On August sixth, nineteen forty five, President Harry S. Truman announced the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, promising to the United States, that “[the United States] shall completely destroy Japan's power to make war” (Truman). Japan’s largest cities were struggling, with a reduced food supply and being dependent on railroads for survival. A significant number of Japanese soldier had been killed in attacks. Still, the Japanese leaders refused to accept an unconditional surrender, and the circumstance of prospected war involving both the United States and Japan grew closer. Truman was aware of this, and reached the decision to drop two atomic bombs on Japan, which was the best choice to make to save hundreds of thousands of American lives, and to
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World War II, along with many others, are looked at as total wars, basically meaning that the use of certain weapons or strategies were unrestricted. On account of this, the United States did not break any laws while using the bomb. Some may argue that if the purpose of the atomic weapons were for Japanese surrender, the United States should have waited longer to release more. On the other hand, effects of the bomb were immediate, “the vast majority of [victims dying instantly] or within a few days” (Faragher 5). With the high cost of Japanese lives and the mass destruction, it would take less than three days to surrender, unless they did not intend on surrendering after the bomb. The United States had plenty of reasons to use the atomic bomb, but none of them were purely for the destruction or devastation of Japanese civilians. Their actions can be justified from the end of the war, and the amount of lives …show more content…
While some American leaders disagreed on using the bomb because of its destruction, it is often overlooked that the bomb was not targeted to kill for the sake of violence, but was a psychological tool to send a message to Japan. Hundreds of thousands of people were dead and dying on each side of the war, and all anyone wanted to do was to end this conflict. However, the Japanese refused the surrender that they had been offered, and continued the violence. With the high rate of casualties and loss of supplies, it would be evident that either side would do anything to quickly end the combat. The bomb was also more than ending the battle, but was to “realize the American goal of unconditional surrender” (Tucker 2), since the Japanese wanted to end the war on their own terms, and “[Japan] fought on hopes of securing [surrender] terms that [would be] acceptable [to them]” (Walker 3). The ultimate goal of the atomic bomb was to end war with Japan, but this was hard to achieve because they had refused to surrender. It was recognized that the furthering of the conflict between these two countries would result in far worse damage than intended. To avoid this, Truman made the important
World War II, along with many others, are looked at as total wars, basically meaning that the use of certain weapons or strategies were unrestricted. On account of this, the United States did not break any laws while using the bomb. Some may argue that if the purpose of the atomic weapons were for Japanese surrender, the United States should have waited longer to release more. On the other hand, effects of the bomb were immediate, “the vast majority of [victims dying instantly] or within a few days” (Faragher 5). With the high cost of Japanese lives and the mass destruction, it would take less than three days to surrender, unless they did not intend on surrendering after the bomb. The United States had plenty of reasons to use the atomic bomb, but none of them were purely for the destruction or devastation of Japanese civilians. Their actions can be justified from the end of the war, and the amount of lives …show more content…
While some American leaders disagreed on using the bomb because of its destruction, it is often overlooked that the bomb was not targeted to kill for the sake of violence, but was a psychological tool to send a message to Japan. Hundreds of thousands of people were dead and dying on each side of the war, and all anyone wanted to do was to end this conflict. However, the Japanese refused the surrender that they had been offered, and continued the violence. With the high rate of casualties and loss of supplies, it would be evident that either side would do anything to quickly end the combat. The bomb was also more than ending the battle, but was to “realize the American goal of unconditional surrender” (Tucker 2), since the Japanese wanted to end the war on their own terms, and “[Japan] fought on hopes of securing [surrender] terms that [would be] acceptable [to them]” (Walker 3). The ultimate goal of the atomic bomb was to end war with Japan, but this was hard to achieve because they had refused to surrender. It was recognized that the furthering of the conflict between these two countries would result in far worse damage than intended. To avoid this, Truman made the important