History Atomic Bomb Essay - 3526 Words

In early August 1945 atomic bombs were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These two bombs quickly yielded the surrender of Japan and the end of American involvement in World War II. By 1946 the two bombs caused the death of perhaps as many as 240,000 Japanese citizens1. The popular, or traditional, view that dominated the 1950s and 60s Ââ€" put forth by President Harry Truman and Secretary of War Henry Stimson Ââ€" was that the dropping of the bomb was a diplomatic maneuver aimed at intimating and gaining the upper hand in relations with Russia. Today, fifty-four years after the two bombings, with the advantage of historical hindsight and the advantage of new evidence, a third view, free of obscuring bias and passion,†¦show more content†¦Trumans monumental decision to drop these bombs was born out of the complex background discussed above. Pressure to drop the bomb stemmed from three major categories: military, domestic and diplomatic. The mil itary pressures stemmed from discussion and meetings Truman had with Secretary of War Stimson, army chief of Staff General Marshal Chief of Staff, Admiral William Leahy, Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal and others. On June 18th, 1945, general Marshall and Secretary of War Stimson convinced Truman to set an invasion of the island of Kyushu for November 19457. Truman knew of the ferocious fighting currently taking place in the Pacific, and naturally had a desire to minimize what the ferocious fighting currently taking place in the Pacific, and naturally had a desire to minimize what he fled would inevitably be a long, bloody struggle8. In an article written to Harpers magazine two years after the dropping of the bombs. Stimson wrote that the, Allies would be faced with the enormous task of destroying an armed force of five million and five thousand suicide aircraft, belonging to a race that had already amply demonstrated its ability to fight literally to the death. 9 Stimson, Truman and others believed the invasion of the Japanese mainland would be extremely costly, and therefore embraced the bomb as a military weapon whose use fully condoned the never questioned. Trumans feelings that the bomb was a necessary military weapon can be seen inShow MoreRelated History Atomic Bomb Essay3454 Words   |  14 Pages In early August 1945 atomic bombs were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These two bombs quickly yielded the surrender of Japan and the end of American involvement in World War II. By 1946 the two bombs caused the death of perhaps as many as 240,000 Japanese citizens1. The popular, or traditional, view that dominated the 1950s and 60s – put forth by President Harry Truman and Secretary of War Henry Stimson – was that the dropping of the bomb was a diplomatic maneuver aimedRead MoreThe Dropping Of The Atomic Bomb Essay1734 Words   |  7 PagesPeter Lim History 435 4/30/2015 The dropping of the atomic bomb was used to save American lives; the most common excuse as to why President Harry Truman decided to drop the atomic bomb on Japan. In Major Problems in the History of World War II it has been discussed in the chapter The Atomic Bomb and the End of World War II that former President Truman recalled how he learned about the atomic bomb project as well as the public opinion on the Atomic Bomb. I believe that the solution that TrumanRead Morecritical evaluation Essay852 Words   |  4 PagesCritical Evaluation Essay: A Petition to the President of the United States The atomic bombs that were dropped on Japan in 1945 were not seen as a logical reaction to the war by everyone. Leo Szilard was a Hungarian physicist that was the first to conceive of the mechanics of the atomic bomb, and how it worked. He was fighting the use of these bombs on Japan, and trying to urge the President to reconsider the idea. Although he lost the argument over whether to use the bombs, his argument was validRead MoreWhy the Atomic Bomb Was the Wrong Choice Essay example1340 Words   |  6 PagesWorld War II played host to some of the most gruesome and largest mass killings in history. From the start of the war in 1939 until the end of the war in 1945 there were three mass killings, by three big countries on those who they thought were lesser peoples. The rape of Nanking, which was carried out by the Japanese, resulted in the deaths of 150,000 to 200,000 Chinese civilians and POW. A more well-known event was of the Germans and the Holocaust. Hitler and the Nazi regime persecuted and killedRead More The Atomic Bomb Essay1549 Words   |  7 Pages it will be discussed why the Atomic Bomb is the biggest method of destruction known to man. The paper will be discussing the results of the Atomic Bombs, along with the effects years after the initial explosion. People always wonder how many people actually died in the two Atomic Bombs which were dropped in Japan. This question will be answered, along with the method that citizens were actually killed by the bomb. Besides the initial blast winds that an Atomic Bomb gives off, people may be killedRead MoreWas the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki the only way to put an end to World War 2?716 Words   |  3 Pagesjustifiable, there are many that would agree the USA’s actions were justifiable in dropping the â€Å"atom bomb† in the case where the relentlessness of the Japanese was too much for the USA, the USA were running out of supplies being that they were running out of ammunition, medical supplies for first aid, funds and most importantly for a war troops. Either way it was not right to just drop the â€Å"atom bomb† on a country in order to get them to get them (Japanese) to withdraw from the war (WWII). The sameRead MorePresident Truman and the First Atomic Bomb Essay1193 Words   |  5 PagesAtomic Bomb Essay In 1945, World War Two was coming to an end. Following Adolf Hitler’s suicide, and Nazi Germany’s unconditional surrender on May 7, 1945, the war in Europe was finally over. The allies began began postwar planning for future, as well as establishment of post-war order and peace treaties issues. America’s war wasn’t done yet as they were still fighting Japan, eventually pushing them back to their main islandRead MoreAtomic Bombs On Hiroshima And Nagasaki1074 Words   |  5 Pageswhich WWII could have ended. Rather than taking the risk of dropping atomic bombs on Japan, many people believe that one of the alternative options would have been much more sensible. The variety of possible options the U.S. could have taken to finish the war have been analyzed for years. Though Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki is one of the most controversial and debated topics in history, this researcher believes that he made the right choice. This researcher’sRead MoreThe Atomic Bombs On Hiroshima And Nagasaki982 Words   |  4 PagesHiroshima, it only makes me wonder what was going through the mind of President Harry Truman when he gave the â€Å"green light† to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It has been more than 70 years since that happened and the conclusion of World War II, and yet the legacy remains in our modern day history books and class lectures. But was deploying the atomic bombs on Japan really necessary? What was Truman thinking? And did the end really justify the means? Truly, upon reading Takaki’s HiroshimaRead MoreThe Atomic Bomb1470 Words   |  6 Pagesover 70 years since the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, they remain controversial as conscientious struggle with the ethics of using such weaponry in the course of armed conflict. President Truman had a number of options apart from the atomic bomb. He could have left the invasion of Japan to the Russians, whom wanted revenge for the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05, as well as the more recent conflict in Manchuria (Goldman, 2012). The dropping of the atomic bombs must have shocked many who