The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb

On August 6, 1945, during the First World War an American bomber dropped the first the first atomic bomb in the city of Hiroshima. It wiped almost the entire city killing 80,000 people, later on others came to die due to radiation exposure.  Three days later, a second bombing occurred near the city of Nagasaki killing an estimated 40,000 people. Due to this factor Japanese emperor Hirohito announced his country surrendering unconditionally(Pape,1993).

                                               Hiroshima and Nagasaki was chosen due to the factor that it had not been targeted during the US Air Force’s convectional raids on Japan. Another reason being targeting other home islands would result into enormous casualties. This was viewed as a way of bringing the war into a swifter conclusion. Another advantage is that it was a way of American military proving superiority over Soviet Union. The bombing was necessary to prove the superior ally; it was of winning diplomatic and political tensions towards Soviet Union to bring immediate surrender of Japan.

                                         Critics argue that there would other options of using other weapons; the atomic bomb was created for defense strategy only(Howell,2015). Japan was already weak before the war could end Soviet  Union knew it ,they knew there were devastating consequences this was a strategy for Soviet Union to take the disputed islands from Japa(Harry,1946). Showing off this incredible power was important one was to prove political and diplomatic dominance over Russia and it was a way of ending the way very fast and making Japan surrender very fast. President Harry Truman made this decision which main aim was to end the war(Morton,1957). Many view this decision was poor due to the deaths it brought however, some view this as the best way to end the war.

                                            The topic is amazing due to the reason that you learn of how the war started, who the allies were and how the war progressed. It is very interesting of how the war continues to grow from various reasons and many live by the choices they made. All in all nations learnt a lot from the aftermath of the war.

Morton, L. (1957). The decision to use the atomic bomb. Foreign Affairs, 35(2), 334–353

Howell, K. (2015). Changing the Course of History: Harry S. Truman’s Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb. Weber State University.

Pape, R. A. (1993). Why Japan surrendered. International Security, 18(2), 154–201

Harry S. Truman Library and Museum. (1946, July 1). United States strategic bombing survey: Japan’s struggle to end the war, July 1, 1946