Many people will look back at the use of the atomic bombs on Japan in 1945, and with perfect hindsight, question the wisdom of dropping the bombs. The critics will point to Cold War and the creation of over 40,000 nuclear bombs just by the Soviet Union and the United States alone between 1945-1991. The critics will point to the current spread of nuclear weapons to rogue countries like Iraq, Iran, and North Korea. Furthermore, there's no clear location on dozens if not hundreds of nuclear warheads lost after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
But, many people, including respected historians, will assert that the bombs ended the war. Would Japan have surrendered w/o the destruction of two whole cities? Possibly. But, when faced with the prospect of dozens of Okinawa battlefields, President Truman agreed to their use. He had hoped to avoid the death of countless hundreds of thousands of Allied and Japanese soldiers.
So, in 150 words, looking over your notes for Okinawa and how that influenced the decision to drop the bomb, do you think the U.S. dropped them for the right reasons? Or did the eventual consequences listed in the first paragraph outweigh the end of the war? Explain why.
23 comments:
Yes, I think the US dropped the two bombs for the right reason. At the Battle of Okinawa, President Truman discovered that the battle would be just like that on the Japan land. He didn't want to bring his troops into japan and risk killing more military men than the war already had killed. Plus, the American people wouldn't want to know that there son's lives could have been spared but were chosen not to be. There lives would be spared by the dropping of two atomic bombs on two of Japan's valuable cities. If the US hadn't taken over Okinawa then there would have been a greater chance that they would have invaded Japan. If the US would have invaded Japan it's possible that 350,000 allied prisoner of war would have been executed once news reached the POW camps that the mainland was under attack. Another reason that the US didn't invade Japan was that Japan was ready to put everybody on the line to protect their country. This included women and children.
Ryan Feist
3rd hour
The U.S did drop the bomb for all the right reasons, but no matter all the right reasons there were also many wrong reasons to drop the bomb. First off, they didn’t really know how bad the bomb was, they knew it had the power to end the war. Second they spent 2 billions dollars in research for that bomb for the military to use quickly. Third the effectiveness would scare the Japanese back to there homeland to surrender. Fourth there was still anger over the attack on Pearl Harbor and it was almost like sweet revenge.
These reasons I feel out weight the negatives like it was so brutal, because of the fact that all the fighting was extremely brutal on both sides. Then the radiation was a outcome that was unfortunate, but that was not purposefully done, it was an unknown. Finally the Japanese fought extremely dirty, and rightfully so there needed to be an end to WWII and that was a knock out blow to finally end the fighting that was going on for so long.
Mostafa Bendali-Amor
1/16/07 3rd
I do believe that the U.S. dropped the atomic bombs in Japan for the right reasons. One explanation is because I don’t believe there were any wrong reasons for dropping the bombs, but the real question is if the reasons were strong enough. Truman had tremendous pressure put upon him, as it was critical to win this war. It is also wise to do so with as little amount of American deaths as possible. Although it wasn’t fair for Japan to lose so many lives, especially civilian, we took the logical route for a Japanese surrender. If we hadn’t dropped the atomic bombs, the next choice would probably be an invasion. In Okinawa alone there were 7,300 American deaths, and the estimates reached 1.5 million Allied dead if we had decided to take over Japan’s mainland. It would be tough for Truman to have national support with casualty estimates that high. Truman actually probably gained support from the U.S. because of the events of Pearl Harbor. During World War II, dropping the bombs could have been seen as a sort of punishment. As far as the War in Iraq, we shouldn’t even consider the use of bombs in this case. It isn’t though Iraq had harmed the U.S. in any way before the search for weapons of mass destruction began. As for the Cold War, it was impossible for the U.S. to foresee these consequences, so they went with what was most logical at the time.
Leslie Preston
I do think that the United States dropped the bomb for the right reasons. I can understand what the president was thinking when he made the final decision to drop the bomb. I believe that he was thinking about the troops and their families. I think he was thinking that he wouldn't be able to explain how he had the chance to end the war and save many American and Allied lives and he wouldn't be able to justify that to the troops friends and families. I think that the president would have much rather have had the Japanese people die than the American and Allied troops when they were fighting the Japanese. If America and the Allied forces had gone to fight to take Japan, the results would have been devistating. It would have been devestating to the Americans and the Japanese, just like in Okinawa. Even though many innocent people died when Japan was bombed, it ended the war and in the long run, less people probably died in the bombing than if the Americans and the Allied forces would have kept fighting.
Lauren Peterson
3rd hour
To start off, I think that we should not care for people who are trying to kill us. The war was taking many American lives and had to be stopped. I think that Truman dropped the bomb for the right reason. In that position you are looking at killing many Japanese or killing many Japanese and American soldiers at the same time. If you could save the live of you own men why not? The battle of Okinawa was a deciding factor on dropping the bomb because that was somewhat of a foreshadowing on what the terror of attacking the mainland would be like. The Japanese said they had over 2 millions men still ready to right and the U.S. couldn’t tell if they were bluffing or not and couldn’t take the chance so they
dropped the bombs.
Chris Elliott 3rd hour
i think that they did drop the bomb for the right reasons. if you think about that ending the war right away was really smart. the war could of kept going on for a really long time. also there could have been more casualties if the war kept going on. so it was smart to end it right away. there could have been more attacks on the united states. Truman.also said he could tell the parents of a 100000 people that their sons have passed. away. So he ended the war as fast as he can. this was smart of him.
Pat Rooney
3rd Hour
I think the U.S did drop the bombs for the right reasons. The U.S wanted a quick end to the war, and they believed that the solution to that problem, would be tol drop bombs to cause such a dramatic effect, that they would end the war. Truman wanted to declare an end to the war, and resolved it by dropping bombs. Truman probably figured that dropping bombs was the most effective and woludn't cost soliders to put their life on the line any longer.
Mary
I think that we dropped the bomb for some good reasons and some bad reasons. One of the good reasons would be that because we dropped the bomb, it ended the war. This also led to Japan’s growing economy with the help of the US. Japan is now one of the top automotive and electronic making/selling countries in the world. But all of the after-effects of the bomb were not just good. There were many bad effects as well. One of the bad reasons is that it was so severe that it caused so much damage to Japan and the damage was there for such a long time. The people of Japan were suffering greatly from the atomic bomb. Many innocent people were killed and many unborn babies were born with radiation poisoning. Another bad reason that we dropped the bomb is because we wanted revenge for Pearl Harbor. This was clearly not the best way to solve our problems though.
Amanda
Ben Goddard
3rd Hour
Yes, I believe that we dropped them for all of the rights reasons. The battles at Okinawa were a foreshadowing of what would happen if we attacked mainland Japan, which would mean we would lose thousands more soldiers. President Truman realized this, which made him give the okay to drop the atomic bombs. The eventual consequences listed do not outweigh ending the war, because if we hadn’t we would have lost more soldiers then, than we have now, and recently, like in Iraq. We were just learning how to make atomic bombs back then, and were still practicing the technology. We didn’t know exactly how horrific the explosion would be or the after effects of radiation poisoning and deformations. We did know it would be a huge blow to Japan, but didn’t know for sure how much. I think that even if we had known, we would have still dropped them because it would have been worse to lose more soldiers in a land and sea battle that could have taken a long time, and been a worse outcome, than to just bomb them, and have the current outcome.
I think that the US dropped the bomb for the right reasons because Japan was strong and getting power very fast and I think that Truman did not want that to happen. I think Truman he dropped the bomb because he wanted to stop Japan while he still could because he did not want them to be any stronger. Also the war had gone on for a long time and Truman wanted to end it as soon as possible. I think that he did it for payback because of what the Japanese did to us at Pearl Harbor and taking the other things they did into consideration. I also think that the Japanese was very shocked when we attacked them and it destroyed two cities of theirs. I think that when we dropped the bomb they got a huge smack in face the United States. We told them don’t mess with us or your gonna get it.
Brandon Miller
3rd hour
1/17/08
Michael Weiner
1/17/08
3rd hour
Should Truman have dropped the bombs?
I think that yes, the bombs should have been dropped to prevent more American losses but I think that a better drop spot could have been chosen. Instead of looking for a city without clouds over it they should have gone for a military base and bombed that instead of citizens. Even though the citizens were prepared to fight they hadn’t signed up for anything. The military members did. If attacked the major cities was going to end in Okinawa like battles it was worth it to drop them, it just would have been better on a military base. These bomb droppings many have helped lead to the Cold war but I think that the cold war probably would have happened anyway, we were already un-happy with the Soviet Union because they were trying to spread communism through Europe.
I think that America was right to drop the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Americans thought it was just a very large bomb that would end the war, and they did not know about the long term effects. The Japanese were threatening to kill 350,000 Ally P.O.W.’s if we planned or attempted an invasion. The atomic bombs killed 140,000 people in Hiroshima and 80,000, which comes to a total of 220,000, 130,000 people short of the number of P.O.W.’s that were threatened. Japan also threatened that they had 6,150 battle-ready planes and 8,000 pilots that could be used as kamikazes on American soil. Japan also claimed that they had 30 million citizens that could fight for the Japanese army. I feel that if any country wants to boast that they can destroy our country, we need to believe them; even if we see through they’re bluffs, we should still acknowledge that they are a threat. If a country says they are ready to bomb and destroy American cities, we should treat them like they will and we should do anything we can to prevent what they claim they can do.
Patrick MacCallum
I think that the United States made the right decision by dropping the atomic bombs. Even if we hadn’t come up with atomic bombs or we hadn’t dropped them someone else could have come up with them and used them against us. Truman had so many things to consider when he was faced with the choice. Yes many innocent people were injured in the dropping of the bombs; however so many more people would have died in battles similar to Okinawa. Truman had a duty to his country and to his soldiers that were suffering and tired of war. Also if we hadn’t dropped the bomb and ended the war quickly then thousands of American prisoners in Japan could have died. I also do not think that Japan would have surrendered after Okinawa. I think they would do everything they could, and sacrifice as many people as it took to keep their pride.
Barbara Moore
3rd hour
Yes i do think that they droppped it for some the right reasons and some bad, because it ended up in disaster. But in war you have to take risks and death isnt avoidable. the U.S. needed to stop Japan and maybe if we didnt drop it the war would have lasted way longer and we would have lost more men. ALso i read that they had to drop 2 bombs because the first one didnt stop the Japanese. It may not have been the smartest but it worked and the war needed to come to a halt. the bad things were that japan had to get back up on their feet because they had lost 2 citys and lots of people and the effects are still around. There were many birth defects with the new babies.
Alex Moceri
3rd hour
I think that the United States dropped he atomic bomb for the right reasons. The Japanese were vicious and when they were cornered they sent kamikazes at the US, they just wouldn’t give up. So although the atomic bomb killed lots of civilians it defiantly stopped the Japanese. If we hadn’t have dropped the atomic bomb then we would have to have invaded Japan, which would have been extremely brutal just like invading the other islands surrounding Japan because they would not have given up. We would have killed more innocent people trying to invade Japan and by dropping the bomb we didn’t loose as many of our men as we would have if we invaded. Dropping the bomb was the fastest way to control the Japanese from trying to take over even more counties.
Tali Jensen
Yes I believe that the US dropped the bombs for the right reasons. President Truman’s goal was to end the war as soon as possible and with the least amount of casualties. I also believe that the US could have prepared the bombing better. The Americans didn’t know the power of the bomb. Also they put two billion dollars in researching for the bomb. I believe that if we didn’t drop the bombs then that the Japanese would have attacked us again. By dropping them, we took out the risks of other attacks that could have come, and Truman would have saved many Americans lives. This is why I believe that we did the right thing by dropping the bombs.
Ron Wexler
3rd hour
We had a lot of things going through our heads when our leaders decided to drop the bomb, however, instead of considering the consequences of our brutality, consider what would have happened had we not resorted to the unspeakable. Had we not taken definitive action against the foreign threat, the Japanese could have easily amassed an even greater body count. After all, the Japanese did have the home field advantage, in that they could send even more men, rounds, and ships into the sea from the mainland. Our only remaining choice was to lay waste to the mainland. The consequences for the Japanese were horrible, and their final gasps will be ever etched in the minds of those miserable wretches who survived, but had they won, democracy would have lost. If time gave us the choice to take back our sins, all those times where America has played ‘god’, where we have taken control of another man’s fate, we’d be under the heels of communism and slavery.
Alex L.
ART IS RESISTANCE
3rd hour
I believe that the dropping of the massive atomic bomb on Japan in 1945, during the Cold War did end the war. Like the passage said it did destroy two whole cities, which brought up fear in the Japanese. They thought that if they were big and bad enough to do something as drastic as wiping out two entire cities, they were willing to do anything their minds could plot up. Also the attackers were extremely brave to do what they had done for various reasons. One reason is they had ruined the entirety of two cities and to they had start somewhat of what you can call a trend for war attacks. After the Cold War over 40,000 nuclear bombs were going off right and left, during the 1945 through 1991. They also decided to surrender because lots the residents in those to cities were killed. Countless of hundreds of thousands of Japanese soldiers were killed. So this is the reason why I assume the reasons why they had surrender and the atomic bomb ended the war.
Jasmine Smith
4TH HOUR
I don’t think that the United States dropped the atomic bombs on Japan for all the right reasons. The bombs dropped forced Japan to surrender earlier, but I think that The United States could have handled the situation in a better way with less casualties. The United States could have found alternatives to bombing instead, like gas for example. I think that the bombs ended the war sooner, but we could have held off longer. The eventual consequences of the bombings outweighed the end of the war because; we don’t know where some of the weapons are. Hundreds were lost after the fall of the Soviet Union. We don’t know who has them, and it could be in the wrong hands. The construction of the weapons could come back and sting us some day. We need to prepare for it to prevent it. The United States knows that there are deadly weapons out their, but don’t take action until something happens. That is why I don’t think that the United States dropped the atomic bombs on Japan for all the right reasons.
Gabe
I think that there were some good and some bad reasons for dropping the atomic bomb. I think that the President dropped the atomic bomb to save American civilian’s lives and American troop’s lives, which is a good reason to drop it. But I don’t think that when Truman decided to drop the bomb, I don’t think that he realized how greatly it would affect the world and Japan as a country. When the U.S. decided to start building nuclear weapons, I don’t think they realized that other countries, mainly less governmentally powered countries would want to follow in their footsteps and begin creating more of these deadly weapons. I don’t think that Truman meant to kill as many Japanese as were killed he just wanted to end the war. I know that the U.S. tested the bomb, but they tested it where no one would be so they really didn’t really know the full effects of the bomb. I also think that the U.S. spent a lot of money creating the bomb that they didn’t want it to go to waste and they thought this was the “perfect” time to use it. I also think that the U.S. wanted to catch the Japanese off guard just like they caught us off guard; I guess we wanted revenge, but I know that was not the only reason why it was dropped!
I think the U.S. dropped the atomic bombs in Japan for the right reasons. Truman had to make a decision sooner or later in order to determine the war's outcome. He didn't want to put the Americans at risk, so why not just blow up everything else?! A hint of evil arises while thinking that the Japanese people suffered a great loss due to the force of the Americans, but it pushed towards the white flag that Japan waved in our faces. Without the bomb, Americans would be putting themselves on the chopping block of death, and being American...why on earth would we want that..? Truman would get nowhere in his carreer if the Americans were the ones getting plucked off like feathers. The bombing was unfortunate, but overall helped the American government by receiving a lot of press that highlighted the fact that Americans had conquered Japan. America used war tactics that were seemingly reasonable and ultimately progressive, but painful and grim at the same time. It had to of made sense to the Truman and the goverment, because they seemed to know what they were doing.
Julia Henning
3rd Hour
Yes I believe that the US dropped the bombs for the right reasons. President Truman’s goal was to end the war as soon as possible and with the least amount of casualties. I also believe that the US could have prepared the bombing better. The Americans didn’t know the power of the bomb. Also they put two billion dollars in researching for the bomb. I believe that if we didn’t drop the bombs then that the Japanese would have attacked us again. By dropping them, we took out the risks of other attacks that could have come, and Truman would have saved many Americans lives.
I think that the United States definatly did drop those two bombs for the right reasons. If we hadn’t then we would have risked many more American lives that we really didn’t want to do. Besides, how would you feel if your son / husband was put into battle and later killed off, and then you realized that his death could have been prevented. Besides, if we decided to invade Japan (Which we would have), how do we absolutely positively know that it would have turned out for the better? With Japan armed and ready to send women and children to fight, it could have turned into a complete brutal catastrophe. It would make us look like complete violent brutes if it showed our troops on the news and papers slaughtering women and little innocent children. I think the US definatly decided to do the right thing and, in my opinion, end the war with those bombings.
Dylan Scher
3rd Hour
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