Decision for Dropping the Atomic , Essay Example

During the World War II, the United States under the president Harry S. Truman decided to drop two bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, thus the first bomb was launched on August 6, 1945, and the second one on August 9, 1945. This issue has long been debated as to whether President Truman had made a right decision sending the bombs on Japan. Thus, people stick to different points and opinions regarding this matter – young people argue and judge the decision claiming that it was wrong and immoral, and veterans say that it was totally right and saved many lives. I think the decision to drop the atomic bomb was justified for it saved Americans many lives, prevented the Japanese invasion, and demonstrated the world the horror of this weapon.

Truman believed that dropping the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki would save more American live than if they would have continued military actions followed by invasion. According to Special Manhattan Engineer District Investigating Group the approximate number of Japanese people who died from the explosion adds up to about 100,000.(The Manhattan Engineer District) However, President Truman was convinced that this number would have been even higher: “I made it to save 250,000 boys from the United States, and I’d make it again under similar circumstances.”(Rotter, 173) The Japanese had a policy during the battle that the most honorable death was to die fighting for your country. Therefore, they fought to the last men standing, thus making it impossible to stop them through negotiation. They would have never surrendered otherwise. Moreover, the way they treated U.S. soldiers was terrifying for they actually tortured them and never sent them free.

These two atomic bombs prevented the Japan from being invaded by United States. Apparently, the U.S. government could not wait for Japan to bring war on American soil, so they had to stop them on their land. Considering the essence of Japanese military culture it was obvious that in case of invasion every battleworthy civilian would be given a weapon and chance to fight and die for the country. Therefore, that would have brought even more casualties among the civilians than the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs. Moreover, during World War II, there was a massive bombing campaign preceding every invasion, which would also have brought more deaths.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki was the first atomic bomb encounter in the world history. On the other hand, it was also the last one as well. President Truman says in his diary of July 25, 1945: “We have discovered the most terrible bomb in the history of the world.”(Truman) Therefore, the immediate use of atomic bomb right after it was invented convinced the world of its horror and prevented it from being used in the future when nuclear stockpiles were far greater and the technological advancement higher. Since 1945, many countries have been stocking nuclear missiles to prove their strength and importance, however, none of them has ever decided to start a nuclear war based on Hiroshima and Nagasaki experience.

United States government along with their president Henry S. Truman made an important and debatable decision to drop two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. They mainly justified this decision by claiming that it saved more American and Japanese people that could have died in case of alternative military actions. This decision also prevented Japan from being invaded, as well as U.S. invasion. Moreover, this experience provided the whole world with evident example of atomic war horror and consequences.

Works Cited

“The Manhattan Project.” U.S. Department of Energy. 16 Apr. 2009. <http://www.cfo.doe.gov/me70/manhattan/med_45-46.htm>.

Rotter, Andrew. Hiroshima: The World’s Bomb. Oxford University Press, 2008.

“Pages from President Truman’s diary.” Harry S. Truman: Library and Museum. 16 Apr. 2009. <http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/bomb/large/documents/fulltext.php?fulltextid=15>.