25 May 2013. .
War is hell, and war is complete chaos to everyone who is involved both directly and tangentially related. Truman’s decision in dropping the atomic bomb to end WWII was a justifiable decision. If Truman had not commanded to drop the atomic bomb, WWII might have been still going on just like the Korean War, which has not come to an end since 1950. Being Korean myself, I know more than enough how much Koreans suffer from the ongoing war. Family members are separated by the 38th parallel, and tension between the north and the south is always a great threat to not only Koreans, but also to neighboring countries. Astronomical figures of money are spent in national security. In addition to money, so much time and human resources are devoured by the war. In fact, I am required to serve in the Korean army for 2 years in the following few years. Ending the war as soon as possible was the most necessary decision. Without the atomic bomb, the WWII would have perpetuated longer and impacted more people in a wider and greater magnitude. By quickly ending the war, Truman made the right decision.
Furthermore, one reason why Truman’s decision can be justified is because with the atomic bombing in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, now people know how destructive these bombs are. If the two atomic bombs had not been dropped, no one whould have known the atomic bomb’s catastrophic consequences. Knowing what results the atomic bomb can bring, now countries cooperate to maintain security and peace in the world.
In my opinion, President Harry Truman’s decisions to authorize the use of the A-Bomb on Japan was justified in order to end World War II once and for all in 1945. The bombs created during the Manhattan Project were dropped in early August. Truman had a few options to end the Pacific war with Japan and gain victory for America. One option was to invade the main land of Japan, which would result in too many deaths for Americans. Another was to blockade Japanese ports to starve and deprive the Japanese people. The last was to drop the atomic bombs on Japan to avoid American deaths. The war had been going on for far too long and there were over 416,000 American casualties. Truman saw that the best option was to drop the bombs. It would secure the surrender of Japan and barely any Americans would be killed. This option was the most valid and likely to succeed. Truman was doing his job as president of the United States by choosing the best option for the country and the people. This war tactic also showed that America was still a strong and powerful nation by being the first to use this dangerous weapon of destruction. Japan had been warned before the bombs were dropped to give them time to evacuate if needed, so the Japanese knew that something was coming. The first bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and three days later another on Nagasaki. Japan officially surrendered on September 2, 1945, less than a month after the bombs were dropped. I believe that President Truman’s decision over dropping the atomic bombs was necessary and justified to end the gruesome and terrible war that had been going on for too long. This was the best option because it saved money and lives for America. Japan had iniated the war with America to begin with by bombing Pearl Harbor, which brought us into the World War in the first place. This act was to settle the fight for good. The bomb ended the fight not only for American and Japan but for the whole world because it was the last factor of World War II. Truman was correct in authorizing the use of the atomic bombs on Japan. It was truly the best option for America because it guaranteed surrender, despite the dreadful aftermath of Japan.
There is much controversy over whether or not Harry S. Truman should have agreed to drop the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. On one hand, 75,000 innocent people were killed in Japan as a result of his decision. The people who were not killed, as well as their children, were severely injured or became mentally unstable. It was a horrific and tragic event in so many ways. Despite this, and due to lack of a better option, in 1945, Truman is justified in the choice he made to drop the bombs that were built in the manhattan project. World War 11 had been going on for six years, thousands of Americans were dead, and the decision to drop the bomb seemed as if it was the only way to put an end this horrific period in our history. Japan resisted surrender, leaving the Americans with only three options. The first option was to invade Japan. This would drag the war on longer, and would have cost more lives than dropping the bombs. The next option consisted of blockading and starving the Japanese people. This option, similar to the option of invasion, put a great deal of American soldiers at risk, which was not in any way ideal. The Americans needed to put an end to the war, and the bomb was the easiest option with the quickest results, and would cause the least amount of American casualties. Though it is not a proud piece of America's history, driven by a desire for Japanese surrender, Truman's authorization to drop the Japan was acceptable.
After many years of very brutal and cruel warfare between the axis and allied powers, it was time for the one nation to take feat in the pacific. In 1945, President of the United States, Harry Truman made the correct decision to drop the two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, in Japan, to end World War II. The United States needed to win the war fast, with as little casualties as possible, but harmful enough to push Japan to surrender. After the Potsdam Conference the ultimatum Truman, Atlee, and Stalin agreed upon were an unconditional surrender of Japan or the United States would deploy a weapon that can destroy a city. There were three options for Truman. One was to invade Japan, causing many American soldiers their lives and many Japan soldiers and civilians their lives as well. This would have opened a time slot for Russia to join the war in the Pacific, where they could spread communism farther, and therefore possibly begin the Cold War simultaneously. This was not the result Truman wanted. Another solution to end the war would be for the United States to surrender to Japan, but Truman would never do this. The atomic bomb, created in the Manhattan Project by General Groves and Professor Oppenheimer, was the third option. Dropping “Fat Boy” and “Little Man,” the two atomic bombs, with no warning on a city would make the biggest statement. Killing of civilians would scare the Japanese. By dropping two bombs, the Japanese would be left to speculate how many atomic bombs the United States possibly had. The fear would push them to surrender as soon as possible. If he had dropped it with a warning or on an uninhabited island, the fear would have been far less significant. Yes, the atomic bomb had a lasting, harmful affect on those two cities, but it was worth those affects. If we did not drop the bombs, how many American deaths could there have been? And what would Stalin’s impact been on the Pacific War? These impeding questions scared the United States. With the bombs being dropped, there were only 200,000 Japanese deaths, absolutely no American causalities. They forced an inevitable Japanese surrender, and hindered the expanding, belligerent rule of Emperor Hirohito. Truman’s undeniable intelligence to make the right decision saved the United States and the rest of the world from all other horrible futures.
The detonation was stunning because the mushroom cloud would rise after the initial light, burning everything inside like lava or molasses covering a whole city (Hiroshima: Why America Dropped the Atomic Bomb). Furthermore, the radiation caused hundreds of thousands of deaths over a decade and left the survivors in constant fear.
While the decision to drop the bomb did indeed help to end the protracted and devastating war, the long-term cost was titanic and irreparable. Truman should not drop the atomic bombs in Japan. Killing innocent civilians and destroying civilization were immoral and criminal actions.
In fact by 1945, the war was virtually over because Japan was already seeking for unconditional surrender. In 1944, Prime Minister Hideki Tojo tried to reinforce Saipan, which was really close to Japan. Nevertheless, America had a total victory. The Japanese government later estimated that “of the 43,682 men sent to defend Saipan, 41,244 died, along with some 14,000 civilians” (Cook). If the suffering of Japanese soldiers as well as civilians and the absence of a nuclear weapon were not enough to end the war, the attempt of unconditional surrender by Japan had better bring peace. Emperor Hirohito urgently sought to terminate the war with only one demand – which he would remain as the emperor. "We have heard enough of this determination of yours to fight to the last soldiers,” Hirohito said at a June 22 meeting of the Supreme War Council, “we wish that you, leaders of Japan, will strive now to study the ways and the means to conclude the war” (Rotter). What’s more, the Japanese still kept its emperor after the war. Even if Truman was incredulous enough to think that Japan was not going to surrender without bombings, he should realize that there were other means to end the war than the atomic bombs. According to many commanders in U.S. military, there were many different alternatives. General Douglas MacArthur had the same plan many other people would think: simply accept the Japanese’s unconditional surrender. Admiral William Leahy believed that the US naval blockade against Japan was strong enough to keep Japan from being a further threat. The atomic bombs sparked an international nuclear arms race. Consequently, the Cold War began between the Soviet Union and the United States. It went on with both the Soviet Union and the United States constantly on the edges of nuclear war until the Soviet Union disintegrated in 1989.
Many years after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the debate over the use of the atomic bombs continued. Indeed, the development of nuclear technology did benefit the world in many ways. However, President Truman should never have used the atomic bombs against Japan, nor should any other nation use them. Certainly, history cannot be changed, but Hiroshima and Nagasaki served as a lesson for all of us that how lethal and devastating nuclear weapons can be. If there is one good cause of the atomic bombing, I believe, it is that we have learned that we will never use them again.
Work cited Cook, Haruko Taya and Theodore Failor Cook. Japan at War: An Oral History. New York: New, 1992.
Kelly, Cynthia C. The Manhattan Project: The Birth of the Atomic Bomb in the Words of Its Creators, Eyewitnesses, and Historians. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal, 2007.
Rotter, Andrew Jon. Hiroshima: The World's Bomb. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2008.
The decision to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima during the pacific war is a very controversial topic. This is one of the few examples where the opinions regarding the topic are relatively split down the middle. However, I believe that this bold attack was justified, and saved the lives of many American soldiers. President Truman’s explanation behind the bomb dropping was extremely simple and straightforward, he wanted to end the war. The invasion of Iwo Jima cost more American lives than D-Day, and to invade Japan again would have cost approximately one million more American lives. Dropping the bomb on Hiroshima was the quickest way to end the war, while also saving the most lives. Another important factor in Truman’s decision-making was the fact that if he dropping the bomb it would also be a deterrent to future soviet aggression. If the Soviets could witness the weaponry that the United States possessed, maybe they would be less likely to start a confrontation. Having said that, I feel that the second bomb dropping on Nagasaki was grossly unnecessary. The first atomic bomb was devastating enough to end the war, so there was no need for more innocent Japanese deaths. Truman also underestimated the chemical mechanics of the atomic bomb, and what it would do to the following generations of Japanese civilians. If he had known what is now common knowledge, I believe he would have only dropped the first bomb.
Lsaacson, Walter. "Essay: Why Did We Drop the Bomb?" Time. Time, n.d. Web. 26 May 2013. .
There has been a lot of discussion regarding whether it was right or not for President Truman to authorize the usage of the atomic bomb on Japan. In my opinion,it would be justifiable to drop only one bomb given the fact that Truman wanted to conserve US troops and intimidate the Soviet Union. However, Truman went as far as to authorize two bombs, causing even further destruction. By that point of the war, Japan has already been ready to surrender to the US. Not only did the two bombs cause countless deaths of Japanese civilians and raze two big cities to the ground, but also left even further long-term destruction in Japan such as atomic radiation. Furthermore, brutal destruction can cause hatred. The fact that the Japanese were defeated and the destruction of their cities because of atomic bombs have left a sense of bitterness and inferiority complex in the general consciousness towards Americans. The showcase of atomic warfare also led to other nations participating in the nuclear arms race, starting to develop WMDs and nuclear missiles programs. Certainly, if Truman hadn't authorized the atomic bombs, the horror caused by nuclear weapons wouldn't have happened.
There has been a lot of discussion regarding whether it was right or not for President Truman to authorize the usage of the atomic bomb on Japan. In my opinion, it would be justifiable to drop only one bomb given the fact that Truman wanted to conserve US troops and intimidate the Soviet Union. However, Truman went as far as to authorize two bombs, causing even further destruction. By that point of the war, Japan has already been ready to surrender to the US under one condition: to preserve the Emperor of Japan (according to Olly Liu’s answer). Not only did the two bombs cause countless deaths of Japanese civilians and raze two big cities to the ground, but also left even further long-term destruction in Japan such as atomic radiation. Since atomic weapons were a relatively new concept in the world, thus there’re no regulations or mutual agreements on nuclear weapon control. However, it doesn’t mean that the US has the rights to let loose and massacre Japanese civilians. Furthermore, brutal destruction can cause hatred. The fact that the Japanese were defeated and the destruction of their cities because of atomic bombs have left a sense of bitterness and inferiority complex in the general consciousness towards Americans. The showcase of atomic warfare also led to other nations participating in the nuclear arms race, starting to develop WMDs and nuclear missiles programs and then the Cold War between US and the USSR. Certainly, if Truman hadn't authorized the atomic bombs, the horror caused by nuclear weapons wouldn't have happened. Looking on the bright side, we should not really regret much about Truman’s decision as this event will remind us to make better decisions in the future, similar to how Mr. Gulotta explained the importance of studying History.
I believe that President Truman was correct in authorizing the use of atomic bombs to end World War II. In August of 1945, two atomic bombs were dropped on Japan by the United States. One on Hiroshima on the 6th, and one on Nagasaki on the 9th. These bombs resulted in killing more than 200,000 people. The United States did this because Japan refused to surrender in World War II. Japan was given fair warning of the destruction, as the United States gave them the choice to surrender instead. Japan refused to surrender and would continue to kill Americans unless drastic measures were taken. Without the radical actions taken by the United States, many more lives would have been taken and WWII would have gone on for much longer than it did. Although it seems like 200,000 Japanese lives is extreme, a larger number of American lives would have been taken if it were not for the atomic bombing. Approximately 400 thousand Americans had already died, meaning thousands more, maybe even millions, were in danger. Japan’s refusal to surrender put the United States and many other countries in danger of losing thousands more of soldiers from battle and from prisoner camps. Japan had captured more than 130,000 American soldiers and was threatening to kill them all. Their stubborn and irrational attitude was life threatening and aggressive. Someone had to take a stand and force them to surrender. Without the shock factor of the bombs, Japan would not of given in, proving the excessive amount of deaths to be necessary. Also, Japan had stated their intent to fight until the bitter end, no matter what. They also refused to surrender after clear warning of prompt and mass destruction on their land from the United States. Without the bombings, Japan would have continued to fight, requiring the United States and the other Allies to send millions of troops to combat, resulting in thousands more of deaths and an unnecessarily prolonged war. WWII would have gone on for several more years, and this was confirmed when Japan refused to surrender when the United States threatened to take extreme measures. Japan did not care how many men they were losing, they wanted to fight until they had no soldiers left. Their stubbornness would have drawn out the war for many more years, resulting in an exceptionally larger number of casualties. This is why the United States had to resort to using the atomic bomb to end the war.
Although there is heavy controversy over President Truman's authorization of atomic bomb usage, it was certainly the proper decision to make. The Japanese solider's were a ruthless and relentless force determined to conquer and expand their empire. As stated above by Michael Schiffer, the Bushido Code ensured an attitude of no surrender, and that the Japanese were determined to fight to the last man. To simply continue fighting the war with soldier on soldier combat would have had devastating and costly results. It is estimated that over one million American casualties would result from a storming of Japan, as well as a higher figure for the Japanese, whereas the atomic bombs killed under 200,000 Japanese and ended the war shortly afterward. For the greater good, the atomic bombs needed to be dropped. It essentially saved lives for both forces as well as ended a war that Americans were tired of fighting. The ending of war saved money and allowed America to return to a greater state of peace. American citizens were well involved in the war effort through investment in war bonds, tireless labor in war-goods-production factories, and growth of victory gardens, not to mention the unrelenting stress and devastation of constant deaths of relatives and friends. Americans were tired of sending loved ones off to war never to come back. The atomic bombs put a sudden end to a long and hard-fought war that was initiated out of Japanese greed to conquer. This empire deliberately threatened the safety and security of Americans, and for that the Japanese needed to be stopped by whatever means could accomplish the task most rapidly. While it has been said that the killing of civilians was a horrible deed, a huge number of Japanese were drafted, as well as ordered to take their own lives rather than be conquered by Americans. By any means of ending the war, Japanese civilians would have been killed and the atomic bomb lessened the number of deaths by abruptly ending the war. Truman was right in authorizing the use of atomic bombs to end the Pacific theater of war and to return America to a secure and free country.
Truman was justified in dropping the Atomic Bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Operation downfall, the proposed land invasion of Japan was estimated to last up to a year and cost over 500,000 American lives. This was based on the 20,000 casualties at Iwo Jima and 50,000 casualties at Okinawa. The Japanese had 3 million soldiers, 3,000 kamikaze pilots and 5,000 suicide boats to defend their homeland. Even innocent civilians were being trained to fight.
The Japanese were ruthless fighters that fought for their honor. To be taken a prisoner was considered cowardly. Before the first bombing, Japan refused to accept the unconditional surrender offered to them by the Potsdam Declaration, and in response to the Declaration, Japan prepared every man, woman, and child to fight until their death. There was no possibility that Japan would surrender. The pride of the Japanese would not allow them to surrender and many of Japan's soldiers fought in a kamikaze style, committing suicide to kill at least one enemy soldier. Dying rather than surrendering for your honor links back to ancient Japanese culture of the Bushido warriors and Samurais. To surrender is considered disgraceful in Japanese culture. The Japanese government had instilled in its people the idea that unconditional surrender to American forces would involve horrendous tortures and degradations, so there was no reason not to fight until death.
Many people argue that the atomic bomb was immoral because it killed many Japanese lives including civilians, but In the long run the atomic bombs saved many Japanese lives. If the war had continued for another year, with the continued bombing of cities, and the increasingly short food supplies from the blockade, many more Japanese would have died from bombs, fire and starvation than died in the two atomic bomb attacks. In fact, more people died in the firebomb raids on Tokyo than at either Hiroshima or Nagasaki. Another year of total warfare directed at the nation of Japan would end up in exponential amounts of deaths for both sides. Far more Japanese (soldiers and innocent civilians) would have died from a land invasion than the two atomic bombs, which is why President Truman’s decision to drop both atomic bombs was justified.
Sources: Tucker, Spencer C. "Dropping the Bomb: Hiroshima and Nagasaki: Dropping the Bomb Saved Lives." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 24 Apr. 2012.
Japan: No Surrender In WW2." BBC News. BBC. Web. 23 Apr. 2012. .
President Truman should not have dropped the two atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan. It is estimated that approximately two hundred and fifty thousand people were killed as a result of the two bombs, Little Boy and Fat Man. Innocent citizens lives should not be jeopardized simply because two nations could not compromise. Before the United States dropped the bombs, they offered Japan the ultimatum of an unconditional surrender, which included the disposal of the emperor; Japan rejected the ultimatum saying they would only surrender if they could keep their emperor. After both bombs were dropped, the United States agreed to allow Japan to keep their emperor. The circumstances for surrender did not change yet the United States decided to compromise after murdering hundreds of thousands of people. This provides reason to believe that the United States had an ulterior motive for dropping the bombs. It is argued that Truman authorized the use of the A-bomb to end the war for several reasons. The United States began to realize that the Soviet Union was becoming a dangerous world power, and by dropping the bombs the United States could assert its dominance over the Soviet Union. The Manhattan project was a two billion dollar project, and many people believed that if the United States did not drop the bombs the project would have been a devastating waste of capital. These reasons are not sufficient in justifying the death of these innocent people. It can be argued that the dropping of the bombs, shortened the war and spared the lives of hundreds of thousand of solders; but these men would have been men that volunteered to sacrifice their lives in order to protect and serve their nation as opposed to every-day civilians who may or may not have wished the downfall of our nation. It should not be up to governments to decide the lives of innocent citizens. Truman had other options on where he could drop the bombs yet he decided to drop them on cities rather than locations which would have been more reasonable and justifiable such as the islands occupied by the Japanese military or the islands which were uninhabited. All in all, Truman’s choice to drop the atomic bombs cannot be justified and it is an embarrassing stain in United States history.
I believe that Truman’s decision to drop the Atomic Bomb in 1945 on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was justified. World War II took the lives of countless soldiers and civilians from all around the world in the European Theater alone. On May 7th, 1945 Germany surrendered to the Allied forces. However, this was not the end of the United States efforts in World War II. The Japanese were still fighting strong and the United States had to respond. However, soldiers and civilians had experienced enough hardship through war. Every aspect of life was affected including the economy. The more time that passed meant that more people died and more money was lost. There truly is no winner of war. The invasion of Japan was the next option for the United States. It would have extended the war for even more years and possibly the lives of up to a million. By dropping the atomic bomb, countless lives were saved by avoiding an invasion. Many people argue that too many innocent lives were lost and that it totally destroyed the entire country while thinking that there was a better solution. However, I think that the lives saved by avoiding an invasion far exceed the amount of casualties by the atomic bomb. Avoiding further conflict saved both Japanese and United States soldier’s lives. Many of these soldiers were drafted into the military. These people fought for their country and wanted nothing more than to end the conflict. As Jimmy said above, “War is Hell.” There were downsides to every possible option. By dropping the atomic bomb, the war was ended quickly and the world moved on with peace. The United States was not looking for territorial or power gains. All Truman wanted was an unconditional surrender from Japan. His intentions were for the good of the people. He attempted to end World War II with the least amount of repercussions as possible. I believe that he choose the best option possible.
In my opinion, President Truman was justified in his dropping of the atomic bomb at the end of WWII. President Truman made the controversial decision with the goal of ending the war as soon as possible. Americans had been fighting for four years, island-hopping and fighting brutal guerilla warfare against the Japanese, with no sign of retreat. The alternative options were restricted, and since surrender clearly was not an option, the only other way of ending the war would have been an invasion of the Japanese mainland. Such an invasion was foreseen to cost over one million American lives and about the same for the Japanese. So even though the Japanese lost over 100,000 lives, it was only a fraction of the possible death count. With the Japanese viewing their emperor as a God, they would give every life for his, which ensured there would be no chance of unconditional surrender. This provoked new action, and when new technology was invented that would help win and end the war, it had to be used. Truman said, "Having found the bomb we have used it. We have used it against those who attacked us without warning at Pearl Harbor, against those who have starved and beaten and executed American prisoners of war, against those who have abandoned all pretense of obeying international laws of warfare. We have used it in order to shorten the agony of war, in order to save the lives of thousands and thousands of young Americans." This sums up both Truman’s and my opinion on this highly debated decision.
"Public Papers of the Presidents: Harry S Truman, 1945", pg. 212).
"51g. The Decision to Drop the Bomb." The Decision to Drop the Bomb [ushistory.org]. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 May 2013.
The controversial dispute over the dropping of the A-bombs in 1945 by President Truman has brought about much inquiry over the true reasons for the demolition of three percent of the Japanese population. I believe that the dropping of the first A-bomb, Little Boy, is justifiable, but the release of the second A-bomb, Fat Man, was unnecessary. The war against Japan was extremely draining for the American soldiers who had been fighting in WWII since 1939, and both America at the homeland and the soldiers on the battlefield were ready to return home. Nonetheless, America was not willing to settle to the proposed conditions of surrender created by the Japanese. The terms of keeping a leader, Hiroshima, who hated the United States and the Japanese government, Kokutai, an imperialistic political institution, was simply not an option. It was by the actions and desires of Hiroshima and Kokutai that the Americans were delayed in their return home after WWII, and by settling to this offer the Americans previous work would have been pointless as the Japan threat would still be looming over their heads and have the potential to grow and become even more dangerous to the American population, which was of course unacceptable. In hopes to put end the war as soon as possible, the Americans dropped the bomb Little Boy on August 6, 1945. The dropping of the first bomb should have been enough to end the war altogether. In Addition to Little Boy, the Soviets had invaded Japan taking much land and weakening their forces. Also, the battle of Okinawa resulted in a death toll of 120,000 people, which had exhausted the Japanese people and moral. The dropping of the first bomb in addition to the already weakened forces gave Japan absolutely no response and they were ready to surrender. Although, three days was enough time for the Japanese to surrender and they hadn’t yet expressed their position, I still believe that the dropping of the second A- bomb, fat man murdered 80,000 innocent people which added to the nuclear death toll that became a total of 280,000 people. If the Americans had been more patient and taken in to consideration that they were killing more innocent people than soldiers, than I believe they would have made a better choice and not dropped the second bomb. David Hanson summarizes my position entirely, “The truth, as we are reminded so often in this present conflict, is that usually in war there are no good alternatives, and leaders must select between a very bad and even worse choice. Hiroshima was the most awful option imaginable, but the other scenarios would have probably turned out even worse." I believe that the killing of people is an absolute terrible option, but I understand the United State’s position and circumstance for the dropping of the first bomb, but definitely not the second. The use of the bomb could have changed to save more lives, such as a change in location of where it was dropped and the timing of the drop, but no one can predict the future, and President Truman did not want to use the bombs at all originally. Unfortunately, as historian David Hanson notes, sometimes a leader has to pick the less terrible option to save their people.
Hannah Cooke
Morin, Jeanne. Hiroshima and Nagasaki in A-Cloud of Controversies. Rep. no. Class Essay. N.p.: n.p., 2013.
Morally, dropping an atomic bomb is wrong, as it possesses the capability to destroy millions of innocent lives upon impact and through post radiation. In dropping the atomic bombs on Japan, however, U.S President Truman argued that it would save lives and end the war (Beschloss). However, by 1945, before President Truman dropped the bomb, Hirohito and his Japanese advisors had a meeting that decided their surrender, under the condition that they were allowed to keep their emperor. So, what was Truman dropping it for if he had what he wanted? Even if President Truman had not dropped the bomb, the war would have been over. President Truman did not want to accept this surrender because he did not want the Japanese to keep their emperor. He felt it would be best for the Japanese if their government were run in a similar way to America’s and not through a dictatorship. But who was Truman to tell the Japanese how to run their country? All in all his plans to get rid of Hirohito failed because after the bomb, the Japanese still kept their emperor and he did not in fact come out of power until he died in 1989 (Emperor Hirohito). Truman also argued that the bomb was dropped to prevent Russia from invading Japan, which in turn, would save more lives. In retrospect, the vast country of Russia could have invaded Japan anyway. In the Potsdam conference, the U.S. proposed that Russia declare war on Japan to scare them into surrendering. Therefore, Russia’s intentions to invade Japan were not on their own accord anyway. Truman’s intentions for the bomb were insincere, and the act was merely an attempt to assert his power on the world stage. Overall, the cons in dropping the bomb outweighed the pros, as the U.S. and the rest of the world are still being affected from it today. As well as destroying so many Japanese lives, the dropping of the atomic bomb ignited an international nuclear arms race. Since the world saw what these bombs were capable of, and understood that they could assert dominance over a country, the rest of the world began investing in them. These bombs are billion dollar projects that are essentially used to kill people, and there is no benefit in that but loss of government money and civilian lives. So, all in all, President Truman should not have dropped the atomic bomb in Japan.
Sources: Beschloss;, Michael R. "Did We Need to Drop It?" The New York Times. The New York Times, 30 July 1995. Web. 27 May 2013. "Emperor Hirohito Ruled Japan for 63 Years." Daljecom English All News at Portal Daljecom Daljecom RSS. N.p., 29 Apr. 2008. Web. 27 May 2013. Conversation with Olly about his term paper.
On August 6th 1945, the United States dropped the atomic bomb, Little Boy, on Hiroshima killing over 100,000 people. 3 days later the United States dropped Fat Man on the Japanese city of Nagasaki, killing 80,000. After these two bombings the Japanese emperor informed his family and close advisors of his decision to surrender. In a statement defending his decision he said, “Moreover, the enemy now possesses a new and terrible weapon with the power to destroy many innocent lives and do incalculable damage. Should we continue to fight, not only would it result in an ultimate collapse and obliteration of the Japanese nation, but also it would lead to the total extinction of human civilization”(USHistory.org) Why would president Truman decide to cause such harm to Japanese civilians to end WWII? President Truman decided to drop the Atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to avoid any more US casualties, get revenge on Japan for the bombings at Pearl Harbor, and to show the USSR what type of power we possessed with this new weapon. The Japanese had over 2 million troops that were waiting to defend their homeland and the US was very familiar with the valor and bravery the Japanese soldiers fought with. Truman knew that an invasion of the Japanese homeland would cost hundreds of thousands if not millions of Allied lives. These soldiers have families that they want to come home too, and Truman could not sacrifice the lives of US servicemen. On December 7th 1941, the Japanese attacked our homeland at Pearl Harbor. In a surprise attack the Japanese killed 2,402 American soldiers and wounded 1,282 more. The Japanese also destroyed countless American battleships and light cruisers that were stationed at the Hawaiian naval base. The Japanese had attacked us on American soil; throughout the war our military advisors were looking for ways to get revenge for this merciless slaughter of American troops. America also wanted to show its USSR counterparts what we could do with these new weapons. By doing this we hoped it would deter them from any hostile actions towards America, to this day it has worked; there have been no major wars since the dropping of the Atomic Bombs. We developed the “ultimate weapon.” Previously nobody had a weapon that could kill so many in such a short amount of time. It was extremely unfortunate that so many Japanese lives were lost, but the atom bomb had to be tested, Truman knew this, and it has saved countless lives since. Not only by not making the US invade mainland Japan, but also by saving the lives of all the people who could have died if another atomic bomb had been dropped sometime between the end of WWII and 2013. Once America saw the devastation the bomb could do to a city it was used as a deterrent instead of a weapon, it did not allow for future wars. J. Robert Oppenheimer, the scientist behind the atomic bomb, talked about his creation, “The atomic bomb made the prospect of future was unendurable. It has led us up those last few steps to the mountain pass; and beyond there is a different country.”
What is the price of life? Is it worth sacrificing the lives of hundreds of thousands of innocent Japanese civilians in order to preserve the lives of American soldiers? Soldiers who have, essentially, legally consented to serving their country to the death, and innocent civilians who, in all likelihood, had absolutely no say in the affairs of their Theocratic- Totalitarian government. Apparently sacrificing the latter was seen as a more appropriate approach in the eyes of President Truman, and I happen to disagree with his decision. I do not condone Truman’s authorization of the use of the Atomic Bomb at the end of WWII, primarily because it was completely unnecessary since the Japanese had already proposed a conditional surrender. All they wanted was to keep their Emperor: their deity, their almighty, and we ethnocentric Americans could not push ourselves to respect the religious beliefs and cultures of the foreigners. So we instead dropped the single most destructive form of artillery known to man on the innocent civilians in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It was like bringing an AK-47 to a knife fight - at that point it was no longer a war, it was slaughter. And on top of that, America ended up accepting the conditional terms of Japan’s surrender anyway. A question one may ask is, “Well, then what was the point of Truman dropping the bomb?” And the answer to that, I believe, has three main components: First, Truman thought that it would be better to slaughter thousands of ‘Japs’ rather than lose another American soldier in this drawn out war, for which Americans were beginning to lose morale. Secondly, since no nation had ever actually dropped an atomic bomb on a highly populated city before, American scientists and analysts within the Manhattan Project were able to use these two real-life exhibits for useful data collection and observation, in hopes of fine-tuning the weapon. And thirdly, which is perhaps the most prominent motive for dropping the bomb, I believe that Truman wanted to intimidate the Soviet Union during the early beginnings of the arms race and Cold War. Clearly, Truman’s motives in authorizing the highly unnecessary bomb simply resulted in a haze of negativity; which included the death of roughly 240, 000 innocent Japanese civilians throughout the two bombings, and a new, Cold War for Americans to concern themselves with for the next forty- five years.
On the 16th of July, the atomic bomb was tested for the first time in Alamogordo, New Mexico. Even though the A bomb was a recent discovery, it’s incredible destructive power was well understood. President Truman himself said that “it was the most terrible thing ever discovered.”
President Truman claimed that America dropped the atomic bomb solely to end the war as soon as possible. He justifies his decision by saying that Japan would not agree to an unconditional surrender and insisted on keeping their Emperor. If America were to attack using traditional tactics, many more American lives will be lost. However, dropping the A bombs would save thousands of American lives. If this were the only reason behind Truman’s decision, then I would say that he made the right choice. However, the situation was much more complex, and there were other political motives behind this decision.
At the Postdam conference, Truman has persuaded the Soviet Union to delay their entrance in war against Japan from the original date of August 8th to August 15th, 1945. America was starting to see the Soviet as a threat, which explains why President Truman did not want to Soviet to be involved in the war. The A bomb has become a way to stop the Soviet Union from gaining more victory and recognition in WW2. Furthermore, by dropping the bomb and showing the world its power, we hope to impress the Soviets in context of pre-Cold War.
The second reason why America dropped the bomb might have been revenge for Pearl Harbor. One of the cities targeted was Hiroshima, where Pearl Harbor attacks were prepared and trained.
Japan has already lost before the bomb was dropped and their only condition was to keep their Emperor, as a way to conserve the only symbol for their nation’s unity. Even after dropping these bombs, we still agreed to this condition. The droppings were then pointless if President Truman were saying the truth that his only motive to drop the bomb was to gain unconditional surrender.
In conclusion, there were many political motives hidden behind the decision to drop the A-Bomb. However, I do not think these reasons are enough to justify the cost of more than 246,000 lives, many of which were civilians.
I believe that the President was wrong in this decision and the war would have ended without as much casualties if the two bombs were not dropped.
After years of destruction and warfare it was inevitable that one nation would put the war to rest. In an effort to end World War II quickly, in 1945, President Truman authorized the use of the atomic bomb. Two bombs were dropped on Japanese Islands in response to the Japanese resistance to surrender to the Allied Powers. Prior to the dropping, an ultimatum was drawn up at the Potsdam Conference, which ultimately initiated the production of the atomic bomb. The approval to drop the first bomb on Hiroshima and the second on Nagasaki is justified because of America’s patience with Japan despite their resistance to surrender. Truman’s action can be defended for he made the moral, economic, and reputable decision that helped America. The dangers that Japan were posing by not surrendering gave America all the more reason to drop the bomb in an effort to “end all wars.” Japan had initiated the US into World War II with the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and America was now ready to end the war not only for themselves, but also for the world. Truman’s intentions for ending the Pacific War with Japan were good in the sense that he thought the atomic bomb would kill less lives than by storming their land and attacking them face-to-face or blockading Japanese ports. Although many Japanese lives were lost, far fewer American lives were lost than would have otherwise been killed. The imperialistic war by Germany and Japan no longer had to be a result, which would have caused even more sacrifice and loss of innocent lives. Not only did dropping the atomic bomb save lives that would have been lost, it also proved America’s strength in the moment and for years to come. America was the first nation to use the weapon and dropping the bomb verified that America was capable of complete destruction if willed to do so and that our military was strong and prepared. Economically, Truman’s judgment was correct because if we had gone to war with Japan far more money would have been spent. The war had simply been going on for far too long and the best way to secure the surrender of Japan was with the use of the atomic bomb. Although the devastation to Japan was incomparable, without the droppings of the atomic bombs on Japan, the consequences could have been much worse.
I think President Truman was correct in authorizing the dropping of atomic bombs to put an end to World War II. On August 6, 1945, the United States dropped the first atomic bomb the world had ever seen on Hiroshima. Three days later, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki and finally put an end to the Second World War. The death total of these two bombs came out to be about 200,000 people. These bombs were dropped as a result of the Japanese refusing to surrender on the Pacific theater of the war. Japan was warned numerous times by the United States, however, still refused to surrender. I believe President Truman had no other choice, and this was the only way to end the war without losing more Americans. If we continued to fight as we were previous to the bombs, the Japanese would have killed countless innocent Americans, all of whom were fighting for their country. If the bombs hadn’t been dropped, Truman would’ve sacrificed many American lives, as the Japanese would have continued their ruthless killings and the war would have dragged on for a much longer period of time. Two hundred thousand Japanese lives is a very large and devastating end result, however, if you consider the options presented to President Truman, these casualties just as easily could have been American casualties. Before the bombs were utilized, about 400,000 Americans had already been killed. How many more of his men, could Truman watch die? The refusal to surrender by Japan made all matters more serious and more difficult. The United States did not want to continue to lose men, as well as kill more Japanese men. The Japanese military was threatening to kill all the POW’s they had captured. Given Japan’s obstinate and war hungry attitude, Truman was left with one rational option with regard to putting an abrupt end to the war, this option being the use of the two bombs. The United States had warned Japan many times that they would destroy their homeland, and Japan insisted that they would fight the war until the very end. If Truman had not authorized the dropping of the atomic bombs, Japan would not have stopped fighting, and the United States and all of the Allied forces would have lost many more men to the ruthless Japanese. The Japanese confirmation of continued, ruthless warfare would ultimately let the war drift on for many more years to come. Therefore, the use of these bombs was entirely inevitable. The Japanese could not have cared any less about their personal casualties; all the Emperor wanted was to win the war at any plausible cost. They planned on fighting until only one soldier was left standing. The aggressive, obstinate, and power hungry attitude possessed by the Japanese left President Truman no other choice then to drop these bombs. If he had waited any longer, he would have allowed the United States’ military to suffer grave casualties and the war would have seen no end. I believe the president’s courageous decision was very ambitious, yet also necessary. He saved many American lives in doing so.
President Truman was right to authorize the use of the Atomic Bomb at the end of WWII. If President Truman had not done so, it undoubtedly would have resulted in a longer war and more American casualties. His cabinet discussed options, which included a land invasion, blockading Japan, or using a bomb as a warning.
From July 17 to August 2, 1945, the Potsdam Conference took place. At this conference the “Big Three” discussed the options they would give Japan. Japan was given the choice of unconditional surrender or we would drop the first Atomic Bomb. When Japan did not comply, we had the choice to invade with American soldiers or put into action the Manhattan Project. The Manhattan Project was the building of the atomic bombs headed by General Groves and Dr. Oppenheimer. Towards the end of the project, a total of 2.2 billion dollars had been spent (Energy.gov). We had made the decision to sink this amount of money into the bombs, if we decided to still invade by land force the project would have been a huge waste of time and resources.
Two of the three Axis Powers had complied, and the end of World War II was in sight. If there had been a land invasion it would have put many soldiers at risk, and dropping the bombs put much fewer American lives at risk. Truman’s goal was to get the unconditional surrender of Japan. Dropping the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6th and 9th of 1945 achieved this goal.
Sources: http://energy.gov/management/manhattan-project Mr. Gulotta’s slide show
In my opinion, President Truman’s decision to sanction the use of an atomic bomb on Japan was justified and the best way for America to approach the termination of Word War II in 1945. Truman had multiple options to end the Pacific War with the Japanese, which included an invasion of the main land, blocking Japanese ports to starve the population or drop the A-Bombs. A land invasion was risky and many lives would be added to the 416,000 American casualties that already existed. Therefore, Truman chose to drop the atomic bombs and the Manhattan Project was launched. President Truman saw this as the best suitable way to put a final end to the war. It would secure the surrender of Japan and barely any Americans would be killed, as Ali Malecka stated above. The first bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945 and three days after the second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. Less than a month later, Japan surrendered on September 2nd, 1945 and the war was brought to an official end.
Although the dropping of the bombs on Japan left the country in despair for years to come, it had a powerful impact on the entire world and was quite beneficial for the United States. Japan had previously bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941 and this was essentially pay back for that. However, it wasn’t just an act of revenge, it ended the World War for all and exhibited that the United States was still powerful by using weapons of mass destruction for the first time in history.
Maddox, Robert J. "American Heritage." The Biggest Decision: Why We Had To Drop The Atomic Bomb. American Heritage, June 1995. Web. 28 May 2013. Mr. Gulotta's slide show Ali Malecka's post
Germany had finally surrendered. After years of turmoil and great sacrifice In Europe, Hitler and the axis powers in Europe had been defeated. The celebration was short lived; there was still a ruthless battle waging in the pacific. The American people were tired of having their sons, husbands, grandchildren, and parents, return home in a casket. Beginning in 1939, a small group began in hopes of one day being able to harness the power of the atom. This group, the Manhattan Project, would go on and change the course of history forever. Soon the Manhattan Project would accomplish its goal, and the first atomic test, Trinity, would be conducted on July 16th, 1945 and be successful. Now, President Harry S. Truman would have a new, never before seen device at his disposal. Truman threatened Japan with “prompt and utter destruction", but under Emperor Hirohito, Japan was not deterred. With no end insight, President Truman came up the controversial decision to drop Little Boy on Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945, and three days later, Fat Man on Nagasaki. This decision, though it killed over 200,000 Japanese, was the correct choice. A Gallup pole taken directly after the dropping of the bombs showed that 85% of Americans approved of Truman’s choice. American’s were tired of the fighting, and wanted a swift end to the war, and his choice supplied the citizens’ requests. If Truman decided to fight a land battle with Japan, casualties would have been much higher. Along with this, there were over 27,000 American POW’s being held by Japan, and without use of the bombs, many would not have survived years more in captivity. Though this will forever be a debated subject, Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bombs was the right choice under the circumstances.
Citations:
"Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki." Wikipedia. 28 May 2013. Wikimedia Foundation. 28 May 2013 .
"Majority Supports Use of Atomic Bomb on Japan in WWII." Majority Supports Use of Atomic Bomb on Japan in WWII. 28 May 2013 .
"U.S. Prisoners of War and Civilian American Citizens Captured and Interned by Japan in World War II: The Issue of Compensation by Japan." U.S. Prisoners of War and Civilian American Citizens Captured and Interned by Japan in World War II: The Issue of Compensation by Japan. 28 May 2013 .c
President Truman’s authorization to drop the atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of WWII was not justified. Granted, there were not many alternatives for Truman to choose from, but the senseless murder of thousands of innocent people was certainly not the best solution. The war had been going on for a very long time, and the declaration of a victor was long over due. Truman had a couple of options. First, he could have had American troops invade Japan and fight until Japan’s surrender. The problem with this is it would have cost thousands of dollars and more importantly, thousands of lives. In another effort to end the war, Truman presented Japan with an ultimatum. Either the Japanese sign an unconditional surrender, or the US would make use of the extremely powerful atomic bomb. Due to their cultural beliefs, Japan refused to surrender. This left Truman with only one option: to use the atomic bomb. With this decision came further deliberation regarding how and when to use the weapon. There was a concern about whether or not a warning should be issued to the Japanese so that they would be prepared for what was coming. However, Truman thought the issue of a warning would have defeated the purpose of the bomb. He was completely rational in thinking so. On the other hand, I find the choice to drop the bomb on the highly populated cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to be selfish and unreasonable. I believe the better choice would have been to drop the bomb on an uninhabited island. This way, innocent civilians would not be harmed, and the US would still have showed the Japanese what they were capable of, likely prompting a surrender of the Japanese people. Though it may have seemed like the sensible decision at the time, the bombings at both Hiroshima and Nagasaki were unnecessary.
It is the duty of the President of the United States as Commander in Chief of the armed forces to make major decision concerning the military while keeping the best interest of American citizens in mind and to value the lives of American soldiers above all else. It was with these responsibilities in mind that President Truman made the decision to authorize the use of the Atomic Bomb during the end of World War II. Although it is still one of the most controversial decisions of the twentieth century, Truman's choice to use the Atomic Bomb saved the lives of thousands of American soldiers making it a justifiable act. However, admitting that Truman's choice was justifiable does not mean that it was the right choice morally, although his decision saved many American lives it also ended the lives of thousands of innocent Japanese people. The results caused by the dropping to the Atomic Bombs were horrific, and yet the results of an invasion of mainland Japan by the American forces could have been equally catastrophic. The battles fought between Japan and the U.S at Iwo Jima and Okinawa resulted in massive American casualties due to the unrelenting determination of the Japanese soldiers to fight to the last man. Truman did his duty as President by protecting the lives of thousands of American citizens, after seeing the estimated casualty count that an evasion of mainland Japan would bring Truman's decided that he could not sacrifice so many American lives unnecessarily in an invasion of mainland Japan when he had the means to end the war without the death of a single American solider. In an interview with William Hillman and Morton Royce in 1955, Truman stated that, “as far as the bomb is concerned I ordered its use for a military reason – for no other cause – and it saved the lives of a great many of our soldiers. That is all I had in mind.”
sources
Paulin, Joeseph. AMERICA’S DECISION TO DROP THE ATOMIC BOMB ON JAPANAMERICA’S DECISION TO DROP THE ATOMIC BOMB ON JAPAN. Rep. N.p., May 2007. Web. 27 May 2013.
The Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 27 May 2013. .
President Truman was justified in his decision to drop the atomic bombs. The world was exhausted and devastated from World War II, and the only country keeping it alive was Japan. The Japanese were ruthless and refused to retaliate. America tried to cooperate with them at Potsdam Conference where they offered Japan an unconditional surrender to the Allied Forces. The Japanese refused, and forced America to take further precaution and create the atomic bombs. President Truman’s patience was coming to an end. Japan continued to show there warlike mentality after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, which brought the US to war, and Truman decided to take a stand. On August 6, 1945 Truman ordered the first atomic bomb to be dropped on Hiroshima, and then dropped another on Nagasaki. These two bombings resulted in about 20,000 casualties, and the ending of World War II. Although it was against all morals, Truman’s decision led to the best ending results. The imperialistic countries were no longer in control; the world was now at peace. The dropping of the bomb help keep the causalities, of both the Japanese and Americans, to a minimum. It also helped both countries economically by ending the war as fast as possible, instead of continuing to fight an already tragic war. The bombs also made a statement to the world. Truman showed that America was powerful, and had the ability to deploy nuclear weapons of mass destruction. For these reasons are why Truman was justified in dropping the atomic bombs because he ended World War II with the least amount of destruction.
Isiah Nunez
Credit: Sam Hanh, Jackie Pape, Blake Polizzi, Mr. Gulotta's Slide Show
President Truman was justified in authorizing the use of the atomic bomb at the end of World War II. According to estimations made by the United States Army, it would have cost the US almost 1 million soldiers lives to conduct a full-scale invasion of Japan. Between the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, just over 100 thousand civilians died instantly, and deadly radiation reached about 100 thousand more. Even though the bombs killed thousands of innocent civilians and left two cities in ruins, Truman’s decision to drop the A-Bomb actually saved 800 thousand human lives. Furthermore, the US had gone through years of pain and sorrow as the allied forces slowly penetrated the German Empire in Europe. As US soldiers and citizens turned their attention to Japan after Victory in Europe day, the willpower to fight another complex, drawn-out war was not present. Additionally, Japan’s Armed Forces were trained to have a ‘never surrender’ ideology which they referred to as the Bushido Code. I agree with Blake Polizzi when she says, “World War II would have gone on for several more years…Japan did not care how many men they were losing, they wanted to fight until they had no soldiers left.” The US desperately needed a quick end to the war with Japan in the Pacific Theater, and the A-Bomb was clearly the answer.
Works Cited:
"The Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki." Hiroshima & Nagasaki Atom Bombs. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 May 2013. .
"Dropping of the Atomic Bomb." Dropping of the Atomic Bomb. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 May 2013. .
President Truman was justifiable in dropping the atomic bombs in the spirit of total warfare. Total warfare is,” military conflict in which the contenders are willing to make any sacrifice in lives and other resources to obtain a complete victory”, (Encyclopedia Britannica). This means that every citizen of the Axis powers is technically an enemy. By dropping the A-bomb on Hiroshima it killed 66,000 and killed 42,000 people at Nagasaki, (Hiroshima & Nagasaki Atom Bombs). All of these casualties can be considered necessary in ending the war with Japan from the total warfare perspective. The civilians in both Hiroshima and Nagasaki were given a five-day warning before the bombs were dropped. These people were advised to take their families and leave the cities since there would be an air raid. Additionally, within both of these cities there were military training facilities and ground bases.
ReplyDelete“And do not forget, these 'innocent' citizens killed and harmed during the bomb were spending their entire day learning how to kill their enemy. Classes were replaced with drills, work replaced with mock battles - if Hiroshima had not been bombed, it would have turned into the military base Americans so feared, and then it would have been too late.”, (The Age of Hirohito: In Search of Modern Japan by Daikichi Irokawa)
There is a multitude of evidence showing that if America did not drop these bombs that World War II would of continued to drag on, and potentially more lives would have been taken.
"Total War (military)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 25 May 2013.
"The Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki." Hiroshima & Nagasaki Atom Bombs. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 May 2013.
Truman should not have issued the use of two atomic bombs at the end of World War II. The goal Truman was supposed to accomplish was to at least defeat the Japanese or have them surrender. He was trying to avoid putting his men in danger once more, so he avoided the options of invasion or blockade. The U.S had enough casualties as it is. Another option Truman had was to surrender to Japan but that was not an option whatsoever. The last option was the use of bombs. There were several ways he could have used the bombs. They were warning Japan and then dropping it, dropping it without warning, dropping it on an uninhabited island, dropping it on a military occupied island, or dropping it on a city without warning. Out of all of those options, Truman chose to drop it in a city without warning.(Gulotta) In fact, he dropped two bombs on two cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He chose the option where not only did he kill the enemies and persuade the Japanese to surrender, but he also ended up choosing the option that ended up killing many innocent civilians. If the bomb was the only way to get the Japanese to surrender, the use of the bomb can be considered acceptable as long as only one bomb is used in one city and a warning is issued. If the U.S did not have to succumb to violence to get the Japanese to surrender, the use of the bomb as just a threat would be a good option that way the killing of the innocent could be avoided. If there was no other option but to use both bombs, Truman should have authorized the use of the bombs as long as there was no motive for power and the Japanese refused to surrender.
ReplyDeleteSources: Powerpoints from Mr. Gulotta's class
In my opinion, the decision making of President Truman in which he authorized the use of the A-Bomb at the end of WWII was right. If he escaped the burden of Nuclear Bomb, the imperialistic war by Germany and Japan would involve the greater sacrifice of innocent people. The victory of the Allies put an end of the Imperialism and brought the long-term peace in global dimension.
ReplyDeleteA-bomb has clearly intimidated the life and peace of mankind in modern history. The dropping of A-bomb on the Hiroshima in the WWII gave the endanger warning of it. We were greatly surprised by the destruction power of the A-bomb and deeply recognized the fear of Nuclear War. NPT, Nonproliferation Treaty, was the by-product of it and the global society has made an endeavor not to use in war, but to use in peace the Nuclear Power.
The peace doesn't come by itself. When we do our best not to fear being involved in war, the peace protects our life. A-bomb of Hiroshima sent both signals of the peace, which was ready for war, and the war, which was left by greediness.
Source: "NPT Treaty." UN News Center. UN, n.d. Web. 25 May 2013.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIn my personal opinion, Truman should have used the atomic bomb at the end of World War II. Due to the multiple warfare advancements the U.S. needed to show that they could compete. Another reason Truman should have dropped the bombs is because the Japanese had a huge will to win. This would mean total war, and millions of U.S. and Japanese would die before the battles ended. If the war were to continue, more money would be spent on the war which could either hurt or help the economy, so again, by dropping it the Japanese might surrender. Truman needed to drop the bombs in order to save American lives, and the military’s reputation, at the end of World War II.
DeleteDuring WWII various new forms of warfare had been developed and implemented. For example, the Germans used “blitzkrieg” (lightning war), the British used radar and sonar. Aircraft carriers replaced battleships as the centerpiece of naval warfare. With all of these new advancements, each military had to continue to upgrade. If not, one country could fall behind the advancement trend and its enemy could wipe them out. The U.S. had to keep up with industrialization of aircrafts, tanks, vehicles and even the development of the atomic bomb. Germany, Japan, and the USSR were also trying to develop an atomic bomb. However, the U.S. was the first ones to make one that worked. So in order to show the rest of the world that we created this weapon, and opportunity would need to arise where it would be plausible. Yes, I understand that millions of innocent people would die, but this is war, and millions of innocent people die every day because of greed.
The Japanese soldiers felt they were obligated to fulfill an ancient warrior pact meaning that they would fight to the death to defend their islands. Japanese “Kamikaze” pilots would crash their planes into Allied ships if they were about to go down or ran out of ammunition. The Japanese were not going to surrender until they had been nearly wiped out. Using the battle of Iwo Jima as an example, it took six weeks to take the tiny island of Iwo Jima, which was defended by just 20,000 Japanese soldiers. Over 6,000 U.S. soldiers were killed in the process and nearly another 20,000 wounded. The U. S. military estimated that an invasion of the mainland would result in over 1,000,000 Americans either dead or wounded, and nearly double that in Japanese. In April, 1945 the Japanese government announced a war policy that every civilian on the island would answer the call to arms if the country were invaded as even women and children were taught to use grenades and attack with spears. When you have women and children attacking you, would you attack back? This is a problem today with modern warfare because most militaries will not attack children, even if they had guns. In order to avoid having US soldiers have to point a gun at women and children, President Truman had to make a huge decision which brought our great nation to a crossroad.
No one knew how devastating the explosions and the aftermath of the bombs would be. If the war were to continue, it could cost $2 billion or more. By dropping the bombs on the cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, 199,000 Japanese died. Using these numbers in comparison to the estimates by the U.S. military, I believe that 1 million U.S. soldiers were saved, and almost 1.9 million Japanese lives were saved. The U.S. ceased money going towards the war effort so the economy could begin to prosper again. The U.S. contributed to the development of weapons of mass destruction which defined the U.S. military for years to come, and potentially saved lives during the Cold War. We could never know what would have happened if Truman hadn’t dropped the bombs, and today we are at peace with Japan. Another point, as my mom always says, “Everything happens for a reason.”
Sources:
Deletehttp://www.atomicarchive.com/Docs/MED/med_chp10.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_invasion_of_Manchuria
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_S._Truman
http://www.sparknotes.com/history/european/ww2/section15.rhtml
My Mom
in my opinion, President Truman was justified in his dropping of the two atomic bombs at the end of World War II. By the end of the war, America had suffered 418,000 casualties. As a final move to end the war that had so scarred the world, Truman needed something that the world had never seen before. Now, America had come a long way in the war effort. World War II was an exceptional showing of American power and determination, not to mention loyalty. Throughout the course of World War II, the Manhattan Project was secretly the face of American innovation and came into play at the best possible timing. When the atomic bombs were dropped, they did more than end the war. They assured the world of what many thought was already true: America was, and still is, one of the strongest nations in the world. While there is a downside, and many long term effects arose after the droppings of these A-Bombs, it was still necessary that they be dropped. It's rather contradictory that people all over the world fight for peace, but that doesn't make them selfish. President Truman was a man who had a good head on his shoulders and knew what was right for the American people. In OK-ing the dropping of the atomic bomb, President Truman was ultimately looking out for the safety of the people he represented. After the bombs were dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the collective death count of Japanese citizens surpassed 100,000- almost a quarter the amount that America had lost over the entire six year period of World War II. While it came with gruesome side effects and consequences for the Japanese, it was the one thing that America needed to really tip the Japanese over the edge into surrender. Also, not to mention that the Japanese were given a five day grace period, giving them adequate time to evacuate the cities that happened to double as military bases. Although it was horrifying, scarring, and deadly, the dropping of the Atomic bombs were necessary. It ended a conflict that had been going on for two long and proved to those doubting it that Americans were certainly as strong as they said they were. When the atomic bombs were dropped, it brought justice to something that could have gone on for much longer, something that cost thousands of American lives, but also ultimately saluted American pride and bravery.
ReplyDeleteTruman’s decision to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was valid. By the end of the war, America’s victory seemed uncertain, as the American military had suffered 416,800 casualties. After learning of the success of the Manhattan Project, Truman realized that he was facing a decision of unparallel gravity, a decision that no one in the world ever had to contend with before. Truman held the ability to end World War II in the Pacific theater with Japan, but it would involve killing many innocent people and unleashing the most disastrous and vile weapon the world has ever seen. Truman had limited options, all of which seemed futile if he planned on winning the war.
ReplyDeleteOne option Truman had was to simply invade Japan. This option could possibly produce one million American soldiers dead, with at least as many Japanese soldiers killed, as well as many civilians, all for a possible American victory. Truman needed an option that would both guarantee and secure a win for America. The second option Truman had was to blockade Japanese ports so that millions of citizens would die of starvation, which could convince the Japanese Emperor Hirohito to surrender. Unfortunately, this tactic would be unfruitful, for Hirohito and his military vertebrae would not concede in order to upkeep their reputation. Another option, though implausible, was for Truman to surrender to Japan. If Truman surrendered, millions of Asians, especially in China, would be killed and subjected to be ruled by Hirohito. Hirohito could take control of Asia and want to expand his grip of control across the Pacific to America, and an event like Pearl Harbor could happen again. America’s submission to Japan would be more of acquiescence; no American citizen would agree with Truman if he surrendered, especially after the immense war effort in America with victory bonds and victory gardens. The operative word within every American war effort off the battlefield was “victory”, so the American citizens expected and deserved nothing less. Truman needed to end the war with a bang – an atomic bang.
Hence, the only viable option was to drop the atomic bombs. If the bombs were dropped, then an estimated 200,000 Japanese soldiers and civilians would be killed, with no American casualties. It was the best option across the board: it ensured America’s victory, controlled the impending belligerence of Japan’s emperor, and affirmed as few as possible American deaths. Thus far during Truman’s presidency, he secured Germany’s surrender and was hoping for Japan’s as well to end the most heart-wrenching and shocking war America had seen yet. Truman was the beacon of light for America throughout the storm of fear and insecurity that loomed over the world during the war, and he was determined to continue radiantly illuminating.
Sources:
Mr. Gulotta's Powerpoints
Singh
President Truman was right about using the atomic bombs in 1945 against Japan because the Japanese were not going to surrender unless they were deprived of all hope and this could only be accomplished by starting to kill civilians, just like they had. There were two choices that could have been made by President Truman and these were invading Japan, which would have resulted in the death of up to 1 million Americans in combat, or dropping the bombs, which would have resulted in no American casualties at all but the same outcome. This expected outcome was the surrender of Japan, which would not happen unless enough damage was caused to the civilians in Japan for them to disobey the Bushido Code “Death before dishonor.” Which pushed them to fight to the death with that purpose. The use of the atomic bomb was definitively the right call and the use of them both was extremely significant because it showed the world that America had the capability and resources to make more than one. The use of these bombs was the right decision because even though it took hundreds of thousand of innocent lives in Japan, it saved millions of Japanese and American soldiers.
ReplyDeleteEscobar
Dates and places where the bombs were dropped:
DeleteHiroshima: August 6th, 1945
Nagasaki: August 9th, 1945
In 1945, the Second World War came to an end as two of the three Axis Powers relinquished their previously dominant holds upon Europe, leaving only the Japanese remaining. Winston Churchill of Great Britain, Harry Truman of the United States, and Joseph Stalin of Russia needed to pressure Japan into an unconditional surrender. Willing to surrender only if they could keep their ruling emperor, the Japanese refused to back down. The meeting of the Allied Powers took place at the Potsdam Conference in Potsdam, Germany July 17- August 2 of 1945. Out of the options of invasion, blockading the island nation, and the deployment of a super bomb big enough to destroy a whole city, Truman justifiably decided that bombing Japan was indeed the right decision.
ReplyDeleteMorally, President Truman had a real dilemma to deal with and make a decision about in a very short amount of time. He was just in deciding to drop the Atomic Bombs on Japan because he knew that the war could not go on much longer in the devastating way that it was. It would have been better off in the long run to destroy just two Japanese cities with bombings than to risk continuing a war that had the potential to destroy the entire country. The lives that were lost were not lost in vain considering the full extent of damage that could have been caused if the war had continued or even increased in intensity. Many claim that the bombs did in fact cause long-term damage in that the harsh and irreversible radiation caused unexpected mutations in many citizens and unborn fetuses. This argument can be countered with the fact looking at the bigger picture (that of an unseeingly unending war), damages to just one country's people and land that only lasted a few decades was not as bad as what could have happened had Japan attacked other European and Pacific nations. Dropping the bombs decreased the risk of damage to Europe and Australia had the Japanese persisted in continuing to battle. Fat Boy and Little Man, although causing decades worth of irreversible damage to the people of Japan, saved the country from the extensive damages that could have been caused to the had the Allies invaded, as well as the rest of the world had Japan refused to cease warfare.
With a death toll of that killed 90% of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, 80,000 people were immediately killed upon impact. On August 9, 1945, the city of Nagasaki suffered an estimated 40,000 deaths by the second Atomic Bomb dropped by the United States. Emperor Hirohito finally announced the unconditional surrender of Japan on August 15, 1945 at 12:00 o'clock
Sources:
Delete(1) http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/timeline/factfiles/nonflash/a1144829.shtml
(2) Gulotta, Bill. "WWII - C" Berkshire School, Sheffield, MA. 9 May 2013. Lecture.
(3) http://www.history.com/topics/bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki
I believe that Truman was right in ordering the dropping of the two bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Truman did have other options; however, I think that the most sensible one was to drop the bombs. Truman’s ultimate goal when he ordered the dropping of the bombs was to get Japan to unconditionally surrender. However, Japan would not surrender without being able to keep their emperor in power.
ReplyDeleteGiven these circumstances Truman had options; he could have invaded Japan’s main island. Doing this he and his cabinet both figured there would be too many casualties. If all went according to plan the estimated casualties were about 100,000, and in the worst case about one million. In both cases it was too many casualties after how many soldiers the US had lost on the Europe front. Another idea Truman considered was to blockade Japan’s main island and not let anything get in or out, eventually they would have to surrender. However, Truman and his cabinet decided against this as well because they thought it would be too expensive and Japan would fight it. Then the use of the A-Bomb came up but there were different ways to use it. There was the option of warning Japan then dropping it on that city, however, this would not have had a big enough effect. Then they came up with dropping it on a military occupied island or uninhabited island. These ideas were shut down as well because by doing this Japan would only want to fight more. Finally Truman decided to order the dropping of the A-Bomb on a city without a warning. Though this would end with major Japan civilian deaths, this would get Japan to unconditionally surrender. I believe that Truman was right in ordering the dropping of these two bombs on Hiroshima, on August 6th, 1945, and Nagasaki, on August 9th, 1945. It was because of these two bombs that Japan surrendered on August 14th, 1945. In all, without the use of the A-Bomb, the US would have suffered many more casualties and would have wasted large amounts of money.
Sources: Mr. Gulotta's slide show
ReplyDeleteAfter years of brutal warfare both on land and at sea, the American troops desperately needed an end to World War II. President Harry S. Truman was faced with a choice that could change combat forever. The decision as to weather or not to drop the atomic bomb on Japan, and immediately bring about an end to the war, fell on him and his elite cabinet. Ultimately, the United States dropped the atomic bomb on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and ended the war in the in the most efficient way possible. I agree with the decision that Truman made because it was necessary to bring about an end to the war and all the other options required more time, money, and lives lost for the United States military. The other costly options included intensely bombing several Japanese cities, waiting for the soviet union to join the war against Japan, allowing the Japanese emperor, Hirohito to remain in power or a land invasion of Japan. Japan had no intention to surrender and so the war would have continued until one country simply ran out of supplies or man power. Although President Truman did not know all the harmful after effects that the bomb would bring he had the nations best interest in mind. The US notified Japan that they had forty eight hours to clear out of the cities before the bomb was dropped. Both atomic bombs caused an immense amount of destruction and killed many innocent civilians but this same amount, if not more of destruction, and lost lives would have occurred if the war was not terminated by the dropping of the atomic bomb
ReplyDelete"Was the U.S. Justified in Dropping Bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki?" – Debate.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2013.
President Truman was correct in his decision in the use of an atomic bomb. The Japanese military, at the time, believed in the Bushido Code; loosely translated to “the way of the warrior”. The word represents all that is of value to the Japanese soldiers at the time: stressing loyalty and honor to the nation under which they fought. Phrases like “Death before dishonor” , and “never surrender” were what scared The United States. We saw the Bushido Code’s extremes in battles in the Pacific Theatre during the battle for Iwo Jima and the attack on Pearl Harbor. Many Japanese pilots had little flight time (under 100 hours) and were very young (as young as 16). The planes the soldiers were flying had no parachutes, a locked cockpit door, no landing gear, and was rigged with explosives on the interior so that, on impact, the plane would explode. There was no escape for the Japanese, all in the name of honor. During our battle for Iwo Jima, Japanese soldiers dug elaborate underground tunnels in which they hid, all in order to stall the American forces from getting to Japan. Few Japanese soldiers were taken prisoner, for most all soldiers either died in combat against the Americans, or committed suicide in the name of death before dishonor.
ReplyDeleteThe Bushido code was an impossible enemy to fight against: too many lives were at stake and our president wanted to minimize American war casualties. It was estimated that another 1,000,000 Americans would die as a result of a Japanese invasion. Some believed that in order to force Japan into surrender, every single Japanese soldier had to be killed.
Truman was faced with a tough decision but he made the right call. The use of the two atomic bombs was necessary in the surrender of the Japanese at the end of World War II.
Sources:
Gulotta Power Point slides
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Iwo_Jima
http://www.samanthaseiple.com/wwii-kamikazes-the-bushido-code-and-the-aleutian-war/
-Schiffer
President Truman should not have dropped the atomic bomb on Japan at the end of WWII. Not only were there countless military casualties, but there were also countless casualties of innocent civilians. There were roughly 150,000 - 246,000 + casualties, along with lasting affects that continue to have an impact on our society. Following the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, many people died of radiation sickness, cancer, and other long-term effects. Hardly anyone perceived the damage it would have on the world. Woman who were pregnant at the time of the bombings gave birth to defected babies due to the impact of the radiation. In addition, dropping the atomic bomb created a diabolical world-wide mindset, setting the stage for unnecessary nuclear warfare in the future.
ReplyDeletePresident Truman's decision to drop the bomb was heavily influenced by Russia because he wanted to prove that America was capable and entirely serious about what would soon become the Cold War. During the Potsdam Conference, Truman insured that Stalin would lead Russia to enter the Pacific war. When Stalin agreed, Truman wrote in his diary: "Fini Japs when that comes about" (Lasscson). The connotation of Truman's comment signifies that he was trying to make an impression on the Russians. As the Allies were defeating the Axis powers and Russia was soon to enter the war against Japan, it was fairly obvious that Japan was not likely to win the war. As a result, President Truman's decision to drop the bomb was not justified as a reason to quickly and completely end the war.
Also at the Potsdam Conference, an ultimatum was proposed to Japan: either surrender unconditionally or there would be a very destructive weapon. Unfortunately, Japan did not surrender, underestimating the affects of the atomic bomb that was soon to be dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6th and August 9th of 1945. Professor Oppenheimer, one the the developers of the atomic bomb during The Manhattan Project, reflected later in his life: "But I do not have the feeling that it was done right. ... our government should have acted with more foresight and clarity in telling the world and Japan what the bomb meant" ("J. ROBERT OPPENHEIMER").
Instead of dropping the bomb without warning, Truman should have chosen a less destructive approach. Another option would have been to drop the atomic bomb with warning or even drop it on an uninhabited or military island. If he decided to go with either of these options, he would still have been able to achieve the same results: ending the war with Japan and proving to Russia that America is capable of such destruction. The Allies would have still won the war and many, many casualties would have been prevented.
The 34th President of the US, Dwight Eisenhower, also agreed that it was not necessary to drop the atomic bomb on Japan as a means to end the war. "First on the basis of my belief that Japan was already defeated and that dropping the bomb was completely unnecessary, and second because I thought that our country should avoid shocking world opinion by the use of a weapon whose employment was, I thought, no longer mandatory as a measure to save American lives," ultimately concluding and concurring with my opinion that it "...wasn't necessary to hit them with that awful thing" ("HIROSHIMA").
Works Cited
"HIROSHIMA." Hiroshima: Quotes. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 May 2013. .
"J. ROBERT OPPENHEIMER." J. Robert Oppenheimer and the Atomic Bombings of Japan. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 May 2013. .
Lsaacson, Walter. "Essay: Why Did We Drop the Bomb?" Time. Time, n.d. Web. 25 May 2013. .
- Nicky Friedman
War is hell, and war is complete chaos to everyone who is involved both directly and tangentially related. Truman’s decision in dropping the atomic bomb to end WWII was a justifiable decision. If Truman had not commanded to drop the atomic bomb, WWII might have been still going on just like the Korean War, which has not come to an end since 1950. Being Korean myself, I know more than enough how much Koreans suffer from the ongoing war. Family members are separated by the 38th parallel, and tension between the north and the south is always a great threat to not only Koreans, but also to neighboring countries. Astronomical figures of money are spent in national security. In addition to money, so much time and human resources are devoured by the war. In fact, I am required to serve in the Korean army for 2 years in the following few years. Ending the war as soon as possible was the most necessary decision. Without the atomic bomb, the WWII would have perpetuated longer and impacted more people in a wider and greater magnitude. By quickly ending the war, Truman made the right decision.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, one reason why Truman’s decision can be justified is because with the atomic bombing in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, now people know how destructive these bombs are. If the two atomic bombs had not been dropped, no one whould have known the atomic bomb’s catastrophic consequences. Knowing what results the atomic bomb can bring, now countries cooperate to maintain security and peace in the world.
In my opinion, President Harry Truman’s decisions to authorize the use of the A-Bomb on Japan was justified in order to end World War II once and for all in 1945. The bombs created during the Manhattan Project were dropped in early August. Truman had a few options to end the Pacific war with Japan and gain victory for America. One option was to invade the main land of Japan, which would result in too many deaths for Americans. Another was to blockade Japanese ports to starve and deprive the Japanese people. The last was to drop the atomic bombs on Japan to avoid American deaths. The war had been going on for far too long and there were over 416,000 American casualties. Truman saw that the best option was to drop the bombs. It would secure the surrender of Japan and barely any Americans would be killed. This option was the most valid and likely to succeed. Truman was doing his job as president of the United States by choosing the best option for the country and the people. This war tactic also showed that America was still a strong and powerful nation by being the first to use this dangerous weapon of destruction. Japan had been warned before the bombs were dropped to give them time to evacuate if needed, so the Japanese knew that something was coming. The first bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and three days later another on Nagasaki. Japan officially surrendered on September 2, 1945, less than a month after the bombs were dropped. I believe that President Truman’s decision over dropping the atomic bombs was necessary and justified to end the gruesome and terrible war that had been going on for too long. This was the best option because it saved money and lives for America. Japan had iniated the war with America to begin with by bombing Pearl Harbor, which brought us into the World War in the first place. This act was to settle the fight for good. The bomb ended the fight not only for American and Japan but for the whole world because it was the last factor of World War II. Truman was correct in authorizing the use of the atomic bombs on Japan. It was truly the best option for America because it guaranteed surrender, despite the dreadful aftermath of Japan.
ReplyDelete"51g. The Decision to Drop the Bomb." The Decision to Drop the Bomb [ushistory.org]. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 May 2013. .
Delete"Atomic Bomb." - World War 2 on History. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 May 2013. .
There is much controversy over whether or not Harry S. Truman should have agreed to drop the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. On one hand, 75,000 innocent people were killed in Japan as a result of his decision. The people who were not killed, as well as their children, were severely injured or became mentally unstable. It was a horrific and tragic event in so many ways. Despite this, and due to lack of a better option, in 1945, Truman is justified in the choice he made to drop the bombs that were built in the manhattan project. World War 11 had been going on for six years, thousands of Americans were dead, and the decision to drop the bomb seemed as if it was the only way to put an end this horrific period in our history. Japan resisted surrender, leaving the Americans with only three options. The first option was to invade Japan. This would drag the war on longer, and would have cost more lives than dropping the bombs. The next option consisted of blockading and starving the Japanese people. This option, similar to the option of invasion, put a great deal of American soldiers at risk, which was not in any way ideal. The Americans needed to put an end to the war, and the bomb was the easiest option with the quickest results, and would cause the least amount of American casualties. Though it is not a proud piece of America's history, driven by a desire for Japanese surrender, Truman's authorization to drop the Japan was acceptable.
ReplyDelete-Amelia Patsalos-Fox
After many years of very brutal and cruel warfare between the axis and allied powers, it was time for the one nation to take feat in the pacific. In 1945, President of the United States, Harry Truman made the correct decision to drop the two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, in Japan, to end World War II. The United States needed to win the war fast, with as little casualties as possible, but harmful enough to push Japan to surrender. After the Potsdam Conference the ultimatum Truman, Atlee, and Stalin agreed upon were an unconditional surrender of Japan or the United States would deploy a weapon that can destroy a city. There were three options for Truman. One was to invade Japan, causing many American soldiers their lives and many Japan soldiers and civilians their lives as well. This would have opened a time slot for Russia to join the war in the Pacific, where they could spread communism farther, and therefore possibly begin the Cold War simultaneously. This was not the result Truman wanted. Another solution to end the war would be for the United States to surrender to Japan, but Truman would never do this. The atomic bomb, created in the Manhattan Project by General Groves and Professor Oppenheimer, was the third option.
ReplyDeleteDropping “Fat Boy” and “Little Man,” the two atomic bombs, with no warning on a city would make the biggest statement. Killing of civilians would scare the Japanese. By dropping two bombs, the Japanese would be left to speculate how many atomic bombs the United States possibly had. The fear would push them to surrender as soon as possible. If he had dropped it with a warning or on an uninhabited island, the fear would have been far less significant.
Yes, the atomic bomb had a lasting, harmful affect on those two cities, but it was worth those affects. If we did not drop the bombs, how many American deaths could there have been? And what would Stalin’s impact been on the Pacific War? These impeding questions scared the United States. With the bombs being dropped, there were only 200,000 Japanese deaths, absolutely no American causalities. They forced an inevitable Japanese surrender, and hindered the expanding, belligerent rule of Emperor Hirohito. Truman’s undeniable intelligence to make the right decision saved the United States and the rest of the world from all other horrible futures.
Toffolon
The detonation was stunning because the mushroom cloud would rise after the initial light, burning everything inside like lava or molasses covering a whole city (Hiroshima: Why America Dropped the Atomic Bomb). Furthermore, the radiation caused hundreds of thousands of deaths over a decade and left the survivors in constant fear.
ReplyDeleteWhile the decision to drop the bomb did indeed help to end the protracted and devastating war, the long-term cost was titanic and irreparable. Truman should not drop the atomic bombs in Japan. Killing innocent civilians and destroying civilization were immoral and criminal actions.
In fact by 1945, the war was virtually over because Japan was already seeking for unconditional surrender. In 1944, Prime Minister Hideki Tojo tried to reinforce Saipan, which was really close to Japan. Nevertheless, America had a total victory. The Japanese government later estimated that “of the 43,682 men sent to defend Saipan, 41,244 died, along with some 14,000 civilians” (Cook). If the suffering of Japanese soldiers as well as civilians and the absence of a nuclear weapon were not enough to end the war, the attempt of unconditional surrender by Japan had better bring peace. Emperor Hirohito urgently sought to terminate the war with only one demand – which he would remain as the emperor. "We have heard enough of this determination of yours to fight to the last soldiers,” Hirohito said at a June 22 meeting of the Supreme War Council, “we wish that you, leaders of Japan, will strive now to study the ways and the means to conclude the war” (Rotter). What’s more, the Japanese still kept its emperor after the war. Even if Truman was incredulous enough to think that Japan was not going to surrender without bombings, he should realize that there were other means to end the war than the atomic bombs. According to many commanders in U.S. military, there were many different alternatives. General Douglas MacArthur had the same plan many other people would think: simply accept the Japanese’s unconditional surrender. Admiral William Leahy believed that the US naval blockade against Japan was strong enough to keep Japan from being a further threat. The atomic bombs sparked an international nuclear arms race. Consequently, the Cold War began between the Soviet Union and the United States. It went on with both the Soviet Union and the United States constantly on the edges of nuclear war until the Soviet Union disintegrated in 1989.
Many years after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the debate over the use of the atomic bombs continued. Indeed, the development of nuclear technology did benefit the world in many ways. However, President Truman should never have used the atomic bombs against Japan, nor should any other nation use them. Certainly, history cannot be changed, but Hiroshima and Nagasaki served as a lesson for all of us that how lethal and devastating nuclear weapons can be. If there is one good cause of the atomic bombing, I believe, it is that we have learned that we will never use them again.
Work cited
Cook, Haruko Taya and Theodore Failor Cook. Japan at War: An Oral History. New York: New, 1992.
Kelly, Cynthia C. The Manhattan Project: The Birth of the Atomic Bomb in the Words of Its Creators,
Eyewitnesses, and Historians. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal, 2007.
Rotter, Andrew Jon. Hiroshima: The World's Bomb. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2008.
The decision to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima during the pacific war is a very controversial topic. This is one of the few examples where the opinions regarding the topic are relatively split down the middle. However, I believe that this bold attack was justified, and saved the lives of many American soldiers. President Truman’s explanation behind the bomb dropping was extremely simple and straightforward, he wanted to end the war. The invasion of Iwo Jima cost more American lives than D-Day, and to invade Japan again would have cost approximately one million more American lives. Dropping the bomb on Hiroshima was the quickest way to end the war, while also saving the most lives. Another important factor in Truman’s decision-making was the fact that if he dropping the bomb it would also be a deterrent to future soviet aggression. If the Soviets could witness the weaponry that the United States possessed, maybe they would be less likely to start a confrontation. Having said that, I feel that the second bomb dropping on Nagasaki was grossly unnecessary. The first atomic bomb was devastating enough to end the war, so there was no need for more innocent Japanese deaths. Truman also underestimated the chemical mechanics of the atomic bomb, and what it would do to the following generations of Japanese civilians. If he had known what is now common knowledge, I believe he would have only dropped the first bomb.
ReplyDeleteLsaacson, Walter. "Essay: Why Did We Drop the Bomb?" Time. Time, n.d. Web. 26 May 2013. .
-Austin Brandt
There has been a lot of discussion regarding whether it was right or not for President Truman to authorize the usage of the atomic bomb on Japan. In my opinion,it would be justifiable to drop only one bomb given the fact that Truman wanted to conserve US troops and intimidate the Soviet Union. However, Truman went as far as to authorize two bombs, causing even further destruction. By that point of the war, Japan has already been ready to surrender to the US. Not only did the two bombs cause countless deaths of Japanese civilians and raze two big cities to the ground, but also left even further long-term destruction in Japan such as atomic radiation. Furthermore, brutal destruction can cause hatred. The fact that the Japanese were defeated and the destruction of their cities because of atomic bombs have left a sense of bitterness and inferiority complex in the general consciousness towards Americans. The showcase of atomic warfare also led to other nations participating in the nuclear arms race, starting to develop WMDs and nuclear missiles programs. Certainly, if Truman hadn't authorized the atomic bombs, the horror caused by nuclear weapons wouldn't have happened.
ReplyDeleteNguyen Nguyen
There has been a lot of discussion regarding whether it was right or not for President Truman to authorize the usage of the atomic bomb on Japan. In my opinion, it would be justifiable to drop only one bomb given the fact that Truman wanted to conserve US troops and intimidate the Soviet Union. However, Truman went as far as to authorize two bombs, causing even further destruction. By that point of the war, Japan has already been ready to surrender to the US under one condition: to preserve the Emperor of Japan (according to Olly Liu’s answer). Not only did the two bombs cause countless deaths of Japanese civilians and raze two big cities to the ground, but also left even further long-term destruction in Japan such as atomic radiation. Since atomic weapons were a relatively new concept in the world, thus there’re no regulations or mutual agreements on nuclear weapon control. However, it doesn’t mean that the US has the rights to let loose and massacre Japanese civilians. Furthermore, brutal destruction can cause hatred. The fact that the Japanese were defeated and the destruction of their cities because of atomic bombs have left a sense of bitterness and inferiority complex in the general consciousness towards Americans. The showcase of atomic warfare also led to other nations participating in the nuclear arms race, starting to develop WMDs and nuclear missiles programs and then the Cold War between US and the USSR. Certainly, if Truman hadn't authorized the atomic bombs, the horror caused by nuclear weapons wouldn't have happened. Looking on the bright side, we should not really regret much about Truman’s decision as this event will remind us to make better decisions in the future, similar to how Mr. Gulotta explained the importance of studying History.
DeleteNguyen Nguyen
I believe that President Truman was correct in authorizing the use of atomic bombs to end World War II. In August of 1945, two atomic bombs were dropped on Japan by the United States. One on Hiroshima on the 6th, and one on Nagasaki on the 9th. These bombs resulted in killing more than 200,000 people. The United States did this because Japan refused to surrender in World War II. Japan was given fair warning of the destruction, as the United States gave them the choice to surrender instead. Japan refused to surrender and would continue to kill Americans unless drastic measures were taken. Without the radical actions taken by the United States, many more lives would have been taken and WWII would have gone on for much longer than it did.
ReplyDeleteAlthough it seems like 200,000 Japanese lives is extreme, a larger number of American lives would have been taken if it were not for the atomic bombing. Approximately 400 thousand Americans had already died, meaning thousands more, maybe even millions, were in danger. Japan’s refusal to surrender put the United States and many other countries in danger of losing thousands more of soldiers from battle and from prisoner camps. Japan had captured more than 130,000 American soldiers and was threatening to kill them all. Their stubborn and irrational attitude was life threatening and aggressive. Someone had to take a stand and force them to surrender. Without the shock factor of the bombs, Japan would not of given in, proving the excessive amount of deaths to be necessary.
Also, Japan had stated their intent to fight until the bitter end, no matter what. They also refused to surrender after clear warning of prompt and mass destruction on their land from the United States. Without the bombings, Japan would have continued to fight, requiring the United States and the other Allies to send millions of troops to combat, resulting in thousands more of deaths and an unnecessarily prolonged war. WWII would have gone on for several more years, and this was confirmed when Japan refused to surrender when the United States threatened to take extreme measures. Japan did not care how many men they were losing, they wanted to fight until they had no soldiers left. Their stubbornness would have drawn out the war for many more years, resulting in an exceptionally larger number of casualties. This is why the United States had to resort to using the atomic bomb to end the war.
credit:
http://www.ushistory.org/us/51g.asp
Gulotta Notes
D'Ambrosio Notes
-Blake Polizzi
51g. The Decision to Drop the Bomb." The Decision to Drop the Bomb [ushistory.org]. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 May 2013. .
DeleteAlthough there is heavy controversy over President Truman's authorization of atomic bomb usage, it was certainly the proper decision to make. The Japanese solider's were a ruthless and relentless force determined to conquer and expand their empire. As stated above by Michael Schiffer, the Bushido Code ensured an attitude of no surrender, and that the Japanese were determined to fight to the last man. To simply continue fighting the war with soldier on soldier combat would have had devastating and costly results. It is estimated that over one million American casualties would result from a storming of Japan, as well as a higher figure for the Japanese, whereas the atomic bombs killed under 200,000 Japanese and ended the war shortly afterward. For the greater good, the atomic bombs needed to be dropped. It essentially saved lives for both forces as well as ended a war that Americans were tired of fighting. The ending of war saved money and allowed America to return to a greater state of peace. American citizens were well involved in the war effort through investment in war bonds, tireless labor in war-goods-production factories, and growth of victory gardens, not to mention the unrelenting stress and devastation of constant deaths of relatives and friends. Americans were tired of sending loved ones off to war never to come back. The atomic bombs put a sudden end to a long and hard-fought war that was initiated out of Japanese greed to conquer. This empire deliberately threatened the safety and security of Americans, and for that the Japanese needed to be stopped by whatever means could accomplish the task most rapidly. While it has been said that the killing of civilians was a horrible deed, a huge number of Japanese were drafted, as well as ordered to take their own lives rather than be conquered by Americans. By any means of ending the war, Japanese civilians would have been killed and the atomic bomb lessened the number of deaths by abruptly ending the war. Truman was right in authorizing the use of atomic bombs to end the Pacific theater of war and to return America to a secure and free country.
ReplyDeleteSources:
Gulotta Slides
Michael Schiffer's Post
Asaro
Truman was justified in dropping the Atomic Bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Operation downfall, the proposed land invasion of Japan was estimated to last up to a year and cost over 500,000 American lives. This was based on the 20,000 casualties at Iwo Jima and 50,000 casualties at Okinawa. The Japanese had 3 million soldiers, 3,000 kamikaze pilots and 5,000 suicide boats to defend their homeland. Even innocent civilians were being trained to fight.
ReplyDeleteThe Japanese were ruthless fighters that fought for their honor. To be taken a prisoner was considered cowardly. Before the first bombing, Japan refused to accept the unconditional surrender offered to them by the Potsdam Declaration, and in response to the Declaration, Japan prepared every man, woman, and child to fight until their death. There was no possibility that Japan would surrender. The pride of the Japanese would not allow them to surrender and many of Japan's soldiers fought in a kamikaze style, committing suicide to kill at least one enemy soldier. Dying rather than surrendering for your honor links back to ancient Japanese culture of the Bushido warriors and Samurais. To surrender is considered disgraceful in Japanese culture. The Japanese government had instilled in its people the idea that unconditional surrender to American forces would involve horrendous tortures and degradations, so there was no reason not to fight until death.
Many people argue that the atomic bomb was immoral because it killed many Japanese lives including civilians, but In the long run the atomic bombs saved many Japanese lives. If the war had continued for another year, with the continued bombing of cities, and the increasingly short food supplies from the blockade, many more Japanese would have died from bombs, fire and starvation than died in the two atomic bomb attacks. In fact, more people died in the firebomb raids on Tokyo than at either Hiroshima or Nagasaki. Another year of total warfare directed at the nation of Japan would end up in exponential amounts of deaths for both sides. Far more Japanese (soldiers and innocent civilians) would have died from a land invasion than the two atomic bombs, which is why President Truman’s decision to drop both atomic bombs was justified.
Sources:
Tucker, Spencer C. "Dropping the Bomb: Hiroshima and Nagasaki: Dropping the Bomb
Saved Lives." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 24 Apr. 2012.
Japan: No Surrender In WW2." BBC News. BBC. Web. 23 Apr. 2012.
.
President Truman should not have dropped the two atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan. It is estimated that approximately two hundred and fifty thousand people were killed as a result of the two bombs, Little Boy and Fat Man. Innocent citizens lives should not be jeopardized simply because two nations could not compromise. Before the United States dropped the bombs, they offered Japan the ultimatum of an unconditional surrender, which included the disposal of the emperor; Japan rejected the ultimatum saying they would only surrender if they could keep their emperor. After both bombs were dropped, the United States agreed to allow Japan to keep their emperor. The circumstances for surrender did not change yet the United States decided to compromise after murdering hundreds of thousands of people. This provides reason to believe that the United States had an ulterior motive for dropping the bombs. It is argued that Truman authorized the use of the A-bomb to end the war for several reasons. The United States began to realize that the Soviet Union was becoming a dangerous world power, and by dropping the bombs the United States could assert its dominance over the Soviet Union. The Manhattan project was a two billion dollar project, and many people believed that if the United States did not drop the bombs the project would have been a devastating waste of capital. These reasons are not sufficient in justifying the death of these innocent people. It can be argued that the dropping of the bombs, shortened the war and spared the lives of hundreds of thousand of solders; but these men would have been men that volunteered to sacrifice their lives in order to protect and serve their nation as opposed to every-day civilians who may or may not have wished the downfall of our nation. It should not be up to governments to decide the lives of innocent citizens. Truman had other options on where he could drop the bombs yet he decided to drop them on cities rather than locations which would have been more reasonable and justifiable such as the islands occupied by the Japanese military or the islands which were uninhabited. All in all, Truman’s choice to drop the atomic bombs cannot be justified and it is an embarrassing stain in United States history.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Truman’s decision to drop the Atomic Bomb in 1945 on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was justified. World War II took the lives of countless soldiers and civilians from all around the world in the European Theater alone. On May 7th, 1945 Germany surrendered to the Allied forces. However, this was not the end of the United States efforts in World War II. The Japanese were still fighting strong and the United States had to respond. However, soldiers and civilians had experienced enough hardship through war. Every aspect of life was affected including the economy. The more time that passed meant that more people died and more money was lost. There truly is no winner of war.
ReplyDeleteThe invasion of Japan was the next option for the United States. It would have extended the war for even more years and possibly the lives of up to a million. By dropping the atomic bomb, countless lives were saved by avoiding an invasion. Many people argue that too many innocent lives were lost and that it totally destroyed the entire country while thinking that there was a better solution. However, I think that the lives saved by avoiding an invasion far exceed the amount of casualties by the atomic bomb. Avoiding further conflict saved both Japanese and United States soldier’s lives. Many of these soldiers were drafted into the military. These people fought for their country and wanted nothing more than to end the conflict. As Jimmy said above, “War is Hell.” There were downsides to every possible option. By dropping the atomic bomb, the war was ended quickly and the world moved on with peace.
The United States was not looking for territorial or power gains. All Truman wanted was an unconditional surrender from Japan. His intentions were for the good of the people. He attempted to end World War II with the least amount of repercussions as possible. I believe that he choose the best option possible.
-Jeff Thompson
In my opinion, President Truman was justified in his dropping of the atomic bomb at the end of WWII. President Truman made the controversial decision with the goal of ending the war as soon as possible. Americans had been fighting for four years, island-hopping and fighting brutal guerilla warfare against the Japanese, with no sign of retreat. The alternative options were restricted, and since surrender clearly was not an option, the only other way of ending the war would have been an invasion of the Japanese mainland.
ReplyDeleteSuch an invasion was foreseen to cost over one million American lives and about the same for the Japanese. So even though the Japanese lost over 100,000 lives, it was only a fraction of the possible death count. With the Japanese viewing their emperor as a God, they would give every life for his, which ensured there would be no chance of unconditional surrender. This provoked new action, and when new technology was invented that would help win and end the war, it had to be used.
Truman said, "Having found the bomb we have used it. We have used it against those who attacked us without warning at Pearl Harbor, against those who have starved and beaten and executed American prisoners of war, against those who have abandoned all pretense of obeying international laws of warfare. We have used it in order to shorten the agony of war, in order to save the lives of thousands and thousands of young Americans." This sums up both Truman’s and my opinion on this highly debated decision.
"Public Papers of the Presidents: Harry S Truman, 1945", pg. 212).
"51g. The Decision to Drop the Bomb." The Decision to Drop the Bomb [ushistory.org]. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 May 2013.
The controversial dispute over the dropping of the A-bombs in 1945 by President Truman has brought about much inquiry over the true reasons for the demolition of three percent of the Japanese population. I believe that the dropping of the first A-bomb, Little Boy, is justifiable, but the release of the second A-bomb, Fat Man, was unnecessary.
ReplyDeleteThe war against Japan was extremely draining for the American soldiers who had been fighting in WWII since 1939, and both America at the homeland and the soldiers on the battlefield were ready to return home. Nonetheless, America was not willing to settle to the proposed conditions of surrender created by the Japanese. The terms of keeping a leader, Hiroshima, who hated the United States and the Japanese government, Kokutai, an imperialistic political institution, was simply not an option. It was by the actions and desires of Hiroshima and Kokutai that the Americans were delayed in their return home after WWII, and by settling to this offer the Americans previous work would have been pointless as the Japan threat would still be looming over their heads and have the potential to grow and become even more dangerous to the American population, which was of course unacceptable. In hopes to put end the war as soon as possible, the Americans dropped the bomb Little Boy on August 6, 1945.
The dropping of the first bomb should have been enough to end the war altogether. In Addition to Little Boy, the Soviets had invaded Japan taking much land and weakening their forces. Also, the battle of Okinawa resulted in a death toll of 120,000 people, which had exhausted the Japanese people and moral. The dropping of the first bomb in addition to the already weakened forces gave Japan absolutely no response and they were ready to surrender.
Although, three days was enough time for the Japanese to surrender and they hadn’t yet expressed their position, I still believe that the dropping of the second A- bomb, fat man murdered 80,000 innocent people which added to the nuclear death toll that became a total of 280,000 people. If the Americans had been more patient and taken in to consideration that they were killing more innocent people than soldiers, than I believe they would have made a better choice and not dropped the second bomb.
David Hanson summarizes my position entirely, “The truth, as we are reminded so often in this present conflict, is that usually in war there are no good alternatives, and leaders must select between a very bad and even worse choice. Hiroshima was the most awful option imaginable, but the other scenarios would have probably turned out even worse." I believe that the killing of people is an absolute terrible option, but I understand the United State’s position and circumstance for the dropping of the first bomb, but definitely not the second. The use of the bomb could have changed to save more lives, such as a change in location of where it was dropped and the timing of the drop, but no one can predict the future, and President Truman did not want to use the bombs at all originally. Unfortunately, as historian David Hanson notes, sometimes a leader has to pick the less terrible option to save their people.
Hannah Cooke
Morin, Jeanne. Hiroshima and Nagasaki in A-Cloud of Controversies. Rep. no. Class Essay. N.p.: n.p., 2013.
Morally, dropping an atomic bomb is wrong, as it possesses the capability to destroy millions of innocent lives upon impact and through post radiation. In dropping the atomic bombs on Japan, however, U.S President Truman argued that it would save lives and end the war (Beschloss). However, by 1945, before President Truman dropped the bomb, Hirohito and his Japanese advisors had a meeting that decided their surrender, under the condition that they were allowed to keep their emperor. So, what was Truman dropping it for if he had what he wanted? Even if President Truman had not dropped the bomb, the war would have been over. President Truman did not want to accept this surrender because he did not want the Japanese to keep their emperor. He felt it would be best for the Japanese if their government were run in a similar way to America’s and not through a dictatorship. But who was Truman to tell the Japanese how to run their country? All in all his plans to get rid of Hirohito failed because after the bomb, the Japanese still kept their emperor and he did not in fact come out of power until he died in 1989 (Emperor Hirohito). Truman also argued that the bomb was dropped to prevent Russia from invading Japan, which in turn, would save more lives. In retrospect, the vast country of Russia could have invaded Japan anyway. In the Potsdam conference, the U.S. proposed that Russia declare war on Japan to scare them into surrendering. Therefore, Russia’s intentions to invade Japan were not on their own accord anyway.
ReplyDeleteTruman’s intentions for the bomb were insincere, and the act was merely an attempt to assert his power on the world stage. Overall, the cons in dropping the bomb outweighed the pros, as the U.S. and the rest of the world are still being affected from it today. As well as destroying so many Japanese lives, the dropping of the atomic bomb ignited an international nuclear arms race. Since the world saw what these bombs were capable of, and understood that they could assert dominance over a country, the rest of the world began investing in them. These bombs are billion dollar projects that are essentially used to kill people, and there is no benefit in that but loss of government money and civilian lives. So, all in all, President Truman should not have dropped the atomic bomb in Japan.
Sources:
Beschloss;, Michael R. "Did We Need to Drop It?" The New York Times. The New York Times,
30 July 1995. Web. 27 May 2013.
"Emperor Hirohito Ruled Japan for 63 Years." Daljecom English All News at Portal Daljecom
Daljecom RSS. N.p., 29 Apr. 2008. Web. 27 May 2013.
Conversation with Olly about his term paper.
On August 6th 1945, the United States dropped the atomic bomb, Little Boy, on Hiroshima killing over 100,000 people. 3 days later the United States dropped Fat Man on the Japanese city of Nagasaki, killing 80,000. After these two bombings the Japanese emperor informed his family and close advisors of his decision to surrender. In a statement defending his decision he said, “Moreover, the enemy now possesses a new and terrible weapon with the power to destroy many innocent lives and do incalculable damage. Should we continue to fight, not only would it result in an ultimate collapse and obliteration of the Japanese nation, but also it would lead to the total extinction of human civilization”(USHistory.org) Why would president Truman decide to cause such harm to Japanese civilians to end WWII? President Truman decided to drop the Atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to avoid any more US casualties, get revenge on Japan for the bombings at Pearl Harbor, and to show the USSR what type of power we possessed with this new weapon. The Japanese had over 2 million troops that were waiting to defend their homeland and the US was very familiar with the valor and bravery the Japanese soldiers fought with. Truman knew that an invasion of the Japanese homeland would cost hundreds of thousands if not millions of Allied lives. These soldiers have families that they want to come home too, and Truman could not sacrifice the lives of US servicemen. On December 7th 1941, the Japanese attacked our homeland at Pearl Harbor. In a surprise attack the Japanese killed 2,402 American soldiers and wounded 1,282 more. The Japanese also destroyed countless American battleships and light cruisers that were stationed at the Hawaiian naval base. The Japanese had attacked us on American soil; throughout the war our military advisors were looking for ways to get revenge for this merciless slaughter of American troops. America also wanted to show its USSR counterparts what we could do with these new weapons. By doing this we hoped it would deter them from any hostile actions towards America, to this day it has worked; there have been no major wars since the dropping of the Atomic Bombs. We developed the “ultimate weapon.” Previously nobody had a weapon that could kill so many in such a short amount of time. It was extremely unfortunate that so many Japanese lives were lost, but the atom bomb had to be tested, Truman knew this, and it has saved countless lives since. Not only by not making the US invade mainland Japan, but also by saving the lives of all the people who could have died if another atomic bomb had been dropped sometime between the end of WWII and 2013. Once America saw the devastation the bomb could do to a city it was used as a deterrent instead of a weapon, it did not allow for future wars. J. Robert Oppenheimer, the scientist behind the atomic bomb, talked about his creation, “The atomic bomb made the prospect of future was unendurable. It has led us up those last few steps to the mountain pass; and beyond there is a different country.”
ReplyDelete-Fortenbaugh
What is the price of life? Is it worth sacrificing the lives of hundreds of thousands of innocent Japanese civilians in order to preserve the lives of American soldiers? Soldiers who have, essentially, legally consented to serving their country to the death, and innocent civilians who, in all likelihood, had absolutely no say in the affairs of their Theocratic- Totalitarian government. Apparently sacrificing the latter was seen as a more appropriate approach in the eyes of President Truman, and I happen to disagree with his decision. I do not condone Truman’s authorization of the use of the Atomic Bomb at the end of WWII, primarily because it was completely unnecessary since the Japanese had already proposed a conditional surrender. All they wanted was to keep their Emperor: their deity, their almighty, and we ethnocentric Americans could not push ourselves to respect the religious beliefs and cultures of the foreigners. So we instead dropped the single most destructive form of artillery known to man on the innocent civilians in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It was like bringing an AK-47 to a knife fight - at that point it was no longer a war, it was slaughter. And on top of that, America ended up accepting the conditional terms of Japan’s surrender anyway. A question one may ask is, “Well, then what was the point of Truman dropping the bomb?” And the answer to that, I believe, has three main components: First, Truman thought that it would be better to slaughter thousands of ‘Japs’ rather than lose another American soldier in this drawn out war, for which Americans were beginning to lose morale. Secondly, since no nation had ever actually dropped an atomic bomb on a highly populated city before, American scientists and analysts within the Manhattan Project were able to use these two real-life exhibits for useful data collection and observation, in hopes of fine-tuning the weapon. And thirdly, which is perhaps the most prominent motive for dropping the bomb, I believe that Truman wanted to intimidate the Soviet Union during the early beginnings of the arms race and Cold War. Clearly, Truman’s motives in authorizing the highly unnecessary bomb simply resulted in a haze of negativity; which included the death of roughly 240, 000 innocent Japanese civilians throughout the two bombings, and a new, Cold War for Americans to concern themselves with for the next forty- five years.
ReplyDeleteOn the 16th of July, the atomic bomb was tested for the first time in Alamogordo, New Mexico. Even though the A bomb was a recent discovery, it’s incredible destructive power was well understood. President Truman himself said that “it was the most terrible thing ever discovered.”
ReplyDeletePresident Truman claimed that America dropped the atomic bomb solely to end the war as soon as possible. He justifies his decision by saying that Japan would not agree to an unconditional surrender and insisted on keeping their Emperor. If America were to attack using traditional tactics, many more American lives will be lost. However, dropping the A bombs would save thousands of American lives. If this were the only reason behind Truman’s decision, then I would say that he made the right choice. However, the situation was much more complex, and there were other political motives behind this decision.
At the Postdam conference, Truman has persuaded the Soviet Union to delay their entrance in war against Japan from the original date of August 8th to August 15th, 1945. America was starting to see the Soviet as a threat, which explains why President Truman did not want to Soviet to be involved in the war. The A bomb has become a way to stop the Soviet Union from gaining more victory and recognition in WW2. Furthermore, by dropping the bomb and showing the world its power, we hope to impress the Soviets in context of pre-Cold War.
The second reason why America dropped the bomb might have been revenge for Pearl Harbor. One of the cities targeted was Hiroshima, where Pearl Harbor attacks were prepared and trained.
Japan has already lost before the bomb was dropped and their only condition was to keep their Emperor, as a way to conserve the only symbol for their nation’s unity. Even after dropping these bombs, we still agreed to this condition. The droppings were then pointless if President Truman were saying the truth that his only motive to drop the bomb was to gain unconditional surrender.
In conclusion, there were many political motives hidden behind the decision to drop the A-Bomb. However, I do not think these reasons are enough to justify the cost of more than 246,000 lives, many of which were civilians.
I believe that the President was wrong in this decision and the war would have ended without as much casualties if the two bombs were not dropped.
Linh Vo
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1050507-2,00.html
Deletehttp://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/timeline/factfiles/nonflash/a6652262.shtml
http://www.aasc.ucla.edu/cab/200708230009.html
After years of destruction and warfare it was inevitable that one nation would put the war to rest. In an effort to end World War II quickly, in 1945, President Truman authorized the use of the atomic bomb. Two bombs were dropped on Japanese Islands in response to the Japanese resistance to surrender to the Allied Powers. Prior to the dropping, an ultimatum was drawn up at the Potsdam Conference, which ultimately initiated the production of the atomic bomb. The approval to drop the first bomb on Hiroshima and the second on Nagasaki is justified because of America’s patience with Japan despite their resistance to surrender. Truman’s action can be defended for he made the moral, economic, and reputable decision that helped America. The dangers that Japan were posing by not surrendering gave America all the more reason to drop the bomb in an effort to “end all wars.” Japan had initiated the US into World War II with the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and America was now ready to end the war not only for themselves, but also for the world. Truman’s intentions for ending the Pacific War with Japan were good in the sense that he thought the atomic bomb would kill less lives than by storming their land and attacking them face-to-face or blockading Japanese ports. Although many Japanese lives were lost, far fewer American lives were lost than would have otherwise been killed. The imperialistic war by Germany and Japan no longer had to be a result, which would have caused even more sacrifice and loss of innocent lives. Not only did dropping the atomic bomb save lives that would have been lost, it also proved America’s strength in the moment and for years to come. America was the first nation to use the weapon and dropping the bomb verified that America was capable of complete destruction if willed to do so and that our military was strong and prepared. Economically, Truman’s judgment was correct because if we had gone to war with Japan far more money would have been spent. The war had simply been going on for far too long and the best way to secure the surrender of Japan was with the use of the atomic bomb. Although the devastation to Japan was incomparable, without the droppings of the atomic bombs on Japan, the consequences could have been much worse.
ReplyDelete- Pape
I think President Truman was correct in authorizing the dropping of atomic bombs to put an end to World War II. On August 6, 1945, the United States dropped the first atomic bomb the world had ever seen on Hiroshima. Three days later, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki and finally put an end to the Second World War. The death total of these two bombs came out to be about 200,000 people. These bombs were dropped as a result of the Japanese refusing to surrender on the Pacific theater of the war. Japan was warned numerous times by the United States, however, still refused to surrender. I believe President Truman had no other choice, and this was the only way to end the war without losing more Americans. If we continued to fight as we were previous to the bombs, the Japanese would have killed countless innocent Americans, all of whom were fighting for their country. If the bombs hadn’t been dropped, Truman would’ve sacrificed many American lives, as the Japanese would have continued their ruthless killings and the war would have dragged on for a much longer period of time. Two hundred thousand Japanese lives is a very large and devastating end result, however, if you consider the options presented to President Truman, these casualties just as easily could have been American casualties. Before the bombs were utilized, about 400,000 Americans had already been killed. How many more of his men, could Truman watch die? The refusal to surrender by Japan made all matters more serious and more difficult. The United States did not want to continue to lose men, as well as kill more Japanese men. The Japanese military was threatening to kill all the POW’s they had captured. Given Japan’s obstinate and war hungry attitude, Truman was left with one rational option with regard to putting an abrupt end to the war, this option being the use of the two bombs. The United States had warned Japan many times that they would destroy their homeland, and Japan insisted that they would fight the war until the very end. If Truman had not authorized the dropping of the atomic bombs, Japan would not have stopped fighting, and the United States and all of the Allied forces would have lost many more men to the ruthless Japanese. The Japanese confirmation of continued, ruthless warfare would ultimately let the war drift on for many more years to come. Therefore, the use of these bombs was entirely inevitable. The Japanese could not have cared any less about their personal casualties; all the Emperor wanted was to win the war at any plausible cost. They planned on fighting until only one soldier was left standing. The aggressive, obstinate, and power hungry attitude possessed by the Japanese left President Truman no other choice then to drop these bombs. If he had waited any longer, he would have allowed the United States’ military to suffer grave casualties and the war would have seen no end. I believe the president’s courageous decision was very ambitious, yet also necessary. He saved many American lives in doing so.
ReplyDeleteCredit: Blake Polizzi’s post
President Truman was right to authorize the use of the Atomic Bomb at the end of WWII. If President Truman had not done so, it undoubtedly would have resulted in a longer war and more American casualties. His cabinet discussed options, which included a land invasion, blockading Japan, or using a bomb as a warning.
ReplyDeleteFrom July 17 to August 2, 1945, the Potsdam Conference took place. At this conference the “Big Three” discussed the options they would give Japan. Japan was given the choice of unconditional surrender or we would drop the first Atomic Bomb. When Japan did not comply, we had the choice to invade with American soldiers or put into action the Manhattan Project. The Manhattan Project was the building of the atomic bombs headed by General Groves and Dr. Oppenheimer. Towards the end of the project, a total of 2.2 billion dollars had been spent (Energy.gov). We had made the decision to sink this amount of money into the bombs, if we decided to still invade by land force the project would have been a huge waste of time and resources.
Two of the three Axis Powers had complied, and the end of World War II was in sight. If there had been a land invasion it would have put many soldiers at risk, and dropping the bombs put much fewer American lives at risk. Truman’s goal was to get the unconditional surrender of Japan. Dropping the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6th and 9th of 1945 achieved this goal.
Sources:
http://energy.gov/management/manhattan-project
Mr. Gulotta’s slide show
-Tipper Higgins
In my opinion, President Truman’s decision to sanction the use of an atomic bomb on Japan was justified and the best way for America to approach the termination of Word War II in 1945. Truman had multiple options to end the Pacific War with the Japanese, which included an invasion of the main land, blocking Japanese ports to starve the population or drop the A-Bombs. A land invasion was risky and many lives would be added to the 416,000 American casualties that already existed. Therefore, Truman chose to drop the atomic bombs and the Manhattan Project was launched. President Truman saw this as the best suitable way to put a final end to the war. It would secure the surrender of Japan and barely any Americans would be killed, as Ali Malecka stated above. The first bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945 and three days after the second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. Less than a month later, Japan surrendered on September 2nd, 1945 and the war was brought to an official end.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the dropping of the bombs on Japan left the country in despair for years to come, it had a powerful impact on the entire world and was quite beneficial for the United States. Japan had previously bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941 and this was essentially pay back for that. However, it wasn’t just an act of revenge, it ended the World War for all and exhibited that the United States was still powerful by using weapons of mass destruction for the first time in history.
Maddox, Robert J. "American Heritage." The Biggest Decision: Why We Had To Drop The Atomic Bomb. American Heritage, June 1995. Web. 28 May 2013.
Mr. Gulotta's slide show
Ali Malecka's post
Germany had finally surrendered. After years of turmoil and great sacrifice In Europe, Hitler and the axis powers in Europe had been defeated. The celebration was short lived; there was still a ruthless battle waging in the pacific. The American people were tired of having their sons, husbands, grandchildren, and parents, return home in a casket. Beginning in 1939, a small group began in hopes of one day being able to harness the power of the atom. This group, the Manhattan Project, would go on and change the course of history forever.
ReplyDeleteSoon the Manhattan Project would accomplish its goal, and the first atomic test, Trinity, would be conducted on July 16th, 1945 and be successful. Now, President Harry S. Truman would have a new, never before seen device at his disposal. Truman threatened Japan with “prompt and utter destruction", but under Emperor Hirohito, Japan was not deterred. With no end insight, President Truman came up the controversial decision to drop Little Boy on Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945, and three days later, Fat Man on Nagasaki. This decision, though it killed over 200,000 Japanese, was the correct choice. A Gallup pole taken directly after the dropping of the bombs showed that 85% of Americans approved of Truman’s choice. American’s were tired of the fighting, and wanted a swift end to the war, and his choice supplied the citizens’ requests. If Truman decided to fight a land battle with Japan, casualties would have been much higher. Along with this, there were over 27,000 American POW’s being held by Japan, and without use of the bombs, many would not have survived years more in captivity. Though this will forever be a debated subject, Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bombs was the right choice under the circumstances.
Citations:
"Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki." Wikipedia. 28 May 2013. Wikimedia Foundation. 28 May 2013 .
"Majority Supports Use of Atomic Bomb on Japan in WWII." Majority Supports Use of Atomic Bomb on Japan in WWII. 28 May 2013 .
"U.S. Prisoners of War and Civilian American Citizens Captured and Interned by Japan in World War II: The Issue of Compensation by Japan." U.S. Prisoners of War and Civilian American Citizens Captured and Interned by Japan in World War II: The Issue of Compensation by Japan. 28 May 2013 .c
President Truman’s authorization to drop the atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of WWII was not justified. Granted, there were not many alternatives for Truman to choose from, but the senseless murder of thousands of innocent people was certainly not the best solution. The war had been going on for a very long time, and the declaration of a victor was long over due. Truman had a couple of options. First, he could have had American troops invade Japan and fight until Japan’s surrender. The problem with this is it would have cost thousands of dollars and more importantly, thousands of lives. In another effort to end the war, Truman presented Japan with an ultimatum. Either the Japanese sign an unconditional surrender, or the US would make use of the extremely powerful atomic bomb. Due to their cultural beliefs, Japan refused to surrender. This left Truman with only one option: to use the atomic bomb. With this decision came further deliberation regarding how and when to use the weapon. There was a concern about whether or not a warning should be issued to the Japanese so that they would be prepared for what was coming. However, Truman thought the issue of a warning would have defeated the purpose of the bomb. He was completely rational in thinking so. On the other hand, I find the choice to drop the bomb on the highly populated cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to be selfish and unreasonable. I believe the better choice would have been to drop the bomb on an uninhabited island. This way, innocent civilians would not be harmed, and the US would still have showed the Japanese what they were capable of, likely prompting a surrender of the Japanese people. Though it may have seemed like the sensible decision at the time, the bombings at both Hiroshima and Nagasaki were unnecessary.
ReplyDeleteSources:
Mr. Gulotta’s Slideshow
-Allie McErlean
It is the duty of the President of the United States as Commander in Chief of the armed forces to make major decision concerning the military while keeping the best interest of American citizens in mind and to value the lives of American soldiers above all else. It was with these responsibilities in mind that President Truman made the decision to authorize the use of the Atomic Bomb during the end of World War II. Although it is still one of the most controversial decisions of the twentieth century, Truman's choice to use the Atomic Bomb saved the lives of thousands of American soldiers making it a justifiable act. However, admitting that Truman's choice was justifiable does not mean that it was the right choice morally, although his decision saved many American lives it also ended the lives of thousands of innocent Japanese people. The results caused by the dropping to the Atomic Bombs were horrific, and yet the results of an invasion of mainland Japan by the American forces could have been equally catastrophic. The battles fought between Japan and the U.S at Iwo Jima and Okinawa resulted in massive American casualties due to the unrelenting determination of the Japanese soldiers to fight to the last man. Truman did his duty as President by protecting the lives of thousands of American citizens, after seeing the estimated casualty count that an evasion of mainland Japan would bring Truman's decided that he could not sacrifice so many American lives unnecessarily in an invasion of mainland Japan when he had the means to end the war without the death of a single American solider. In an interview with William Hillman and Morton Royce in 1955, Truman stated that, “as far as the bomb is concerned I ordered its use for a military reason – for no other cause – and it saved the lives of a great many of our soldiers. That is all I had in mind.”
ReplyDeletesources
Paulin, Joeseph. AMERICA’S DECISION TO DROP THE ATOMIC BOMB ON JAPANAMERICA’S DECISION TO DROP THE ATOMIC BOMB ON JAPAN. Rep. N.p., May 2007. Web. 27 May 2013.
The Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 27 May 2013. .
President Truman was justified in his decision to drop the atomic bombs. The world was exhausted and devastated from World War II, and the only country keeping it alive was Japan. The Japanese were ruthless and refused to retaliate. America tried to cooperate with them at Potsdam Conference where they offered Japan an unconditional surrender to the Allied Forces. The Japanese refused, and forced America to take further precaution and create the atomic bombs. President Truman’s patience was coming to an end. Japan continued to show there warlike mentality after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, which brought the US to war, and Truman decided to take a stand. On August 6, 1945 Truman ordered the first atomic bomb to be dropped on Hiroshima, and then dropped another on Nagasaki. These two bombings resulted in about 20,000 casualties, and the ending of World War II. Although it was against all morals, Truman’s decision led to the best ending results. The imperialistic countries were no longer in control; the world was now at peace. The dropping of the bomb help keep the causalities, of both the Japanese and Americans, to a minimum. It also helped both countries economically by ending the war as fast as possible, instead of continuing to fight an already tragic war. The bombs also made a statement to the world. Truman showed that America was powerful, and had the ability to deploy nuclear weapons of mass destruction. For these reasons are why Truman was justified in dropping the atomic bombs because he ended World War II with the least amount of destruction.
ReplyDeleteIsiah Nunez
Credit: Sam Hanh, Jackie Pape, Blake Polizzi, Mr. Gulotta's Slide Show
President Truman was justified in authorizing the use of the atomic bomb at the end of World War II. According to estimations made by the United States Army, it would have cost the US almost 1 million soldiers lives to conduct a full-scale invasion of Japan. Between the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, just over 100 thousand civilians died instantly, and deadly radiation reached about 100 thousand more. Even though the bombs killed thousands of innocent civilians and left two cities in ruins, Truman’s decision to drop the A-Bomb actually saved 800 thousand human lives. Furthermore, the US had gone through years of pain and sorrow as the allied forces slowly penetrated the German Empire in Europe. As US soldiers and citizens turned their attention to Japan after Victory in Europe day, the willpower to fight another complex, drawn-out war was not present. Additionally, Japan’s Armed Forces were trained to have a ‘never surrender’ ideology which they referred to as the Bushido Code. I agree with Blake Polizzi when she says, “World War II would have gone on for several more years…Japan did not care how many men they were losing, they wanted to fight until they had no soldiers left.” The US desperately needed a quick end to the war with Japan in the Pacific Theater, and the A-Bomb was clearly the answer.
ReplyDeleteWorks Cited:
"The Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki." Hiroshima & Nagasaki Atom Bombs. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 May 2013. .
"Dropping of the Atomic Bomb." Dropping of the Atomic Bomb. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 May 2013. .
Dylan O'Connor
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