The Japanese were losing, and they were seeking an opportunity to surrender. If America agreed to keep the Japanese emperor, they would have surrendered, and the problem that Allied insistence on unconditioned surrender, also the civilians died during the bomb. The atomic bomb had been unnecessary to the winning of the war. As General Eisenhower said “…the Japanese were ready to surrender and it wasn’t necessary to hit them with that awful thing. ” (Eisenhower) Before the atomic omb, Japan was already surrounded by allied forces.
With the strategic fire- bombing of sixty-seven Japanese cities, they were badly damaged, and most Japanese expected their Emperor to surrender in any moment. Though some Japanese still wanted to fight to the death, there was widespread concern about the civilians and what additional damage could cost them. If America gave them a little more time they would have surrendered anyways. The Japanese believed their Emperor to be a God, if America made an agreement beforehand and allowing the Japanese to keep their Emperor, like theBritish keep their King, they would have surrendered already. “On May 28, 1945, Hoover visited President Truman and suggested a way to end the Pacific war quickly: "I am convinced that if you, as President, will make a shortwave broadcast to the people of Japan – tell them they can have their Emperor if they surrender, that it will not mean unconditional surrender except for the militarists – you'll get a peace in Japan - you'll have both wars over.
" (Smith 347) One of the reasons that Japanese military fought so hard and refused to surrender was because they feared the imminent estruction of the Emperor. If America and Japan all moved back one step, and America agreed the Japanese could keep the emperor system, and Japanese surrendered, no atomic bombs would have been necessary. As it turned out Japan was allowed to retain their Emperor anyway. Thousands of innocent civilians were killed by bomb, especially women, and kids. As Admiral Leahy said “I was not taught to make war in that fashion, and wars cannot be won by destroying women and children” (Leahy 441). Traditional wars that fought between two nations, because conflicts on the foreign olicy, involved sending their soldiers to fight for or defend their homeland, Instead of attacking Japanese armies, America attacked their homeland, where schools, hospitals and farms were built, and where no one had any chance to defend themselves.
These bombings can almost represent genocide. The Japanese were seeking ways to surrender, emperor agreement and the killing of civilians was the moral issue that argued against Truman dropping the atomic bomb in Japan. The decision by President Truman to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki cost massive after effects, physically mentally and economically.The bomb at Hiroshima on 8/ 6/ 1945, kills approximately 30% of its population instantly. 50000 Japanese died in Nagasaki three days after.
“In less than one second, the fireball had expanded to 900 feet. The blast wave shattered windows for a distance of ten miles and was felt as far away as 37 miles. Over two-thirds of Hiroshima's buildings were demolished. The hundreds of fires, ignited by the thermal pulse, combined to produce a firestorm that had incinerated everything within about 4. 4 miles of ground zero….
The atomic bomb was quite different from all previous bombs.At the moment of explosion, powerful radiation and a fierce heat ray were emitted. As the rising temperature expanded the surrounding air, it generated a tremendous blast. The complex interaction of these factors amplified the damage. ”(atomicbombmuseum. org)The blast totally destroyed everything within a radius of 1 mile from the center of explosion; those bombs not only killed hundreds of thousands of civilian, but almost destroyed two entire cities.
The second issue after the bomb was its mental effects, not only on the Japanese but also on American soldiers and scientists.As Albert Einstein said “As far as his own life was concerned, one thing seemed quite clear. 'I made one great mistake in my life,' he said to Linus Pauling, who spent an hour with him on the morning of November 11, 1954, '..
. when I signed the letter to President Roosevelt recommending that atom bombs be made; but there was some justification - the danger that the Germans would make them. ”(Clark 620) After the bombs were dropped and seeing all the images back from Japan, most scientists and politicians felt borrow and regret. The atom bomb is not like a normal bomb, from which a population can recover very fast.The radiation and the chemicals inside affect generations of residents who survived the initial blast. The atomic bomb also nearly ruined the Japanese economy entirely.
World War two made the Japanese economy go back at least three years; they tried to fixed it in many ways “the national government in November 1945 adopted a “war disaster reconstruction plan” for rebuilding 119 war-devastated cities, including Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This enabled Hiroshima to plan for the restoration of its central area, covering 1. 3 million square meters and accommodating an estimated 350,000 people. ” (atomicbombmuseum. rg) The economic crisis in Japan at post-war was really severe. Without help from the allies, they wouldn’t have recovered this fast.
If America used another way to end the war, it would have spent less money. The decision to drop the atomic bombs caused lots of after effects physically, mentally, and economically. Finally, the decision to drop the atomic bombs had bad international effects. It set a bad example for other nations, gave the U. S. a bad international image, and it increased the tension between United States and the Soviet Union.
Dropping the atomic bomb give other nations the excuse to reate atomic weapons, and to even use their in the future. “The lethal possibilities of atomic warfare in the future are frightening. My own feeling was that in being the first to use it, we had adopted an ethical standard common to the barbarians of the Dark Ages. ” (Leahy 441). The atomic bomb made the rest of the nations realize how far behind they were at that point with America.
They started to developed atomic weapons, even hydrogen bombs. Developing those weapons of mass destruction was not built only to try to bluff other nations. After Truman’s decision, every leader in the world could consider doing the same thing.And this time it would not be only two cities that got destroyed, but possibly the whole Earth.
Also, this decision gave America a really bad international image to the world. Historians indicate the act of dropping the bomb was ‘state terrorism’ “… the holocaust, followed by allied fire bombings of Dresden and Tokyo and the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, represented some of the most severe effects of terrorism directed at civilian populations. ”(Nassar 30). The atomic bomb really hurts the image of America.
If makes people think that Americans want to win by any means of any cost.Dropping atomic bombs in Japan also increased the tension between United States and the Soviet Union. “By dropping the bomb we hurried the Cold War when Russia boosted their bomb research and development. ” (Hasegawa192) By dropping the bomb, America showed the world that they are the strongest nation in the world, but the Soviet Union refused the accept this, and started to build their own nuclear weapons, open up a decades long arm race between the two nations. The decision to drop the atomic bomb not only set a bad example to other nations, caused bad international images for Americans, but also increased the ension between USA and USSR.
In conclusion, although people might argue that the atomic bomb made the World War two end faster, it was terrible to destroy a major civilian population concentrated cities, and even made this world more dangerous to live in. President Truman could have used some better ways to finish the war. President Truman’s decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan was not justified because of causing massive effects, moral issues, and also international issues.
