ipl-logo

Was The Atomic Bomb Justified Dbq Essay

1322 Words6 Pages

Imagine your entire city going up in flames faster than you can blink. Houses, stores, and schools were all reduced to nothing but ashes. Almost everyone that you used to know is now dead, in no more than an instant. This is what it would have been like to live in Hiroshima on the dark day of August 6, 1945, when the United States released the first nuclear weapon in the history of all warfare. They would drop a second over Nagasaki a mere three days later. The atomic bombs had been developed by the U.S. over the course of World War II under the Manhattan Project. President Harry Truman then decided to use them on Japan in a desperate attempt to end the war. Despite the fact that it saved American lives, the dropping of the atomic bombs on …show more content…

This is detailed in Document 3. “But this deliberate premeditated destruction was our least abhorrent alternative” (Doc 3). Although it did save American lives, the atomic bomb was not the least abhorrent alternative. It has already been shown that it was not necessary to end the war because Japan was nearing surrender. The mass destruction caused by these bombs was like nothing before and can hardly be described as anything other than abhorrent. Women and children were killed, and entire cities were erased from existence. This clear lack of respect and ethical reasoning highlights that there were more negatives than benefits of the bombs. Document 8 says, “The record of General Macarthur’s operations from 1 March 1944 through 1 May 1945 shows 13,742 US killed compared to 310,165 Japanese killed.” These numbers support the fact that the number of Japanese casualties far exceeded that of America. The decision to drop the atomic bomb added to this total, and made the comparison between American and Japanese deaths even more striking. Therefore, this so-called “least abhorrent alternative” only ensured the deaths of more than 100,000 more innocent

Show More
Related

  • Atomic Bomb DBQ Essay

    690 Words  | 3 Pages

    In 1945, Japan was losing World War Two, but was split between surrendering or fighting till the end. As they chose to fight instead of surrender, that is when Harry Truman was notified about the successful test of the “most terrible bomb in history”. Multiple hours were spent doing research, and billions of dollars were used for its production. Since an atomic bomb is serious the heat released in a nuclear explosion creates a sphere of burning gas that can range from hundreds of feet. Since Harry Truman was president at the time it was his decision whether or not he was going to use the bomb to end the war.

    Read More

  • Was The Atomic Bomb Justified Dbq Essay

    602 Words  | 3 Pages

    Although it was inhumane and horrific, we were justified in dropping the atomic bombs because American soldiers were being tortured, American bodies were disrespected after death, and the bombs ended the war preventing more American casualties. The first reason that America was justified in dropping the atomic bombs is that American soldiers that were captured in Japan were being tortured. When Japanese soldiers captured American soldiers, they needed some way of trying to get them to give up valuable information because the U.S soldiers wouldn’t just tell them for no reason. So they began torturing them in hopes they’d crack. Document 2 showed the numerous

    Read More

  • Atomic Bomb Dbq Essay

    538 Words  | 3 Pages

    Both atomic bombs killed around 200 000 people and completely destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the images of the destruction show clearly how devastating was for the people and houses ( document 8). “ how can a human being with any claim to a sense of moral responsibility deliberately let loose and instrument of destruction” (document 4), even though this decision was made by the president Truman and as he says in Harry Truman Memoirs; the scientific advisers of the committee reported, “ We can propose no technical demonstration likely to bring an end to the war: we see no acceptable alternative to direct military use”, but this brings us to the second reason: Japan was a defeated nation, Japan’s cities had been destroyed by conventional bombing, the soviet union “betrayed” them and entered the war by attacking Japan in Manchuria, and the American Navy blockaded Japan’s home island (document 7). After both atomic bombs, the emperor of Japan declared Japan’s unconditional surrender manifesting that the soviet union and the technology were something that Japan could not compete with ( document 14). Adding to these, a third reason to question America’s decision is that Document 7 says that the bomb was used to justify the money spend on

    Read More

  • Why We Have Dropped The Atomic Bomb Dbq Essay

    716 Words  | 3 Pages

    “I was informed that such operations might be expected to cost over a million casualties, to American forces alone” (Document A). In addition, if American did not bomb Japan, then there will be more American casualties. With using the bomb, it help to insure that there will be less American casualties. “Others emphasize the opportunity of saving American lives by immediate military use, and believe that such use will improve the international prospects, in that they are more concerned with the prevention of war than with the elimination of this special weapon” (Document G). Hence with uses of the bomb, it help to insure that there will be less American

    Read More

  • To What Extent Was The Dropping Of The Atomic Bomb Justified Dbq

    687 Words  | 3 Pages

    First of all, in the case of the Americans the bomb was compared to the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Truman says in a press release, “We have used it against those who attacked without warning at Pearl Harbor, against those who have abandoned the pretense of obeying international laws of warfare” (Doc I). Second, the bombing of Pearl Harbor was an uncalled for action that was against the “laws of international warfare” and was rectified by the atomic bomb. The soldiers in Europe were extremely relieved that they would not have to invade, which would be a fatal battle where our soldiers would be shot at constantly and have bombs flying around them while they were rushing the beaches of Japan (Doc H). This bomb avoided the invasion of Japan which would have ended in an estimated 1.7 to 4 million casualties for the Allied powers (OI ladailypost.com).

    Read More

  • Was The Atomic Bomb Justified Dbq Essay

    808 Words  | 4 Pages

    It was completely necessary for the United States to drop the atomic bombs on Japan to end World War II. It’s still very controversial as to if this bomb really did limit the casualties that could would have occurred if the US didn’t drop the

    Read More

  • The Final Bomb Of Ww2 Essay

    608 Words  | 3 Pages

    The war could easily end if the atomic bomb was dropped yet many innocent people would be killed. Truman had 2 other options to consider, he could send American troops to Japan but was at risk of many casualties. Truman's last option was to drop the bomb and give Japan a warning prior to using the bomb which is exactly what the president decided on. Although using the bomb brought the war to a quick end, not only did the U.S. not give a proper warning to Japan, but many innocent people died.

    Read More

  • Atomic Bomb Dbq Essay

    927 Words  | 4 Pages

    It is understandable as to why people believe that dropping the atomic bombs was inhuman, however, the pro’s outweighed the cons of dropping the bomb. The Manhattan project was the trials and tests that the US government was doing to try and create an atomic bomb. Without Truman’s intelligence strategy and his brilliant scientists led by Julius Oppenheimer, the bomb America would have not been able to end the war. Japanese soldiers were not going to surrender, and they would fight until the last man standing. The atomic bomb dropping was the nail in the coffin for the Americans during World War II in the Pacific.

    Read More

  • Should The United States Have Dropped The Atomic Bomb Essay

    1134 Words  | 5 Pages

    (HIST 123 Atomic Bomb Ethics) These attacks killed many people who did nothing wrong but lived in Japan. The United States lacked empathy for Japanese citizens and violated their life and security rights. "It was characteristic of Marshall that while others were celebrating the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Gen. Groves recalled that "General Marshall expressed his feeling that we should guard against too much gratification over our success because it undoubtedly involved a large number of Japanese casualties." (General George C. Marshall)

    Read More

  • Atomic Bombs: The Conflict Between The United States And Japan

    794 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Atomic Bombs were dropped in hope to end the war, and were mainly viewed as an appropriate action through military, political, and ethical perspectives. Through the military perspective, the idea bombing was something that was necessary to do. The United States could have used weapons that were more practical for the situation however, they were probably not sufficient enough to end the war and America would still be feuding with Japan today. Stimson wrote to Truman, with the importance of a private meeting between them about the concerns of the Atomic Bomb and “bearing on our present foreign relations” (Stimson).

    Read More

  • Atomic Bomb Justified Research Paper

    1838 Words  | 8 Pages

    Soon the U.S was attacked by Japan. The President then decided to drop the atomic bomb to end this war and quickly. The use of the atomic bomb on Japan was justified because it ended the war, was a better alternative than the others given, and helped save lives. The atomic bomb used on Japan was justified because it ended the war.

    Read More

  • Should We Have Dropped The Atomic Bomb Persuasive Essay

    852 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the twentieth century, the United States dropped two atomic bombs, which were the most powerful weapons at that time, on Japan. It happened on August 6 and August 9, 1945. The atomic bombs killed 226,000 Japanese and ended the war. However, America should not have dropped the atomic bombs for two reasons. First, it was not necessary to drop the bomb to win the war militarily or to get the Japanese to surrender.

    Read More

  • Why Was Hiroshima Justified

    1840 Words  | 8 Pages

    the bomb’s code name was “Little Boy”. Three days later, on August 9th, 1945, America dropped another bomb on Nagasaki with the code name “Fat Man”. As many as 200,000 deaths were caused by “Little Boy” alone and many people would die of radiation for years to come. The dropping of the Atom bomb on Hiroshima is an extremely debatable issue with no right or wrong answer. In this essay I will describe both sides to the argument then conclude using my final opinion on whether I am for or against the dropping of the bomb on Hiroshima.

    Read More

  • Atomic Bomb Justified Dbq

    882 Words  | 4 Pages

    Afterwards, the United States declared war on Japan, and joined allies against the axis powers. The United States’ use of the atomic bombs is justified because it saved American lives; Japan was given fair warning, and their aggressions towards the U.S. The atomic bombs on Japan saved many American lives. Document 15 reads: The entire population of Japan is

    Read More

  • The Atomic Bomb Argumentative Essay

    581 Words  | 3 Pages

    President Harry Truman gave an executive order in 1945 to drop to atomic bombs in popular downtown cities in Japan. With the guidance of many scientists and political leaders President Truman made the extremely tough decision to drop the bombs. After listening to arguments from both sides President Truman came to the conclusion that dropping bombs would be the best thing to do for this war. It would also show that the United States had an extreme military power. Many American politicians were for the idea of dropping the bomb, because they believed that it was the only way to end the war and get Japan to surrender.

    Read More

More about Was The Atomic Bomb Justified Dbq Essay

Open Document