Show As the final days of World War II dragged on, the United States decided that the casualties inflicted by atomic weapons were a better solution than a dragged-out conflict in Japan. That decision paved the way for the only atomic weapons released in combat to be detonated over Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Here are the pros and cons of that decision. List of the Pros of Dropping the Atomic Bomb1. It stopped the war from continuing. 2. It served as a deterrent. 3. It kept joint occupation to Europe. List of the Cons of Dropping the Atomic Bomb1. The decision killed allies too. 2. It is the largest single mass-casualty incident in world history. 3. It affected millions more in the decades to come. The pros and cons of dropping the atomic bomb on Japan show us that with great strength comes great responsibility. Every life has value. We must remember this fact in the months and years to come. On August 6, 1945 the United States deployed the first atomic bomb over Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Once the United States dropped the atomic bomb there has been a lot of comments whether or not it was the right move to do. I believe that it was justified for the United States to drop the atomic bomb on Japan however, it did have some cons to it. The reason behind dropping the first atomic bomb was to stop the war. Although it roughly killed around 60,00 people in Hiroshima and 35,000 in Nagasaki. If they didn’t drop that bomb the war could have claimed more lives than the atomic bomb dropping. Therefore, The United States dropped it in order to finish the war. They wanted to prevent more deaths and if the atomic bomb didn’t stop them, nothing would’ve stopped them. For example, after Truman dropped the bomb he released a letter and sources from CNN quoted “that the decision to use the two nuclear bombs saved the lives of 250,000 Allied troops and 250,000 Japanese by helping to prevent an invasion”. Although it was rough because they didn’t know the long term effects on that the atomic bomb would have on the cities. If the U.S. didn’t drop the bomb the war could’ve gotten worse and be more deadly in the long run.
There are two significant events that define the second world war: the Holocaust and the atomic bombs that were dropped on Japan. The decision by the United States to use these weapons in August 1945 is credited with the end of World War II. It is also important to note that those who issue that credit are the ones that were part of the Allied forces during the conflict. The U.S. only dropped two of these bombs on Japan during the war, but it was a detonation that would be devastating by any definition. More than 80,000 people were killed instantly in Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, when the Little Boy uranium-based bomb was dropped over the city. Then the plutonium-style bomb called Fat Man was dropped over Nagasaki, which instantly killed 70,000 people. It would take just five days after the second bomb for the emperor to proclaim an unconditional surrender. When all the effects of the radiation from these two bombs is taken into account, the acute effects would kill up to another 250,000 people in List of the Pros of Dropping the Atomic Bomb on Japan1. Despite its devastating impact, each atomic bomb ultimately saved lives. One of the most significant issues in planning this invasion was that the landing locations for an invasion where highly predictable. Japanese forces came to the same conclusions as the Allied planners, so they began to reinforce their key structure points. An all-out defense of Kyushu was planned, with casualty predictions on both sides expected to be very high. Although the final estimates would vary based on the assessment of the individuals involved, one such document created for the Secretary of War’s staff placed the number at up to 800,000 Allied fatalities, with an additional 10 million Japanese fatalities. Despite the high number of casualties from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, without the need for Operation Downfall, the actual number of deaths became much lower than anticipated. 2. The action of dropping the two atomic bombs issued in an era of global peace. 3. We often forget about the fire-bombing campaigns that happened first. What gets left out of this debate was the bombing of Tokyo that occurred before the atomic bombs were dropped. In March 1945, over 100,000 civilians were killed, and another 1 million left homeless, when B-29s dropped a firebomb assault on the city. The government of Japan didn’t blink an eye when that happened. Only the shock of the atomic impact, with its ability to instantly wipe any city off the map, was enough to create movement toward peace. 4. There is no guarantee that the casualties would have changed. 5. It stopped the Soviet Union from repeating its demands from Europe. Despite the casualties caused by dropping the atomic bombs, the action itself stopped any Soviet ambitions cold in their tracks. The devastating results were so impressive that the Russians backed down from any potential demand to be involved in the Pacific theater. If that hadn’t taken place, the implications of the Cold War to come would have been very different for American politics. List of the Cons of Dropping the Atomic Bomb on Japan1. Most of the people killed in these two bombs were innocents. 2. American POWs were killed by the atomic bombs in Japan. 3. The U.S. killed Allied troops during the bombing runs as well. 4. There were more atomic bombs planned for Japan too. 5. Cancer increases are directly linked to these atomic weapons. 6. There was an increase in birth defects after the bombs were dropped. 7. Blockades were just as effective as a fighting strategy to cut off supplies. The pros and cons of dropping the atomic bombs in Japan are being reconsidered because of their profound impact on the world today. Could this action have been a preventative measure to end the war quickly and save lives? That is always possible. It also meant that the U.S. would become the first nation in history to unleash this type of weapon in conflict on cities where the civilian population outnumbered the military contingent on a scale of 5:1. Author Bio |