Atomic Bomb Use essays

Atomic Bomb Use essays In 1945, the world was changed forever by the first use of the atomic bomb against civilians. This may have been the single most defining event in the twentieth century. Now, the world really could be potentially destroyed, and one false move by government officials could mean the end. This new brand of warfare was first used by the United States against the Japanese in an effort to end the war between the two nations. Yet was the use of this bomb really necessary? This question alone raises several other questions, and this essay will deal with a few specific ones, using Gar Alperovitzs novel The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb as a source. First, why did the United States drop the atomic bomb on the residents of two Japanese cities? According to proponents of the bomb, the reason was to end the war against the Japanese. However, Japan was already in deep trouble as it was. The country was running out of agricultural and industrial power by 1945, and its leaders were starting to accept the reality that they would not be able to win the war. On page 334, Aplerovitz notes that Henry H. Arnold stated in his memoirs that it always appeared to us, atomic bomb or no atomic bomb, the Japanese were already on the verge of collapse. One exception to Japanese surrender was that they wanted to keep their form of government, but the fact that the United States was not clear on the terms of surrender delayed the whole process. All these factors seem to show that Japan would probably have surrendered without the use of the bomb. In fact, several advisors to Truman have said that a mere demonstration of the bomb would probably have done the trick. L. Louis Strauss, the soon to be president of the Atomic Energy Commission, proposed that, the weapon should be demonstrated over some area accessible to the Japanese observers, where its effects would be dramatic (Alperovitz, pg. 332). Yet Truman still decid...