Atomic Bomb Dbq Essay

The United States entered WW2 after the surprise Japanese attack on Pearl harbor in 1941. To inspire the Japanese surrender in 1945 , and ultimately end the war, the US dropped the world's first two atomic bombs on the civilian population of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Since the surrender, there has been debate over whether the decision to use atomic weapons was justified and whether it was the only way to end the war. The use of this atomic weapon was not justified and it was not the only way to inspire surrender and allow the U.S to win the war.

The idea of the bomb being way too much regarding the situation was portrayed in Document 2, as it emphasized that Japan was at a disadvantage, so using the atomic bomb wasn’t important but rather harmful as it killed many without a reason. According to the document, it states, “The use of this barbaric weapon at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was a waste and did NOT assist our war against Japan. The Japanese were already defeated and ready to surrender. . . .” This indicates that the bomb was useless to the war, as it didn’t contribute much to it but instead caused innocent people's deaths. Another reason why there were many against the bomb is that it was too cruel, and no matter what the action of dropping the bomb was, it broke many human rights.

Although it was inhumane and horrific, we were justified in dropping the atomic bombs because American soldiers were being tortured, American bodies were disrespected after death, and the bombs ended the war preventing more American casualties. The first reason that America was justified in dropping the atomic bombs is that American soldiers that were captured in Japan were being tortured. When Japanese soldiers captured American soldiers, they needed some way of trying to get them to give up valuable information because the U.S soldiers wouldn’t just tell them for no reason. So they began torturing them in hopes they’d crack. Document 2 showed the numerous

Both atomic bombs killed around 200 000 people and completely destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the images of the destruction show clearly how devastating was for the people and houses ( document 8). “ how can a human being with any claim to a sense of moral responsibility deliberately let loose and instrument of destruction” (document 4), even though this decision was made by the president Truman and as he says in Harry Truman Memoirs; the scientific advisers of the committee reported, “ We can propose no technical demonstration likely to bring an end to the war: we see no acceptable alternative to direct military use”, but this brings us to the second reason: Japan was a defeated nation, Japan’s cities had been destroyed by conventional bombing, the soviet union “betrayed” them and entered the war by attacking Japan in Manchuria, and the American Navy blockaded Japan’s home island (document 7). After both atomic bombs, the emperor of Japan declared Japan’s unconditional surrender manifesting that the soviet union and the technology were something that Japan could not compete with ( document 14). Adding to these, a third reason to question America’s decision is that Document 7 says that the bomb was used to justify the money spend on

It was a military necessity to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. For starters, it was a war necessity to drop the atomic bomb was because it ended the war faster. It got them to surrender instead of continuing to fight. The atomic bomb was called, “ The Winning Weapon” because it forces the other country to surrender (OI). “We have used it to shorten the agony of the war, in order to save the lives of thousands and thousands of young Americans” (Doc I).

had another solution. In fact, they were given the solution to them by the scientists working on the bomb. The solution was to demonstrate the atomic bomb so the Japanese would be able to see the effects and surrender accordingly. In document 4, it states,”...belief that the worldwide political and social consequences of the power of the weapon being developed…(require the United States to have that power to be) made known by a demonstration to the peoples of the world… Therefore we recommend that before this weapon be used without restriction…its powers should be…demonstrated, and the Japanese nation should be given the opportunity to consider the consequences of further refusal to surrender.”

This caused Japan to surrender, and World War 2 ended. The atomic bomb was justified because the U.S. needed Japan to surrender to end the war. The atomic bomb was justified because it was one of the possible ways to end the war with Japan. Document 1, says “They concluded that no technical demonstration they might propose, such as over a deserted island, would be likely to bring the war to an end”. This indicates that there was no other way of using the same strategies, such as island hopping, which was to capture the surrounding islands to invade Japan.

The atomic bomb was absolutely necessary. It was the end of WW2, Americans deserved revenge, and thousands of lives were saved. The atomic bomb was a brutal weapon that could wipe out entire populations and ignite devastation. The Japanese did not need a revolutionary weapon to cause destruction

If they dropped the atomic bomb on Japan, they would not have to worry about them fighting back and would not have to keep making more weapons just to defeat the Japanese. It is expensive to manufacture weapons over and over, dropping the atomic bomb would just be a one time thing and it would save time as well. Also, If the Americans and Japanese fought on the island of Kyushu, then more Americans would die as well, if they dropped the atomic bomb then lots of lives would be saved. Also, Nicholas Kristoff said that military officials were likely to fight on, furiously, until the end willing to "Sacrifice 20 million Japanese lives," as late as August of 1945.” (Doc. I)

The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was a very controversial event in history that led to the inevitable end of WWII. Some think that the bomb was necessary to end the war and without it, the war couldn’t end. But others think the bomb was overkill because the Japanese were already on the brink of surrender. Dropping the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki had positive and negative effects.

Japan was weakening, “The food situation gradually becoming worse and worse…” Stated in source H. America had many industrial resources to use against Japan and so Japan had essentially been defeated. Japan pushed only for the sake of their countries honour as the shame of unconditional surrender goes against their code of honour. Furthermore a warning was given to Japan with America promising to drop the atomic bomb, however there was no evidence and so it could have easily been deemed a bluff. An American nuclear scientist stated, “A demonstration of the bomb best be made… Japan could then be asked to surrender.” This source seems somewhat reliable as it is from one of the American scientists and they would know the strength of the bomb.

During World War II, American soldiers used the atomic bomb in the Pacific Theater in order to bring an end to the war. To this day, the United States is still the only country to have used one, even though it is not the only country that has nuclear weapons in its arsenal, which is why the decision to bomb Japanese civilians in 1945 remains controversial over 70 years later. Even though thousands of civilians were injured during both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, the events had to occur. These bombings were crucial for a variety of reasons.

Japan had to accept unconditional surrender; if they disagreed with that request, America would drop the bomb. What made the Japanese surrender was the retention of their emperor; anything else couldn’t have forced a Japanese surrender, including the attack of the atomic bomb. As Japan's Prime Minister Suzuki spelled out on June 9, 1945. “Should the Emperor system be abolished, they [the Japanese people] would lose all reason for existence…. [and have] no choice but to go on fighting to the last man” (Butow).

The US decision to drop atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 has generated much controversy over the years. Some argue that the bombing was necessary to end World War II, while others believed that more than 200,000 civilians died in vain. The use of this disastrous weapon caused a split in society which came down to the usage being necessary for the victory of the Allied Powers as well as stopping more Japanese crimes or a merciless crime that greatly injured an already kneeling, surrendering nation and caused mass innocent deaths. Due to previous Japanese actions, the dropping of the atomic bomb was justified and needed to be done to protect Americans and other countries oppressed by the Japanese.

Afterwards, the United States declared war on Japan, and joined allies against the axis powers. The United States’ use of the atomic bombs is justified because it saved American lives; Japan was given fair warning, and their aggressions towards the U.S. The atomic bombs on Japan saved many American lives. Document 15 reads: The entire population of Japan is