Since the end of World War two there have been debates about whether or not the U. S. should have dropped the atomic bomb or not. Many people argue that America had already won the war and that the bombs were uncalled for, but is this true (Doc K)? The U. S. made the right decision in dropping the atomic bomb because it led America to a victory, it ended the war quickly, and it saved more lives then it took.
During the final stages of the war Germany had surrendered and the U. S. as on their way to victory; however, Japan, a major enemy at the time, would not settle for surrendering and continued to fight back. From the beginning it was clear that Japan would do anything in their power to win the war, so they would be seen as superior. This was learned first handedly by the U. S. after Japanese air crafts invaded Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, sinking eighteen ships, killing 2,403 Americans, and wounding 1,178 Americans. This attack on the U. S. was a significant setback that they had to overcome.
They had lost many ships and soldiers which made this a dark time for the people. The USS Arizona, an American ship, was up in flames for the following two days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, which currently today lies at the bottom of the harbor. This emphasizes how much of a struggle the U. S. went through to secure the damages Japan had sprung on the U. S. (Doc A). This incident brought the United States into world war two. While the U. S. was fighting for revenge the Japanese were moving on to attack other areas owned by the U. S. , such as the Philippines.
Japan invaded the Philippines called the “Death March” which once again was a setback for the U. S.. For the Americans back home propaganda was made to increase their nationalism and persuade people to be for or against a certain thing. One poster was made depicting the ‘Death March” which got the attention of Americans and showed them how harsh Japan was being (Doc B). This poster displayed the Japanese Soldiers as evil and unwilling to quit. The “Death March” was another example of the limitless Japan. In the Pacific Theater ,where U. S. ships were sailing, the Japanese Kamikaze Attacks occurred.
These were attacks on American ships which killed many people and sunk many ships. This yet again set the U. S. back a little while Japan remained ahead. As pictures of this event show how excessive the bombs were, they were to attract American audience to understand how tough the war was, and what America is dealing with. As these document show how japan was one of America’s major enemies, and how much they hurt our country, it was clear that the only thing we could do was fight back. This was America’s main drive in creating military plans and weapons.
As the atomic bomb was created and became part of a plan, people knew we needed to drop it because of all the harsh things Japan put the U. S. through. Dropping this atomic bomb led the U. S. to a victory. As well as the U. S. fighting back for what was broken with the atomic bomb, it also ended the war quickly and made the U. S. the victors. The bombing of Hiroshima was a major event of the war, not only was it the first dropped atomic bomb but it also was the reason Japan surrendered. The bomb was massive, the cloud was over 60,000 feet in only ten minutes (Doc G).
This historical memory will forever been remembered by Japan and America because of how extremely huge it was. This bomb was such a threat that Japan surrendered soon after in fear of more bombs. President Harry S. Truman released a press release which announced that the military was going to drop the bomb on Hiroshima. He addressed that “[the military] shall completely destroy Japan’s power to make war” which was the quickest way to end the war (Doc 1).
Truman’s purpose was to protect America the best he could by attacking Japan to a strong degree that hey would surrender, and that is what happened. A soldier named Paul Fussell who was on the plane that dropped the atomic bomb writes about the feelings of emotion and thought that went through his body as the bombs went off. Fussell said that as soon as he saw the bomb explode he thought “We were going to live. We were going to grow to adulthood after all” (Doc H). The purpose of Fussell’s writing is to show the fear soldiers had during the war, and as soon as the bomb went off all the fear left them instantly because the knew the war ended from the bomb.
As people argue that dropping to atomic bomb hurt to many innocent people, Paul Tibbets explains that “we saved more lives than we took” (Doc L). If we did not drop the bomb Japan would have not surrendered and more tragic incidents would occur, causing more deaths than with the atomic bomb. Tibbets purpose for his writing was spread his idea, so that Americans would know the U. S. did the right thing. The dropping of the atomic bomb saved America from Japan’s continuous attacks and setbacks.
The dropping of the atomic bomb was a risky decision that had two very different outcomes. This relates back to when America had the decision during World War 1 to take control of foreign countries, but did not know how they would react. Many people often argue that the dropping of the atomic bomb led to the cold war because America’s atomic monopoly might have gave them an advantage with the soviets. By America taking a risk in dropping the atomic bomb they defeat their enemy, won the war quickly, and saved lives.