Why We Bombed Japan Essay, Research Paper

The Reason for Dropping the Atomic Bomb

When looking back on major historical events, often times one question arises, were our actions truly necessary at the time of the situation. One major event where this question comes up is in the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Many historians argue that dropping the atomic bomb was an unnecessary action, while others say disagree and say that it was necessary to end the war and save large amounts of American lives. The debate over this issue goes back and forth still today. During the 50th anniversary of the bombing, the debate came into the forefront of many historical and journalistic circles. Both sides can argue strong points and support their views with a great deal of information. Those who support Harry S. Truman s decision to drop the bomb as way of ending the war quickly and with few American casualties look at the information that Truman had access to at the time the decision was made, while often times those who oppose Truman s decision seem to look at the information that they now have.

The argument in this case is over a simple question motives. Truman s administration reports that the bombing, after much debate and thought of alternatives was the greatest way to end the war and save a great number of American lives. Imagine if Truman s decision was to invade the islands and thousands of Americans were lost in battle, and then reports came out that the atomic bomb would have ended the war much more quickly and without such great losses. The reverse look at this debate seems to support Truman s decision. While the opposition supports the view, that Truman s true reason for using the atomic bomb was not to end the war but to send a message to Russia and other nations that the United States was in control. There are many reports that Truman received varying estimates as to the number of casualties a full invasion of the islands Kyushu and Honshu would result in, some were as high as 500,000 others were as low as 50,000. Still others would argue that the Japanese would have surrendered without an invasion due to the conventional bombings that had already occurred and the stranglehold the US Navy had on the traffic surrounding Japan. Looking at the attitudes of the Japanese military can easily defeat this argument. They did not believe in surrender, there are many reports of intercepted messages that the Japanese did not intend to surrender until the last soldier was killed. The Japanese showed their willingness to sacrifice everything for victory through their Kamikaze pilots and issuance of weapons and training to its entire people. Another example of their sacrifice is the Japanese ship Yamato it s mission was to attack American ships then plunge itself ashore and act as a huge steel fortress on Okinawa. This willingness to sacrifice greatly for an apparently hopeless cause is reason enough to doubt all intentions of the Japanese to surrender without an invasion.

The debate over this issue will continue for many years, and it should it reminds us all of the great destruction that many nations can now cause with use of atomic weaponry. Harry Truman stated that his decision saved 500,000 American lives and that may be true and if so was worth avoiding by any means. He did however end the war with the dropping of the atomic bomb and did so with few American casualties. The question of whether he intended to send a message to other nations will also to continue to be the center of debate. However, whether it was an added incentive to drop the atomic bomb on Japan or not, the bottom line is the bombing was effective and the US casualties were minimized by Harry S. Truman s decision.