We were asked to write a DBQ either defending or attacking the decision to use atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II.
World War II was the horrible catastrophic result of imperialist countries mixed with the failed resolution of World War I. Many casualties and atrocities occurred during the war. Both the Axis Powers (Japan, Italy, and Germany) and the Allied Powers (Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States) committed crimes. However, one of the most controversial decisions of the war, then and now, was President Truman’s agreement to use atomic bombs to bomb the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Both of these atomic bombs completely obliterated everything in their path. But they were used for good reason; without the use of atomic bombs the Japanese would have continued the war and refused to surrender. Therefore, the decision to drop the atomic bombs was a military necessity.
The Manhattan project, which was a secret project to establish nuclear weapons was commissioned by President Truman to once and for all finish World War II. There had been many attempts previously to convince the Japanese to quit fighting including the firebombing of cities such as Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, and Kobe. The firebombing killed many more people than the atomic bombs did. So why was it so effective in destroying the Japanese resolve? Well, the Japanese had never seen the destructive power of a nuclear weapon. It vaporized and destroyed everything as opposed to the slow but steady destruction of firebombing. President Truman promised that the U.S would “completely destroy Japan’s power to make war”(Doc.I). This promise scared the Japanese they believed that they “had no available means left for the exploitation of the strategic opportunities” (Doc.D) that they possessed.
The Japanese were portrayed as evil villians in the United States. For example, in Document B you can see a brutal almost monster-ish looking Japanese soldier attacking a seemingly defenseless soldier. They were called “Murdering Jap[s]” (Doc.B). The Japanese took the Philippines from the U.S and forced Filipino and American soldiers and civilians to march to concentration camps. This march was known as the “Death March”. Americans believed that the Japanese were genuinely evil people who needed to be stopped. The pilot who dropped Little Boy on Hiroshima says he just wanted to “subdue Japan” and he was taught he needed to “kill those bastards”, he believes that they “saved more lives than [they] took.”(Doc. L) American had a vindictive feeling towards the Japanese.
Another reason it was deemed necessary to use atomic bombing was the strategic nightmare that planning an invasion on the mainland of Japan would be. It would take years to organize the materials and supplies needed to provide for the army. As can be seen in Document E Japan is a very spread out country with many little islands and therefore it would be hard to land the amount of soldiers and supplies needed for a successful attack. Also, Japan was different in the way it felt about war. If American soldiers stormed into a Nazi German town and ordered them to surrender they would. But in Japan they wouldn’t, civilians would try to attack the soldiers. They had a passionate and devoted need to make their emperor happy and would do anything for him.
Another reason atomic bombing was necessary was because of the low morale that many had for the continuation of World War II. The soldiers were tired of fighting and seeing death and the politicians were tired of the strain on the economy and the struggles that wartime brought. The Japanese didn’t look even close to surrendering so they had to take extreme measures. Soldiers were thrilled when they learned of the bombings at Hiroshima because they knew they “would not be obligated… to rush up the beaches near Tokyo assault-firing while being machine-gunned, mortared and shelled”. Soldiers knew the horrors of war better than anyone and knew that due to the Japanese’s passionate nature war with them would be a bloodbath. The Americans had “a feeling of vindication and a desire to end the war [that] strengthened the resolve of the U.S” to “quickly and decisively conclude it”. (Scott Fields) The war had lasted far too long and everyone knew it and if atomic bombs were needed to end this war then that’s what Americans were willing to do.
However, some disagreed with President Truman’s decision. They believed that “Japan would have surrendered even if the atomic bombs had not been dropped” and that the bombing was “of no material assistance in [the] war with Japan.” (Doc. K) We will never know definitively what would have happened if the bombs had never been dropped but we can guess. Due to Japan’s passionate almost insane obsession with pleasing their emperor we have no reason to suspect that they would have given up so peacefully. As shown in Document C, Japan was training thousands and thousands of Japanese children to fly suicide planes into American naval forces. If Japan is willing to sacrifice thousands and thousands of their children to suicide bombing and if the people of Japan are willing to commit to that for the sole purpose of pleasing their emperor than clearly these people have a deep hatred of surrender and disappointing their emperor. Therefore, although bombing Hiroshima and Nagasaki killed thousands of people and destroyed whole cities in Japan it is what needed to be done to once and for all end World War II.
President Truman knew this and that is why he agreed to the bombing. He knew the Japanese would not go down without a fight and the only way to quicken that process was to quickly rid the Japanese of the power to continue war and to threaten them with mass destruction. The dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was a military necessity.
The Manhattan project, which was a secret project to establish nuclear weapons was commissioned by President Truman to once and for all finish World War II. There had been many attempts previously to convince the Japanese to quit fighting including the firebombing of cities such as Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, and Kobe. The firebombing killed many more people than the atomic bombs did. So why was it so effective in destroying the Japanese resolve? Well, the Japanese had never seen the destructive power of a nuclear weapon. It vaporized and destroyed everything as opposed to the slow but steady destruction of firebombing. President Truman promised that the U.S would “completely destroy Japan’s power to make war”(Doc.I). This promise scared the Japanese they believed that they “had no available means left for the exploitation of the strategic opportunities” (Doc.D) that they possessed.
The Japanese were portrayed as evil villians in the United States. For example, in Document B you can see a brutal almost monster-ish looking Japanese soldier attacking a seemingly defenseless soldier. They were called “Murdering Jap[s]” (Doc.B). The Japanese took the Philippines from the U.S and forced Filipino and American soldiers and civilians to march to concentration camps. This march was known as the “Death March”. Americans believed that the Japanese were genuinely evil people who needed to be stopped. The pilot who dropped Little Boy on Hiroshima says he just wanted to “subdue Japan” and he was taught he needed to “kill those bastards”, he believes that they “saved more lives than [they] took.”(Doc. L) American had a vindictive feeling towards the Japanese.
Another reason it was deemed necessary to use atomic bombing was the strategic nightmare that planning an invasion on the mainland of Japan would be. It would take years to organize the materials and supplies needed to provide for the army. As can be seen in Document E Japan is a very spread out country with many little islands and therefore it would be hard to land the amount of soldiers and supplies needed for a successful attack. Also, Japan was different in the way it felt about war. If American soldiers stormed into a Nazi German town and ordered them to surrender they would. But in Japan they wouldn’t, civilians would try to attack the soldiers. They had a passionate and devoted need to make their emperor happy and would do anything for him.
Another reason atomic bombing was necessary was because of the low morale that many had for the continuation of World War II. The soldiers were tired of fighting and seeing death and the politicians were tired of the strain on the economy and the struggles that wartime brought. The Japanese didn’t look even close to surrendering so they had to take extreme measures. Soldiers were thrilled when they learned of the bombings at Hiroshima because they knew they “would not be obligated… to rush up the beaches near Tokyo assault-firing while being machine-gunned, mortared and shelled”. Soldiers knew the horrors of war better than anyone and knew that due to the Japanese’s passionate nature war with them would be a bloodbath. The Americans had “a feeling of vindication and a desire to end the war [that] strengthened the resolve of the U.S” to “quickly and decisively conclude it”. (Scott Fields) The war had lasted far too long and everyone knew it and if atomic bombs were needed to end this war then that’s what Americans were willing to do.
However, some disagreed with President Truman’s decision. They believed that “Japan would have surrendered even if the atomic bombs had not been dropped” and that the bombing was “of no material assistance in [the] war with Japan.” (Doc. K) We will never know definitively what would have happened if the bombs had never been dropped but we can guess. Due to Japan’s passionate almost insane obsession with pleasing their emperor we have no reason to suspect that they would have given up so peacefully. As shown in Document C, Japan was training thousands and thousands of Japanese children to fly suicide planes into American naval forces. If Japan is willing to sacrifice thousands and thousands of their children to suicide bombing and if the people of Japan are willing to commit to that for the sole purpose of pleasing their emperor than clearly these people have a deep hatred of surrender and disappointing their emperor. Therefore, although bombing Hiroshima and Nagasaki killed thousands of people and destroyed whole cities in Japan it is what needed to be done to once and for all end World War II.
President Truman knew this and that is why he agreed to the bombing. He knew the Japanese would not go down without a fight and the only way to quicken that process was to quickly rid the Japanese of the power to continue war and to threaten them with mass destruction. The dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was a military necessity.