Preview

Was Hiroshima Bombing Unjustified Justified

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1310 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Was Hiroshima Bombing Unjustified Justified
The United States’ decision to bomb two cities of Japan, which we’re Nagasaki and Hiroshima, was not at all justified. Many people know that Japan deliberately attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, in order to strategically weaken the American Naval Base. However, the United States’ decision to drop the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was to push Japan to surrender the war . The bombing was unjustified because the U.S. military: targeted heavily populated civilian cities, deliberately planned their attack to kill, did not give Japan enough time to respond to the first bombing, (4) did not experience as many casualties than Japan.
Many people say that the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima was unjustified because the U.S. targeted
…show more content…
It did not matter whether the target was military or civilian areas as long as the site where the bombs were dropped was exactly or more than 3 miles in diameter or gave America a strategic advantage. Another reason why the attack on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was unjustified is because of the U.S.’ plan that deliberately killed thousands of innocent people. Prior to the attack, Colonel Fisher commented,“[The] Ultimate range of the B-29s is 1500 miles at 30,000 feet altitude” (Notes on Initial Meeting of Target Committee, May 2, 1945). The group of individuals that planned the attack calculated the ideal altitude for the bombs to be dropped to achieve maximum destruction. Furthermore, not everyone involved in the attack agreed to the plan. One example is, “Admiral William Leahy, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, oppose[ed] using the bomb because it killed civilians indiscriminately” (American History Textbook, American Vision, pg. 615). The attack led to the unnecessary death of thousands upon thousands of Japanese civilian. President Truman later wrote that he “regarded the bomb as a military weapon and never had any doubts that it should be used.” His advisers had warned him to expect massive casualties if the United States invaded Japan. Truman believed it was his duty as president to use every weapon available to save American lives (American History Textbook, American Vision, pg. 615). President Truman, the Commander in Chief, was well aware of the consequences of using the atomic bombs, however, he still initiated the attack which inevitably caused the deaths of nearly 200,000 Japanese civilians (Stanford History Education Group. Reading Like a Historian “6. Atomic Bomb.”). This statement brings the attention back to the idea that the bombings to both cities of Japan were

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    “We are in possession of the most destructive explosive ever devised by man” stated Leaflet B dropped on August 6th, 1945. Since the United States knew how destructive the bomb was, they should have not used it in the first place. Not only was japan in danger but Leo Szilard and 69 co-signers at the Manhattan Project stated “ the cities of the United States as well as the cities of other nations will be in continuous danger of sudden annihilation.” Most people working on the project for two and a half years did not even know what they were working on or hiding from the American public. Though, Japan killed and injured many Americans, the U.S. killed more people and left Japan with high levels of radiation for many years after the bomb was dropped. In conclusion, the United States was not in any way justified for the decision of dropping the atomic…

    • 717 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    President Truman decided to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki because the Japanese just did not surrender. However, it was the Japanese military leaders that did not want to surrender which led to the bombing on Hiroshima. The president asked the Japanese the first time to surrender by August 3rd and they did not and because of this being a war there is no sympathy. I believe that because of them not surrendering there is no other option. This war consisted of many people dying and there is no option but to surrender or get attacked. Japan if had the opportunity to attack, they would attack and this is true because of the constant resistance they have within the war.…

    • 234 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    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…

    • 119 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    DBQ Atomic Bomb

    • 639 Words
    • 2 Pages

    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.…

    • 639 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    President Harry Truman is justified for sending atomic bombs from the United States to Japan civilian cities. Two parts of Japan in particular named Hiroshima and Nagasaki were targeted to kill off the civilians. The bombs were supposed to target a certain range of people, the hiroshima ranged from 90,000 to 146,000 and the Nagasaki ranged from 39,000 to 80,000 deaths. These bombs initiated the action of surrender from Japan and this happened on August 15, 1945. There are documents that prove Harry Truman should be justified for the participation in winning the war for the United States.…

    • 780 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    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…

    • 125 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    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.…

    • 1290 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    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.…

    • 1098 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    I believe that the reason for bombing Hiroshima was because Americas military wanted to try out their weapons and since they already had the support due to the…

    • 582 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    War in Japan Wwii

    • 275 Words
    • 2 Pages

    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.…

    • 275 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    In the case of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, the United States was the perpetrator. However, unlike the Germans in the Holocaust, the Americans sole purpose was not to wipe out the Japanese, but rather to end the war. As said in the leaflet dropped on the Japanese, “because of your leaders’ refusal to accept the surrender declaration that would enable Japan to honorably end this useless war, we have employed our atomic bomb” (Leaflet Translation 1). Also, another reason for the employment of the atomic bomb was to “destroy every resource of the military” (Leaflet Translation 1). Although the United States used the bomb knowing many civilians would die, the main reason they employed the bomb was to end the war and destroy military resources. For these reasons, Nakazawa’s perspective is not as bad as it could be. Even though he blames the United States for the bombing, he also blames the government and leadership of Japan. On the other hand, Blatt had a different perspective for the intent of the perpetrators. He had reason to blame the Germans for everything that happened to him and the Jewish people during this time. No justifiable explanation can be given to explain this horrific event as “Antisemitism was at the core of Nazi ideology in general and of Hitler’s own ‘world-view’ in particular” (Nazism 1919-1945). This absolute hatred caused the destruction of millions and millions…

    • 1179 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Were the Americans justified in dropping the atom bomb on Hiroshima in August 1945? The United States of American became the first and only nation to use atomic weaponry in warfare, when they dropped the first of two atomic bombs 2000 feet over the city of Hiroshima in japan on August 6th 1945, killing 80000 civilians and militants instantly and eventually leading to the total destruction of up to 90 per cent of the city. This bomb along with a second bomb led to the surrender of japan just days after, ending the Second World War. The reasons behind the bombing causing the surrender of japan and the ethical issues still are widely controversial to this day.…

    • 1515 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    I think that the bombing by the United States was justified because the bomb saved lives and the Japanese cheap shot the U.S. at Pearl Harbor. For starters, the bomb saved lives. The bomb dropped by the Americans on the Japanese, saved many more American and Japanese lives. The Japanese said that they would never quit, as it was the dishonorable thing to do. If the Americans were to have tried to capture Japan, the Japanese citizens were prepared to commit seppoku. If the Americans were to have tried by force, many Americans would be wounded in the attempt. Next, the Americans were not in the wrong for bombing the Japanese because the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor when the Americans were not in the war. This justified the Americans act because…

    • 176 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    I am completely opposed to the bombings on the Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It is…

    • 373 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    World War II was a war between governments, by dropping the bomb; they put the innocent people of Japan in danger too. The two cities were of limited military value. Civilians outnumbered troops in Hiroshima five or six to one. Japanese lives were sacrificed simply for power politics between the United States and the Soviet Union (as stated in Document B). By dropping the bomb the US was hurting the citizens (people not involved in the war) more than they were the government, the people they were really fighting against. Between the two cities, there was an estimated 105,066 dead, and 94,000 injured; that’s almost 200,000 causalities total (document A).…

    • 439 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays