In the span of only four days, Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki were both wiped out and flattened from the drops of two American atomic bombs. Following the second bomb drop, Japan immediately surrendered and the brutal war between America and Japan had finally come to a quick end. But were the atomic bombings justified? The atomic bomb was necessary to end the war and ultimately saved more lives than it ended. However, the second bomb dropped too early, and America hadn't given Japan enough time to react to what had happened.
Not only many American lives, but even Japanese lives were saved by the ending of the war and bomb droppings. It was towards the end of WW2, and the fight between America and Japan was getting worse. According to "Thank God For the Atom Bomb", a book created by WW2 soldier Paul Fussell, 123,000 Japanese and Americans killed one another a few weeks before Hiroshima. Also, in the last six months Japanese forces had killed or injured half as many Allied forces as they had in three years. There wasn't a sign of them stopping, and it seemed that they were putting up a bigger fight at the threat of defeat. The U.S. could've used a standard invasion to stop them, but that would be a bad option. A piece from "Three Narratives of our Humanity", a book that explains both perspectives of the bomb droppings, says that, "Japanese battle plans that were in place when the bombs were dropped called for a massive suicidal defense of the home islands, in which the imperial government would mobilize not only several million fighting men, but also millions of ordinary citizens." This means that even extreme amounts of innocent Japanese civilians would die through a standard invasion. It is possible that more Japanese military, and civilians would die protecting their land than the amount that died from the atomic bombs. Incredible amounts of American lives would also be taken from a standard invasion, and to protect American lives a better approach to the situation would be crucial. And that's where the atom bomb takes place. In the span of four days, the U.S. caused the Japanese to surrender through two bombs, and the Japanese civilians, and U.S. soldiers who were going to battle through a standard invasion were saved from being killed. Sure the first bomb drop was justified and necessary, but the second bomb dropping wasn't exactly necessary, and the Japanese didn't have nearly enough time to react to the first. From the source "Two Historical Narratives", as used earlier, "For Japanese to even discuss capitulation was seditious." Surrender wasn't even a thought they were allowed to have. When the first atom bomb dropped, Japan still didn't show signs of surrendering. They had only around three days to inspect the damage done on Hiroshima, and to react to what had happened before the second bomb drop. President Truman had decided on using the atomic bomb in hopes of bringing the war to a quick end. If America had given Japan a bit more time to react, it is very possible that Japan would've surrendered without a second bomb drop. 39,000 - 80,000 people died from the atomic bomb drop on Nagasaki, which is a huge number. Sure it ended the war quick as Truman and others wanted it to, but it was at the cost of the deaths of possibly 80,000 people. It isn't justified to make a move like that in such a short amount of time. The dropping of the bombs should be seen as not only the end of a terrible war, but as a lesson on what these weapons can do. In the situation the U.S. was in, an atomic bomb was necessary to end the war safely and very possibly saved more lives than took. If it weren't for the bombs, the war could've had deadlier outcomes. But for any country to have an atomic bomb, a weapon that could wipe out a city and take the lives of thousands, is a huge responsibility. To drop one on Japan was justified, but to drop another only a few days later seems unfair. If this weapon was in the hands of a country that wasn't America, and that didn't have good intentions, we could all be dead.
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October 2018
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