The cold statistics must give way to the human story. Three days later, they dropped another bomb on the city of Nagasaki. According to historian Gar Alperovitz in the 1985 edition of his work,Atomic Diplomacy, when Truman was on his way to Potsdam, he was overheard by a White House Aide to have said during a discussion about the test bomb and what it meant to Americas relationship with the Soviet Union,If it explodes, as I think it will, Ill certainly have a hammer on those boys.For decades now bomb opponents have cited this story as evidence of Trumans true intentions. Similarly, consider philosopher Bernard Williams Jim and the Indians case. This contradicted the claims by Stimson the Secretary of War who two years after the war had claimed that over a million people were dead, wounded, or missing. Cheers for the public-spirited citizens of New Jersey who ran Mr. Yamamoto away. "It is an awful responsibility that has come to us," the president wrote. He later reflected: Those who in any way questioned the bombs use were, in this emotional framework, the enemies of America.. The Japanese too were vicious, cruel and racist. It caused too much destruction. Most historians who have been taking part in the debate on how World War II ended have based much of their focus on why the U.S. decided to drop the atomic bomb. President Harry Truman's decision to drop these bombs was justified because the Japanese surrendered, the bomb saved both Japanese and American lives, and the dropping of these bombs were necessary to shorten the war. Why the bomb was not justified - Reflections on Canadian History On August 6, 1945 uranium gun-type atomic bomb (Little Boy) was dropped on Hiroshima, within the first day of the bombings the effects killed 90,000-166,000 people in Hiroshima. If Jims choice is between shooting one innocent to save 19 or watching all 20 be murdered, then the formerwhile tragicseems permissible. Reasons Against Dropping the Atomic Bomb Argument 3: Use of the Atomic Bombs Was Racially Motivated. The atomic bombing of Japan at the end of World War II by the United States is one of the most debated and controversial topics in all of history. World War Two Timeline From The Great War To Germanys Surrender. He dominated the Interim Committee as Trumans personal representative, where he stifled debate and pushed successfully for a recommendation to the President that the bomb be dropped without warning either the Russians or the Japanese. In NE203, Midshipmen learn that it would be impermissible to intentionally harvest the organs of one healthy person in order to save five patients. "Reasons why Bombing Japan was not justified." Harry Truman's Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb The original draft specifically mentioned the bomb, and American intentions to allow the emperor to stay. Reasons Against Dropping the Atomic Bomb Argument 2: Use of the Bomb was Illegal, Reasons Against Dropping The Atomic Bomb. General Douglas MacArthur, supreme commander of the southwest Pacific area, saw no military justification for the dropping of the bomb. If wed lost the war, wed all have been prosecuted as war criminals. So said Curtis LeMay after America obliterated Hiroshima and Nagasaki with two atomic bombs in August 1945. The reasons given included: Japanese military leaders would be unconvinced of the bomb's destructiveness against cities; and even if impressive, a demonstration would eliminate the shock effect, especially the psychological impact on leaders, of any subsequent bombs. Obviously, the most common complaint is that Japanese civilians were intentionally targeted as a means of coercing the regimes unconditional surrenderwhich is what terrorists do. Was the Atomic Bomb Dropped on Hiroshima Justified To that counter-argument, bomb opponents reply that since America presents itself to the world as a model for human rights, the U.S. should aspire to at least meet the basic code of conduct agreed to by the rest of the civilized world. Hitler, Nazis, and Italys Mussolini were routinely caricatured, but the German and Italian people werent. It was immoral, and unnecessary" - Richard Overy The dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima was justified at the time as being moral - in order to bring about a more rapid victory and prevent the deaths of more Americans. All of Americas enemies were stereotyped and caricatured in home front propaganda, but there was a clear difference in the nature of that propaganda. We utilize security vendors that protect and If at any time the U.S.S.R. should enter the war, all Japanese will realize that absolute defeat is inevitable. The US air force chief of staff who had directed the assault over Japan in the final days of the Second World War, he believed in the use of nuclear weapons and thought any action acceptable in the pursuit of victory. It was the Soviet invasion and threat of communism that was the impetus that brought both Japan and the US to reach a compromi. Supporters of President Trumans decision to use atomic weapons against Japan tend to paint the decision as a difficult choice between two stark optionsit was either American boys or the bomb. As it is, the exact number of Allied and Japanese lives that were likely to be lost during the intended invasion remains unknown. As president, it was Harry Truman's decision if the weapon would be used with the goal to end the war. Reasons Against Dropping the Atomic Bomb Argument #6: Truman Was Unprepared for Presidential Responsibility, Another criticism directed toward President Truman is that he simply wasnt ready for the responsibility of being president; he didnt understand the ramifications of his decisions, he delegated too much authority, and he was unduly influenced by James Byrnes. In the spring of 1945, as Germany surrendered, some of the scientists who had developed the new weapon as a Nazi deterrent started to have reservations about their invention. The second criticism of Truman is that he did not keep enough personal control over this terrifying new weapon. The bomb, known as "Little Boy," was unleashed on the unsuspecting citizens below. On August 6, 1945, the United States dropped the first atomic bomb on the Japanese city, Hiroshima. This article is part of our larger educational resource on World War Two. They also point out that even if the Surveys evidence and conclusionswere accurate, it is illogical to criticize the Truman administration for not pursuing an alternative to the bomb that was based on information obtained onlyafterthe war was over. As further evidence, bomb opponents point to US policy toward the Japanese-Americans living in California at the time. He succeededbut would . Of 1,196 crewmen aboard, approximately 300 went down with the ship. For the full History Unplugged podcast, click here! As far as reasons against dropping the atomic bomb, bomb opponents argue that the atomic bomb was built as a defensive weapon, not an offensive one. This has been looked at as one of the chief reasons against dropping the atomic bomb. Opponents of President Trumans decision to use the atomic bomb argue that racism played an important role in the decision; that had the bomb been ready in time it never would have been used against Germany. Critics argue that Truman, who stood so small in FDRs shoes, was too inexperienced to form his own opinions, and too weak to resist Byrnes dominance. The President had to make his choice based on information known to him at the time. It was an uneasy alliance; Joseph Stalin believed that the Americans and British had purposely delayed opening a second front in Europe (D-DayJune 6, 1944) so that the Russians would bear the brunt of defeating the Nazis. On 26 July 1945, United States President Harry S. Truman, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and President of China Chiang Kai-shek issued the . An unconditional surrender and occupation of Japan was necessary to defend innocent millions of Americans, Chinese and Koreans. Fini Japs when that comes about(meaning, theyll be finished). When Truman and Stalin met on the 17th, the Soviet leader confirmed they would declare war on Japan on August 15. The dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima (August 6, 1945) and Nagasaki (August 9, 1945) is still one of the most debated topics in modern history. October 29, 2022 by Kimota. From 1949-to 1991, the Cold War was waged under the shadow of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD), and even though the United States fought major wars in Korea (while Truman was still in office), Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan, nuclear weapons were never again deployed. Explain Why Atomic Bombings Was Justified | ipl.org Another one of the reasons against dropping the atomic bomb was the League of Nations. All rights reserved. The first is the problem of distance, and the second is Americanism. Those weeks mean the world if youre one of those thousands or related to one of them. And Allied losses continued even after the atomic bombings. Daniels says he had heard the story second-hand and he stated specifically that Truman had been referring to Japan. But I think its fair to consider Japanese civilians as a group. 70 years after Hiroshima, opinions have shifted on use of atomic bomb The ambassador cabled back that there wasnt much reason to hope, and that he had received reports of substantial Soviet troop and supply movements heading the east. One of the reasons why bombing Japan was not justified is because America had other options, which they could have used to compel Japan to surrender. We will write a custom Essay on Reasons why Bombing Japan was not justified specifically for you for only 9.35/page. Another reason to prove that the bombing was not justified is derived from looking at the real reasons why Japan surrendered. Proportionality requires that the innocent lives saved by the use of force against a legitimate military target be greater than the innocent lives lost as unavoidable collateral damage. The USS Indianapolis, after delivering the Hiroshima bomb materials to Tinian island in the Marianas, was sunk on July 30. They believed the shock-and-awe effect of using the atomic bomb against Japan would make the Soviet Union more manageable in post-war negotiations. Ten years after the bombings, Truman claimed that George Marshall feared losing close to a half million soldiers if the war was not brought to an abrupt close. 1. In the 2003 documentary The Fog of War, Robert McNamara, the former US defence secretary who had been LeMays military aide during the Second World War, reflected on the question of war crimes: LeMay recognised that what he was doing would be thought immoral if his side had lost. This was also among the more common reasons against dropping the atomic bomb. The result was a final draft that threatened only vague utter destruction, and might have been interpreted as a threat to the emperor. If the demonstration failed to convince the Japanese to surrender, only one bomb would remain. On the Interim Committee, he was joined in this point by Undersecretary of the Navy Ralph A. Bard. In the Second World War, the United States and the Soviet Union put aside their ideological differences to form an alliance against Nazi Germany. At a time when Black Lives Matter protests have thrust the history of slavery and of empire into public debate, it is striking that there remains such historical amnesia about Hiroshima and Nagasaki. If representatives of the Japanese government, military, and scientific community could have seen the bomb, it might have been enough to convince them of the foolishness of continued resistance. This thus leads me to discuss the controversial topic and explain why the bombings were not justified. In 1945, not many Americans seemed to be thinking things through. Some critics have pointed out that three days was simply not enough time for the Japanese to even confirm what had happened in Hiroshima, which appeared to them to have simply blinked off the map. This action introduced new concerns and conceptions regarding how wars would be fought in the future, called into question whether the human race . The decision 75 years ago to use atomic bombs was fuelled not by strategy but by sheer inhumanity. Alternative 3: Let the Japanese Keep Their Emperor The third and perhaps most important alternative to both the bomb and the land invasion was to modify the demand for unconditional surrender and allow the Japanese to keep their emperor. Contrary to the claim that Americans used the bomb as a last resort, most historians disagree and claim that the early August date was chosen to counter the Soviets impeding attack on August 15 1945. In a cable sent on June 4, the Foreign Minister wrote: It is a matter of utmost urgency that we should not only prevent Russia from entering the war but should also induce her to adopt a favorable attitude toward Japan. In the years that followed, some Americans who were intimately involved with the atomic bombs did start to think things through. Why Is The Atomic Bomb Not Justified - 318 Words | Cram Immediate use of the bomb convinced the world of its horror and prevented future use when nuclear stockpiles were far larger. (2019, April 4). Having met with Szilard, Byrnes was even more firmly convinced of the rightness of his own views. Decent Essays 318 Words 2 Pages Open Document Essay Sample Check Writing Quality Show More Check Writing Quality You have heard two reasons why dropping the atomic bombs in Japan was not justified and unnecessary. According to Winston Churchill, it completely changed Trumans demeanor toward Stalin; made him more confident and bossy. Killing became too easy, and the dehumanizing of the enemy commonplace. The second reason that makes the American bombing unjustified is the deeply flawed casualty claims. On September 39, 1938, the League of Nations, under the recognized principles of international law, issued a unanimous resolution outlawing the intentional bombing of civilian populations, with special emphasis against bombing military objectives from the air. Although the U.S. and Japan had no diplomatic relations after Pearl Harbor, a demonstration might have been arranged discretely through some back channel, perhaps through the Russians. It was unnecessary as Japan was essentially defeated. Additionally, the U.S. only had two bombs left after Los Alamos. Retrieved from https://ivypanda.com/essays/reasons-why-bombing-japan-was-not-justified/. In his 2005 milestone study titled Racing the Enemy: Stalin, Truman, and the Surrender of Japan, historian Tsuyoshi Hasegawa critically examines the threefold wartime relationship between America, Japan, and the Soviet Union. The bomb's use impressed the Soviet Union and halted the war quickly enough that the USSR did not demand joint occupation of Japan. Opponents believe they know the answer to that question, discussed below as argument #5. Germans were depicted as brutal and savage, but the bigotry was restrained to some extent by the fact that they were European and white. Why the U.S. Anti-Japanese imagery was everywherein Bugs Bunny cartoons, popular music, postcards, childrens toys, magazine advertisements, and in a wide array of novelty items ranging from ashtrays to Jap Hunting License buttons. It was not universally supported in the United States. Secondly, the United States purpose of dropping the atomic bomb was to stop and/or slow down means of operations for the Japanese. Truman replied that he had purposefully delayed the meeting for as long as possible to give the Manhattan scientists more time. Regarding proportionality, although legitimate military targets existed in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, their military value was not proportionate to the foreseeable collateral damage. (2019, April 4). American racism led to a failure to distinguish between the Japanese government, dominated by hard-line militarists, and the Japanese civilian who was caught up in their governments war. We can propose no technical demonstration likely to bring an end to the war, they wrote. The Japanese, however, were particularly despised because they were non-white. Those cold statistics and that war-time hatred made using the bomb easy to rationalize. On his way back from Potsdam,Truman gave the order to use the new weapon (even though they had not yet issued the Potsdam Declaration). Bomb opponents believe that the American government did not wait for the Russians because they were already thinking about the post-war world and how they could best limit Soviet gains when they redrew the map of Europe. Admiral Leahy, President Roosevelts Chief of Staff, wrote in his memoir: It is my opinion that the use of this barbarous weapon at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was of no material assistance in our war against Japan. In 1941, Germany had the largest military GDP expenditure in the world. Eisenhower agreed that they were completely unnecessary and no longer mandatory as a measure to save American lives. President Truman's Decision: Why The Atomic Bomb Was Justified Over the years, historians have provided evidence to show that the casualty figures offered by Truman and his bombing supporters were seriously flawed. Additionally, Truman allowed Byrnes to erase crucial language in the Potsdam Declaration. Copyright 2023 - IvyPanda is operated by, Continuing to use IvyPanda you agree to our, Reasons why Bombing Japan was not justified. Reasons Against Dropping the Atomic Bomb - History Tens of thousands of people were immediately killed, and many more were injured . And anyway, the League had been disbanded in 1939, long before the atomic bomb was used. These very same questions were also debatable during that time, as American decision makers deliberated on how to put to use powerful new technology and what the long-term impact of atomic weaponry would be on the Japanese (Hasegawa 96). (Not to mention the approximately two million Chinese and Koreans saved by acting in August, versus invading by land in November.) He wanted the unconditional and quick surrender of Japan, but even after the first bomb of destruction, he failed to gain this, leaving him no choice but to drop the second bomb. Secretary of War Stimson also argued that American intentions regarding the emperor should be made clearer. After threats were made against the life of Mr. Kowalicks baby, he felt he had no choice but to ask Mr. Yamamoto to move on. The answer should be never. Finally, bomb supporters counter-argue that it was the opinion of Robert Oppenheimer and other scientists on the Interim Committee that a demonstration wouldnt convince the Japanese to surrender. In the early morning of August 6, 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Their warning eventually resulted in the Manhattan Project. Although Japan had not yet given a public indication that it intended to surrender, insiders knew that the country could not continue with the war and surrender was imminent. One historian claimed that the people who supported the high casualty claims relied upon strained readings and omitted crucial material, which in effect limited their research and cast a shadow of doubt on their findings. But Japanese attitudes and atrocities are well known; those of the Allies are often forgotten, because they were the good guys. At the very least, critics argue, Truman should have required permission to use the second bomb. Opponents of the bomb are adamant that there were other options available to the President, which at the very least should have been tried before resorting to the bomb. On 9 August, the day of the Nagasaki bombing, the US president, Harry Truman, broadcast to the nation, claiming that the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, a military base because we wished to avoid the killing of civilians. The atomic bombings of Japan were justified to end WWII. Too bad they So much so that simply to question the morality of the bombings now can be deemed unpatriotic. There are four main reasons why dropping the bombing on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were justifiable firstly, it causes Japan to quickly surrender. The Japanese were already defeated and ready to surrender My own feeling was that in being the first to use it, we had adopted an ethical standard common to the barbarians of the Dark Ages. The Bombing Of Hiroshima And Nagasaki: Justified Or Not? There are many of us who believe, quite sincerely and simply, that Japanese immigrants to the US and their American-born children will deliberately live an impeccable American life while awaiting an opportunity to perpetrate a Pearl Harbor of their own dimensions. And, a date for this intervention had been set. Why the US used the atomic bomb against Japan? An undeniably good consequence. Some might say that bombing cities is never justified, and by this. Terrible But Justified: The U.S. A-Bomb Attacks on Hiroshima and - CNAS The dropping of the atomic bomb on Nagasaki and Hiroshima in 1945 by the Americans is a very controversial issue with no definite answer. A lot of people will justify it since it already happened, but I wonder how many of them would support nuking a civilian city (as opposed to a military base) in this day and age to end a war. When Szilard tried to get a meeting with Truman, he was intercepted by James Byrnes, who received him in his South Carolina home. Bomb opponents thus question why the United States used atomic bombs on August 6 and 9, when they knew the Russians were coming a week later, and when Operation Torch wasnt scheduled for months. United States was fully justified in dropping these atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki. On June 13, in a memorandum to President Truman from Acting Secretary of State Joseph Grew (former American ambassador to Japan), Grew wrote: Every evidence, without exception, that we are able to obtain of the views of the Japanese with regard to the institution of the throne, indicates that the non-molestation of the person of the present emperor and the preservation of the institution of the throne comprises irreducible Japanese termsThey are prepared for prolonged resistance if it be the intention of the United Nations to try the present emperor as a war criminal or to abolish the imperial institutionFailure on our part to clarify our intentions in this regard..will ensure prolongation of the war and cost a large number of human lives. Hiroshima survivors plead for nuclear-free world as global tensions rise, Hiroshima at 75: bitter row persists over US decision to drop the bomb, Daughters of the bomb: my reckoning with Hiroshima, 75 years later. Despite the much emphasis placed on this matter, there has been little attention directed on the role played by the Japanese in ending the war. Chester W Nimitz, the commander in chief of the US Pacific fleet, insisted that they were of no material assistance in our war against Japan. More disturbingly, a proposal to drop a demonstration bomb on an uninhabited area was rejected. That hatred began with Pearl Harbor and increased when news broke of the Bataan Death March, and with each act of defiance against Americas island-hopping campaign. Why did the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki happen? Of the remaining 900 men who went into the water, only 317 survivors were picked up when the wreckage was discovered four days later. This admission is contained in intelligence reports showing that Truman was privy to information that Japan had abandoned its goal of victory and was instead planning on how to harmonize its national pride with losing the war. Was The Atomic Bombing Justified Or Unjustified Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. In this Sept. 8, 1945 file photo, an allied correspondent stands in the rubble . President Truman had four options: 1) continue conventional bombing of Japanese cities; 2) invade Japan; 3 . The United States' Use Of The Atomic Bomb: Was It Justified? The Japanese were universally caricatured as having huge buck teeth, massive fangs dripping with saliva, and monstrous thick glasses through which they leered with squinty eyes. Debate over the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki But with bad weather in the forecast, and with the Russians suddenly declaring war on Japan after the Hiroshima bomb, General Groves moved up the date to make sure that the plutonium bomb was field-tested before the war could end (Hiroshima had been hit with a Uranium bomb). Proposing that the bombing was justified or unjustified requires you to establish what it means for the atomic bombing to be justified. The reasons given included: Japanese military leaders would be unconvinced of the bombs destructiveness against cities; and even if impressive, a demonstration would eliminate the shock effect, especially the psychological impact on leaders, of any subsequent bombs. Patel 1 Nidhi Patel Mrs. Mazaika H American Studies III 4 April, 2019 The Atomic Bomb August 6 th,1954 the end of World War II had begun with the dropping of the atomic bomb on the Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Japanese would surely deduce American strategy and might move Americans to those target cities. In modern society, many people are still debating whether of not the droppings of the atomic bombs on Japan at the end of WWII were justified. However, I would defend the morality of the two bombs, but not for the conventional reasons. In his July 25, 1945 diary entry, as Truman is writing about the bomb, he refers to the Japs as savages, ruthless, merciless and fanatic. On August 11, after both Hiroshima and Nagasaki had been devastated, an American clergyman named Samuel McCrea Cavert wrote the President urging him to give the Japanese time to surrender before using any more atomic bombs. Leo Szilard was one of those few when he worried that using it without any warning would hurt Americas moral standing in the world. The mushroom cloud after the bombing of Nagasaki on 09 August 1945, killing more than 73,000 people. 4 April. The devastation was catastrophic. To truly grasp the magnitude of the suffering caused by the use of atomic weaponry on human beings, one has to be immersed in the personal. IvyPanda. BY Ed Barrett. The logical conclusion to the list of arguments against the bomb is that use of such a weapon was simply inhumane. But what makes it immoral if you lose and not immoral if you win?. student. 246 Words 1 Page Open Document The justification for why the United States dropped the bomb was because they wanted to completely destroy Japan's power. America supposedly places a high value on life. His biographer later wrote, Only on the question of the Emperor did Stimson take, in 1945, a conciliatory view; only on this question did he later believe that history might find that the United States, by its delay in stating its position, had prolonged the war. Seems like a pretty fair point among the reasons against dropping the atomic bomb. For the other side of the issue,go here. Historians question why Truman was not willing to avoid the costly invasion of Japan by allowing the Soviet entry instead of dropping the bombs. In 1942 Mr. Yamamoto worked at a fish market, ran a sporting goods store, and was a solid member of his community, along with his wife and children. To summarize, by July 17 the American military, the President, and at least some Japanese all were of a mind that Soviet intervention in the war would prove decisive. This is the one area where Secretary of War Stimson had regrets. Their report, the Strategic Bombing Survey, makes the obvious observation that Japan might have surrendered earlier if they had had a different government. A former marine, Andrew Rooney, observed that US forces did not consider that they were killing men. The only two available means of attaining an unconditional surrender were a land invasion or the two bombs. Can nuclear war be morally justified? - BBC Future
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why was the atomic bomb not justified
