The United States government, along with a few others, were the first to witness the destruction caused by the atomic bomb after the success of the Manhattan project on July 16, 1945. However, less than a month later, on August 6, the rest of the world also witnessed the power of atomic energy with the bombing of Hiroshima. Only three days later, another bomb was dropped on Nagasaki and the combined casualties from the two bombs is uncertain, but are estimated to be close to two hundred thousand. President Truman violated the rights of noncombatants, thousands of everyday women, men, and children were killed for no other reason than to shock the Japanese government. Japan was not prepared for the intense, and rather ruthless, efforts shown by the United States to end the war.
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President Truman made sure to include in his editorial his reasoning behind the decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan. His main reason was to protect American soldiers, according to his editorial. He claimed that the estimated American lives that would be lost through the tactic of invasion could reach of to 250 thousand and possible even 500 thousand. These numbers are later contradicted by authors Robert Jay Lifton and Greg Mitchell, which claimed that the estimated loss of lives would have been no more than 63,000. A second reason given by President Truman was that “it would probably be the only was the Japanese might be made to surrender quickly..” (insert citation) Without attempting any other options, President Truman decided to drop the atomic bomb, yet he left room for uncertainty with words like “probably” and “might.” Were these two reasons enough to justify the deaths of nearly two hundred thousand innocent and unsuspecting people? The “reasons” given by the president at the time were not really anything other than
President Truman made sure to include in his editorial his reasoning behind the decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan. His main reason was to protect American soldiers, according to his editorial. He claimed that the estimated American lives that would be lost through the tactic of invasion could reach of to 250 thousand and possible even 500 thousand. These numbers are later contradicted by authors Robert Jay Lifton and Greg Mitchell, which claimed that the estimated loss of lives would have been no more than 63,000. A second reason given by President Truman was that “it would probably be the only was the Japanese might be made to surrender quickly..” (insert citation) Without attempting any other options, President Truman decided to drop the atomic bomb, yet he left room for uncertainty with words like “probably” and “might.” Were these two reasons enough to justify the deaths of nearly two hundred thousand innocent and unsuspecting people? The “reasons” given by the president at the time were not really anything other than