was the dropping of the atomic bomb justified
Did the USA need to drop bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945?
On the 6th of August 1945, the US dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of
Hiroshima,1ushering in the nuclear age. The bomb caused the deaths of over 100,000 people,2with the bulk of the destruction pertaining to innocent civilians. Three days later, the Americans repeated their action at Nagasaki. The aim of the US was not, however, to cause complete annihilation of the
Japanese, but to seize the fierce nationalism within Japan, ending world war two. Arguably, this was achieved, with the Emperor Hirohito broadcasting their surrender on the 15th of August.3However, was the Americans use of nuclear warfare justified in their bid for world peace? President of the time Harry Truman stated, “I never lost any sleep over my decision (to drop the Atomic bomb)”,
4yet, Americans have since been subject to fierce revisionist denialism that there was not an over riding need to employ such a controversial tactic.
By 1945 Japan was in ruins. America had continuously bombed strategic Japanese locations, and implemented a blockade that had dramatic effects on the nations civilians, suggesting that the
Japanese were close to surrender without the implantation of the A bomb. Conversely, the US had witnessed the Japanese’s determination to fight to the bitter end , rather than surrender, and their failure to respond to the Potsdam declaration clearly illustrated this. Through analyzing the historical context in which this dramatic act of war occurred it is difficult to come to a sound judgment on the necessity of America’s actions. Due to the consequences that would have triggered if the war had continued, i believe that the US did need to drop the bomb on Hiroshima, however, it was not necessary to drop the following bomb on Nagasaki.
With the break out of World War two, Hitlers initial victories captured the imagination of the
Japanese militarists, showing what could be achieved through a
On the 6th of August 1945, the US dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of
Hiroshima,1ushering in the nuclear age. The bomb caused the deaths of over 100,000 people,2with the bulk of the destruction pertaining to innocent civilians. Three days later, the Americans repeated their action at Nagasaki. The aim of the US was not, however, to cause complete annihilation of the
Japanese, but to seize the fierce nationalism within Japan, ending world war two. Arguably, this was achieved, with the Emperor Hirohito broadcasting their surrender on the 15th of August.3However, was the Americans use of nuclear warfare justified in their bid for world peace? President of the time Harry Truman stated, “I never lost any sleep over my decision (to drop the Atomic bomb)”,
4yet, Americans have since been subject to fierce revisionist denialism that there was not an over riding need to employ such a controversial tactic.
By 1945 Japan was in ruins. America had continuously bombed strategic Japanese locations, and implemented a blockade that had dramatic effects on the nations civilians, suggesting that the
Japanese were close to surrender without the implantation of the A bomb. Conversely, the US had witnessed the Japanese’s determination to fight to the bitter end , rather than surrender, and their failure to respond to the Potsdam declaration clearly illustrated this. Through analyzing the historical context in which this dramatic act of war occurred it is difficult to come to a sound judgment on the necessity of America’s actions. Due to the consequences that would have triggered if the war had continued, i believe that the US did need to drop the bomb on Hiroshima, however, it was not necessary to drop the following bomb on Nagasaki.
With the break out of World War two, Hitlers initial victories captured the imagination of the
Japanese militarists, showing what could be achieved through a
Bibliography: 11. D.D.Wainstock, The Decision to drop the Atomic Bomb, Prager Publishers, 1996 12 3. L.Morton, Decision to use the Atomic bomb, Foreign Affairs, 1956 Website