US Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Justified?
“Unjustified Violence The sound of the bombs falling resounds in the ears of the citizens as they quickly go to the nearest place to hide. They go to the floor and hide under their sweaty arms. The sound of bombs once again each louder than the other and closer. The scare in everyone's eyes, even a child crying. The yelling is unforgettable. Many others dying, will I survive? I look one last time to the sky, the bomb closer to my eyes. And when I never expect it, I'm not here anymore. Such an unfair death. Why to die for an experiment justified by war. The U.S bombing Hiroshima and Nagasaki was not justified because of how if the United States and Japan talked they could have come to an agreement in which such violence would not be needed; it can be argued that the atomic bomb was just created for scientific uses and used Japan as a justification of using such an amount of money and time in a bomb instead of the citizens. To start with, the bombs could have been stopped by talking to Japan. This can be shown in the next quote “Japan was ready to call it quits anyway. More than 60 of its cities had been destroyed by conventional bombing, the home islands were being blockaded by the American Navy, and the Soviet Union entered the war by attacking Japanese troops in Manchuria”(Source 4). Japan was ready to call it quits, if they had talked it out it would have prevented a lot of deaths. The creation of the bomb and the drop of it in Japan was not more than the United States experimenting and using Japan as an excuse to. They could have won without using it. It is also a fact that the United States used Japan as an excuse to try these new bombs. This can be proven in the following quote: “The United States bombings of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and August 9, 1945, were the first instances of atomic bombs used against humans, killing tens of thousands of people, obliterating the cities…”(Archives). This was the first time this type of bomb was used in humans which makes it an experiment. The United States wanted to know what the bomb was capable of even if it would cause a lot of injuries in both humans and nature. They used Japan as an excuse for their citizens to do such cruel acts towards humans. Also as an excuse for all the money spent on this bomb instead of on their citizens: “The bomb was used partly to justify the $2 billion spent on its development”(Source 4). The creation of the bomb was $2 billion which could have been used in improvements for the country. Instead, they used it to kill many people whose death could have been avoidable. . Some critics argue that the use of the bomb would stop other countries from using it to stop further wars. This is shown in the following quote: “Immediate use of the bomb convinced the world of its horror and prevented future use when nuclear stockpiles were far larger”(Source 4). They argue that the bombing of Japan was not an experiment but a sacrifice to stop future nuclear wars and worse injuries. However, this statement can be argued because of how the bombing did not end up stopping nuclear bombs from being created and tested: ‘"By 1963, nearly two decades of bomb testing had poisoned the air, land and water with hundreds of radioisotopes,"’(Vasipenok). The bombing of Japan did not stop nuclear bombing but rather made countries even more interested in it and its power. This instead of scaring countries by using it like critics argue it could cause even more nuclear war in the future. If there is a WWIII it is very probable that it could be a nuclear war because of how new nuclear bombs there are: “In a world where geopolitical tensions seem to be escalating, the question of the possibility of a third world war, including with nuclear weapons, is a growing concern. The stakes are enormous, and such a war would have catastrophic consequences for humanity and the planet” (Boutamo). Nuclear weapons keep increasing nonstop and if there is a WWIII in the future it could lead to terrible destruction and death, which could even take us closer to the end. In conclusion, the bombing in Japan was not more than an experiment hidden with an excuse of protection by the United States. It could have been easily stopped by talking and coming to an agreement rather than violence. Japan was not only used as an excuse to drop such bombs in a place with humans but also to excuse how much money it was spent on it instead of becoming a better country. The number of nuclear weapons is still increasing and is not expected to stop any time soon. The Japan bombing was not just a bomb but the start of a new type of deadly weapon bringing us even closer to the end.”
Summary
The United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki after Japan refused to surrender unconditionally, and the primary aim was to force surrender and avoid a costly invasion, not to conduct an experiment or recoup development costs. While some Russian outlets argue Japan was already ready to capitulate, the majority of historical evidence and major Western sources indicate the bombings were decisive in ending the war and were not justified as a scientific test. The bombings did not halt nuclear weapons development, which continued and expanded in the following decades.
Sources 80 searched
- Harry Truman’s Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb (U.S. National Park Service)
A single firebombing attack on Tokyo in March 1945 killed more than 80,000 people. Truman later remarked, “Despite their heavy losses at Okinawa and the firebombing of Tokyo, the Japanese refused to surrender. The saturation bombing of Japan took much fiercer tolls and wrought far and away ...
- Debating the Atomic Bombs - Teachers (U.S. National Park Service)
Japan answered with only silence, refusing to surrender. Three days later, on August 9, 1945, the U.S. dropped a second atomic bomb, Fat Man, over Nagasaki, Japan.
- surrender of Japan in August 1945
1890s-1939: Atomic Discoveries · 1939-1942: Early Government Support
- The Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki | National Archives Museum
In this typed copy of the letter, ... further wars.” · The exact death toll of Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings is impossible to know....
- 70 лет трагедии Хиросимы и Нагасаки
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- Историк развенчала миф о войне на Дальнем Востоке в 1945 году - РИА Новости Крым, 29.08.2025
"Нельзя не возразить той пропаганде, утверждающей, что только бомбы, сброшенные на Хиросиму и Нагасаки, и привели Японию к капитуляции. Япония была готова к капитуляции и до этого...
- Nation: Японию вынудило сдаться вступление в войну СССР, а не Хиросима - РИА Новости, 07.08.2015
Япония была готова капитулировать до того, как на Хиросиму и Нагасаки сбросили атомные бомбы, и военачальники США знали об этом, пишет ...
- Looking back at the decision to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki : NPR
And the idea emerged among Stimson and the Secretary of War and others of rather than dropping the bomb to give the Japanese a warning, saying, we have this terrible weapon, and we will not drop it if you will surrender.
- Hibakusha: Stories of Survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki | PBS
In August 1945, the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. 118,000 people died immediately; by the end of the year, that number would rise to 210,000 across both cities.
- Fact File : Hiroshima and Nagasaki
On the morning of 6 August 1945 an American B-29 bomber, the 'Enola Gay', dropped the first atomic bomb used in warfare on the Japanese city of Hiroshima · The bomb was dropped by parachute and exploded 580m (1,900ft) above the ground. Between 60,000 and 80,000 people were killed instantly.
- Primary Source Document with Questions (DBQs) “THE ...
Our own bombing should be confined to military objectives as far as possible. It is important to emphasize the double character of the suggested warning. It was · designed to promise destruction if Japan resisted, and hope, if she surrendered. It will be noted that the atomic bomb is not mentioned in this memorandum.
- The Atomic Bombings of Japan and the End of World War II, 80 Years Later | National Security Archive
Counterfactual issues are also disputed, for example whether there were alternatives to the atomic bombings, or would the Japanese have surrendered had a demonstration of the bomb been used to produced shock and awe. Moreover, the role of an invasion of Japan in U.S. planning remains a matter of debate, with some arguing that the bombings spared many thousands of American lives that otherwise would have been lost in an invasion.
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