The media and the general public are still today unsure as to whether the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki should have taken place or not.
There are many reason as to why the Americans dropped the atomic bombs. One of the major reasons why the U.S took action and dropped the bomb was due to the fact that they wanted revenge on them after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The attack on Pearl Harbor was what struck the war between Japan and the U.S and further resulted in the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
They (U.S) wanted to use the atomic bomb before the Soviet Union entered the war so that they would be the first to use nuclear weaponry for warfare which would show how superior they were. The U.S also wanted to win and end the war as soon as possible and at the lowest possible cost for their country. The dropping of the bombs did lead to the surrender of Japan when they announced it on August 15, 1945. It wasn’t until September 2 that Japan signed the instrument of surrender which effectively ended World War 2.
Given these reasons it shows that the U.S was in a hurry to drop the bomb just not knowing what could happen next.
Many people argue the fact that it was a random attack and that it was in-humane. The thing that many people don’t know is that the U.S dropped pamphlets in Hiroshima warning people of the bombing whilst the Americans were also warning the Japanese that if they did not surrender that they would strike if they did not surrender. The Japanese ignored these statements so the U.S dropped the bombed on Hiroshima and then 16 hours later the American president Harry Truman called for their surrender once again and warned them “to expect a rain of ruin from the air, the like of which has never been seen on this earth”.
"Having found the bomb we have used it. We have used it against those who attacked us without warning at Pearl Harbor, against those who have starved and beaten and executed American prisoners of war, against those who have abandoned all pretence of obeying international laws of warfare. We have used it in order to shorten the agony of war, in order to save the lives of thousands and thousands of young Americans”
- Harry S Truman, 1945
(President of the United States of America)
There are many reason as to why the Americans dropped the atomic bombs. One of the major reasons why the U.S took action and dropped the bomb was due to the fact that they wanted revenge on them after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The attack on Pearl Harbor was what struck the war between Japan and the U.S and further resulted in the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
They (U.S) wanted to use the atomic bomb before the Soviet Union entered the war so that they would be the first to use nuclear weaponry for warfare which would show how superior they were. The U.S also wanted to win and end the war as soon as possible and at the lowest possible cost for their country. The dropping of the bombs did lead to the surrender of Japan when they announced it on August 15, 1945. It wasn’t until September 2 that Japan signed the instrument of surrender which effectively ended World War 2.
Given these reasons it shows that the U.S was in a hurry to drop the bomb just not knowing what could happen next.
Many people argue the fact that it was a random attack and that it was in-humane. The thing that many people don’t know is that the U.S dropped pamphlets in Hiroshima warning people of the bombing whilst the Americans were also warning the Japanese that if they did not surrender that they would strike if they did not surrender. The Japanese ignored these statements so the U.S dropped the bombed on Hiroshima and then 16 hours later the American president Harry Truman called for their surrender once again and warned them “to expect a rain of ruin from the air, the like of which has never been seen on this earth”.
"Having found the bomb we have used it. We have used it against those who attacked us without warning at Pearl Harbor, against those who have starved and beaten and executed American prisoners of war, against those who have abandoned all pretence of obeying international laws of warfare. We have used it in order to shorten the agony of war, in order to save the lives of thousands and thousands of young Americans”
- Harry S Truman, 1945
(President of the United States of America)