Essay On The Decision To Drop The Atomic Bomb

The decision to drop a nuclear bomb on a civilian population was controversial. Some argue the dropping of the bomb was a quick end to World War II while others argue that the detonation of a nuclear bomb on a civilian population was a hate crime motivated by a desire to demonstrate US military power and racism towards the Japanese. The US needed to show strength at a time of need and in the war quickly to prevent more American deaths. General Leslie Groves defends the dropping of the atomic bomb: “ We did not start the war, if they don’t like the way we ended it, Then they need to remember who started it” (qtd in Southard 109). After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, killing thousands of Americans, the U.S decided to declare war with Japan. The attack on Pearl Harbor may have led to the decision to drop the bomb on Nagasaki. The bomb was not made as an offensive weapon. The Germans were clearly a threat when they started attempting to create the Atomic Bomb. The Manhattan Project was started to make Germany and other countries think before attacking the US (Barnes). …show more content…
The decision to drop the bomb was racially motivated. According to Michael Barnes, “The Japanese were universally caricatured as having huge buck teeth, massive fangs dripping with saliva, and monstrous thick glasses through which they leered with squinty eyes.” (Barnes). Thinking of the Japanese as animals made the decision to drop the bomb a much easier choice. The use of the atomic bomb was inhumane. People that had no democratic rights to appose their government were instantly vaporized. The ones that lived were scared for life or committed suicide because of the