The Pros And Cons Of Dropping The Atomic Bomb

On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor. This attack forced the United States into the war, and just a day later the U.S. declared war on Japan. During the summer of 1945, Japan became a weak and destroyed country, but they were unwilling to pull out of the war. The United States gave Japan the offer to surrender numerous times, and if they did not agree complete destruction of Japan was coming. The United States dropped two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki within a few days of each other. Japan did not surrender after the first bomb, but a day after the second bomb dropped Japan surrendered. A lot of conflict and controversy circles around if the U.S. should or should not have dropped the atomic bomb. Dropping the atomic bomb helped Americans in many ways and put an end to the Second World War. By dropping the bombs, the U.S. knew it would end the war quickly and bring American families back together. Also, it saved …show more content…
If the United States decided against using the atomic bomb, U.S. soldiers would have invaded Japanese islands. This operation was named Operation Downfall, and this invasion would have led to thousands of casualties. Japan was willing the literally fight to the death and President Truman knew that if we didn’t use the atomic bomb that the United States would continue to fight as long as Japan was still standing. An ironic justification for dropping the bomb is not only did it save American lives, but it also saved Japanese lives. It was predicted that if Operation Downfall took place that anywhere from 5 to 10 million Japanese casualties would have occurred. Japan’s economy was down and running out of resources, but by the U.S. dropping the bombs it ended the war and allowed Japan to rebuild its country. The atomic bomb did cause fatalities, but it saved more lives that if the war was to be