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To this day, many debate the primary reasoning behind Truman's decision to use Atomic Bombs against Japan and whether they served to bring a quick end to the war or to gain leverage with the Soviet Union in the post-war world. The cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was specifically decided as these were population dense cities that were primarily devoted to military production. These cities also did not hold cultural significance within Japan, as opposed to cities like Kyoto. Because of this, many argue that Truman did not seek to destroy Japanese culture or its people; the goal was to destroy Japanese means of war production. The war was coming to its end and it was only a matter of time before the Japanese surrendered.…
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I want to thank you for your response and clearly stating your perspective regarding the United States bombing Japan. However, I must respectfully disagree with your argument. I do believe the atomic bomb was necessary to end the war because without the bomb the United States was prepared to invade Japan. Statistically speaking the use of omb actually saved thousands of American and Japanese lives rather than invading Japan. I do concur with the questionable morality of using the bomb because killing many individuals was not an easy decision Truman had to make, consequently the decision ended the otherwise long and drawn out war. Japan was prepared to put a fight, no matter the circumstances. With the Japanese army and civilian militia expected…
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I don't think that the US should have bombed Japan. It was entirely unnecessary and the US had plenty of opportunities to do other things. America could have used a technical demonstration to show how powerful the bombs were on a nearby, but uninhabited, island. This would have been a effective intimidation act while not adding to WWII's already enormous death count. Admittedly this alone would not have ensured Japan's surrender, but Japan was planning on surrendering in the fall off 1945. The only thing that was keeping them from surrendering sooner was their unwillingness to accept completely unconditional surrender. The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki may have ended World War II, but was it worth the lives…
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Although there were attempts at peace, Japan showed no signs of agreement towards a peaceful and unconditional surrender. Japan’s reluctance to stop fighting could have left to months more of fighting and thousands of more deaths. The atomic bomb ensured an enormous display that could quickly end the war. As Cuhrchill proclaimed, “the end of the Japanese war no longer depended upon the pouring in of their armies for the final and perhaps protracted slaughter… this nightmare picture [has] vanished… in its place the vision of the end of the whole war in one or two violent shocks” (Doc E). Churchill summed up the gist of America’s reasoning for implementing the bombs. The United States did not have to depend on the slaughter of millions of people in bloody, messy fights, and , instead, “a speedy end to the Second World War” could be reached with one machine (Doc E). However, once the first bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, the Japanese continued to resist. It wasn’t until a second bomb was dropped that Japan surrendered with a simple stipulation that their emperor remain in his position. This alone proves the military necessity of the bombs. Despite the attack on Hiroshima, Japanese still wished to continue their war. If not for the second bomb, who know how many lives would have been lost.…
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Harry Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bomb was a good decision. If he had not decided to drop the atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the war would have continued and more Americans, as well as Japanese, would have continued to die. Since the Japanese were using ruthless methods of war like kamikazes or killing themselves rather than be captured, it was hard to tell how far Japan was willing to go in order to win the war. Thus, Truman’s decision to bomb Japan is justifiable by the cause of not knowing to what extents Japan was willing to go. I believe Truman wanted to show the Japanese that the United States was willing to do anything to win the…
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On August 6th, 1945, the United States dropped the first ever Atomic weapon on Hiroshima, Japan. 140,000 people lost their lives, most of which were civilians. President Truman was in charge of this major decision, and he made the correct choice. The alternative solutions were much too costly for the United States, both in expenses and American casualties. Another reason Truman’s decision is justified was due to the declination of the fair ultimatum recieved by Japan. Also it was important to the well being of the world to keep the Soviets out of Japan. Dropping the Atomic Bomb was the most reliable and definite way to end the war.…
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Firstly, the bombs saved more lives than it claimed. To illustrate, many American and Japanese lives would have been lost in the battles to capture Japan. Similar to the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, the Japanese would never surrender until all of their forces were lost, and this would result in a copious amount of death and despair. The Allied generals estimated over a 1,000,000 lives would have been lost in the upcoming battles if Truman did not decide to end the war with the atomic bombs. Additionally, the Japanese threatened to execute 100,000 Allied prisoners of war if they decided to invade the Japanese mainlands. Thus, by dropping the atomic bombs, many lives, including both Japanese and American, have been saved by bringing the war to an abrupt stop. Furthermore, the Japanese were given a fair warning before the Allies dropped the Atomic bombs. On July 26, a few days before the dropping of the bombs, President Truman issued a final ultimatum for the Japanese forces to surrender or be bombed. Yet, Emperor Hirohito declared that he would not surrender. On account of Emperor Hirohito not surrendering, Truman decided to drop the Atomic Bombs to end the war quickly. Hence, the Japanese were given a choice to surrender or to be bombed, but they chose to be bombed. Although many argue that the Atomic Bombs were not justified because they…
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The decision to drop two atomic bombs on Japan in August of 1945 was made by a complex group of technological, political and military influences. History has it that the bombs were dropped in order to save American lives by avoiding the invasion of Japanese homelands, at least, that was what President Truman told the American public at the time. “For years, this simple view has been challenged by a seemingly more sophisticated academic perspective that the bombs were wrongfully used against innocent civilians, did not genuinely factor into the surrender of Japan, and would have better served the war effort as part of a diplomatic “carrot and stick” package.” (Beason 1). Some argue that the first bomb may have been required to achieve Japanese surrender, but the second one was a needless act of barbarism. According to Admiral William D. Leahy, the President’s Chief of Staff, “The use of this barbarous weapon at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was of no material assistance in our war over Japan. The Japanese were already defeated and ready to surrender…” (Beason 1). However, I have many facts to counteract all of these criticisms and to support President Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bomb.…
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World War was nearing the end when Truman stepped into presidency. The Truman Administration was clearly looking for a way to end the war at the lowest possible cost of American lives. The suggestion of dropping atomic bombs over Japan had surfaced, and with it came a huge dilemma. After much deliberation, the time came when Truman ordered the Americans to drop an atomic bomb over Hiroshima. It all becomes quite clear that atomic bombings of Japan cannot be justified. They can be viewed as an inhumane acts that were aimed at American revenge and retaliation against the Japanese. The decision made by Truman in 1945…
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America was justified for dropping the bomb on Japan during World War Two because they didn't want to lose any more American lives. These American lives are major values to their loved ones.…
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The atomic bomb shouldn’t have been used in World War 2 to defeat Japan. America could have used other alternatives then the deadly atomic bomb. President Truman should of waited a few more weeks for russia to declare war on Japan. The thought of invasion by both of America and Russia probably had an even more scared effect on the Japanese government then the Atomic Bombs. America could of also continue the conventional bombings and blockade.…
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The bomb should have been used on Japan because they would not surrender even after the Soviet Union declared war on them. They also attacked Pearl Harbor killing 2,335 U.S. servicemen were killed and wounding 1,143. Sixty-eight civilians were also killed and 35 were wounded. During war just fighting with Japan 106, 207 American Heroes were lost; we could not let their deaths be in vein.…
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The atomic bomb was necessary in order to assure the war would end as soon as possible. On August 6th the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, on august 9th a second one was dropped on Nagasaki, and on August 10th Japan declared its intention to surrender. This is clear proof that atomic bomb was an effective way to end the war. Even if it did kill many people it might actually have killed less people then if we had kept the war going for much longer.…
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In 1945 Harry S. Truman decided to use the atomic bomb not only once, but twice to finish World War Two. The first bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima August, 6th killed upwards to around 80,000 people and the second bomb dropped on Nagasaki August, 14th killed 40,000 people. The controversy of the atomic bomb is because of the amount of innocent people that were killed in Japan. Nobody will ever know the outcome of the war if we never dropped the bomb, but we do know that the war was ended because of it. Over 100,000 people lost their lives because of these bombs, but how many lives would have been lost if we never dropped them? That is the other question that can never be answered, but based…
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Although Japan had an estimated army of 5,000,000 men, they were on the verge of imminent collapse and the two atomic bombs that were dropped on them were not necessary to obtain Japan’s surrender. America’s primary reason for using the atomic bombs on Japan was to intimidate the Soviet Union so that the Soviet Union would stay out of the war with Japan and to demonstrate our world dominance, rather than dropping the bombs solely to induce Japan’s unconditional surrender.…
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