World War II (1939-1945), the deadliest war in history made way to innovative technology, creating dangerous and devastating weapons, the likes of which the world had never seen before. Although the other Axis powers, Italy and Germany had surrendered by 1943, the Japanese refused to appease the Allies. When the Allies realized that Japan wasn’t planning on surrendering, they felt that drastic measures were required to bring the war to an end. In August 1945, desperate to end the war, the United States dropped nuclear bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. To some, nuclear weapons were seen as necessary to end the war, however many felt that the use of these weapons were a crime against humanity. President Harry Truman’s decision
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Although Japan was weakened by the American attacks, they still had the military force to continue fighting. In Source #2 (Stimson) it is stated that the War Development General Staff had estimated that Japan had about 5,000,000 armed men in July 1945, only a month earlier than the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. With this many Japanese troops, the Allies would have to continue to fight for what could’ve been months, resulting in the death of more Allied soldiers. Without the use of the atomic bomb, the Allies would have lost more of their men. Stimson also states “There was yet no indication of Japan to accept unconditional surrender.” In other words, not only did Japan have enough manpower to continue fighting, but it was shown that they had no intention to accede to peace. The Japanese would continue to fight the war and were not looking for any kind of reconciliation with the Allies. The nuclear weapons had bought an end to the huge armies Japan had and prevented the death of more Allied …show more content…
His decision was valid because it bought the war to a quick end and prevented another war by serving as atomic blackmail. Had the bombs not been dropped the war would have continued for much longer, resulting in more Allied soldiers deaths and low morale. The bomb also discouraged the Soviet Union from making any poor decisions that may lead to a war. Had the Allies humbled Germany like they did with the Soviet Union, World War II probably wouldn’t have happened in the first place, and all the civilians and soldiers who died and buildings that were destroyed could have been
Although Japan was weakened by the American attacks, they still had the military force to continue fighting. In Source #2 (Stimson) it is stated that the War Development General Staff had estimated that Japan had about 5,000,000 armed men in July 1945, only a month earlier than the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. With this many Japanese troops, the Allies would have to continue to fight for what could’ve been months, resulting in the death of more Allied soldiers. Without the use of the atomic bomb, the Allies would have lost more of their men. Stimson also states “There was yet no indication of Japan to accept unconditional surrender.” In other words, not only did Japan have enough manpower to continue fighting, but it was shown that they had no intention to accede to peace. The Japanese would continue to fight the war and were not looking for any kind of reconciliation with the Allies. The nuclear weapons had bought an end to the huge armies Japan had and prevented the death of more Allied …show more content…
His decision was valid because it bought the war to a quick end and prevented another war by serving as atomic blackmail. Had the bombs not been dropped the war would have continued for much longer, resulting in more Allied soldiers deaths and low morale. The bomb also discouraged the Soviet Union from making any poor decisions that may lead to a war. Had the Allies humbled Germany like they did with the Soviet Union, World War II probably wouldn’t have happened in the first place, and all the civilians and soldiers who died and buildings that were destroyed could have been