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Drop the Bomb

Drop the Bomb World War II is one of the most historic points in the history of the world. The war was by far the most devastating in the history of the world. There were many controversial actions during the war, but one of the biggest was the decision by the United States to drop atomic bombs. The atomic bomb should have been used to end the war because it saved more lives than continuing the war. The official bombing order was signed on July 25, 1945, by Thos. T. Handy and sent to General Carl Spaatz. The bombing order called for additional bombs for the targets in Japan when called on by the project staff. The bomb was set to be dropped the first time the weather permitted after August 3, 1945 (Dannen, screens 1-2). Little Boy was more powerful than the largest bomb ever used, the British Grand Slam. The bomb was more destructive and potent than twenty thousand tons of T.N.T (Statement, screens 1-2). On August 6, 1945, the B-29, Enola Gay, dropped the bomb, Little Boy, on Hiroshima at 8:15 and 17 seconds (Hirschfeld 14,17). The dropping of the bomb caused much controversy throughout the world. People did not think that we had the right to drop the bomb and kill many people who weren’t fighting in the war. The number of arguments for and against the dropping are many. Some are also in the middle, for instance, “The Japanese had been very cruel to prisoners of War. Some Americans believed they deserved to be taught a lesson” (Why, screen 1). The statement can be taken as either we should have gotten them back, or that dropping the Many people disagreed with the dropping of the bomb for many different reasons. The bomb had cost two billion dollars to build. The public might of had a hard time understanding spending that much money and then not dropping the bomb (Why, screen 1). In the 1960s the public saw the bomb only as an action to gain an upper hand with Russia (Goodman, screen 2). Also, on a more tragic note, by 1946, 240,000 Japanese had died from the two bombs (screen 1). Even now people are still dying from the effects of the One aspect that is under big concern is whether dropping the bomb or an invasion would have taken more lives. One source that gave estimates of an invasion stated, “In a meeting on 18 June the Joint War Plans Committee gave Truman projected death rates ranging from a low of 31,000 to a high of 50,000” (Goodman, screen 6). This number was much lower than predictions from other sources. A.C. Snow, a News and Observer editor, wrote, “The invasion was expected to be the Armageddon of World War II some historians project that a million or more lives would have been lost” (screen 1). President Truman and Secretary of War, Henry Stimson, said that dropping the bomb was a military action that avoided the loss of many lives in the upcoming invasion of Kyushu (Goodman, screens 1-2). During the war the Japanese were killed twenty-two to every one American, so if the invasion would have taken place with these numbers the bomb saved On the side of President Truman’s decision to use the bomb to end the war was the fact that far, far more people, civilians and military would have been killed on the Japanese mainland than died from two atomic bombs dropped on Japan. (Snow, screen 1) Little Boy and Fat Man seem to have saved many more lives than would have been lost in another invasion. The United States believed that they could destroy Japan’s combat capabilities and force them to surrender. Truman told us the plan in his statement, We are now prepared to obliterate more rapidly and completely every productive enterprise the Japanese have above ground in any city. We shall destroy their docks, their factories, and their communications. Let there be no mistake; we shall completely destroy Japan’s power to make war. The Japanese turned down the July 26 ultimatum to end the war and save the war, so the United States dropped Little Boy. (Statement, screen 2) After the second bomb was dropped, Japan realized that they must surrender, even though it was a very tough choice to make because they had to lose their Emperor. Hirohito, a member of the council, spoke at the surrender conference, saying, “Ending the war, is the only way to restore world peace and to relieve the nation from the terrible distress...” (Hirschfeld 156-157). Japan then surrendered after the conference and there was no need for an invasion, and the United States troops could go home. Continuing the war with an invasion would more than likely have killed more people than dropping the bomb. The atomic explosions quickly turned the war to force Japan to surrender. The controversy of the bombs will live on forever, but the fact remains that these devastating devices Little Boy and Fat Man, the most destructive weapons ever conceived by the mind of man, had stamped finish to the bloodiest, most destructive conflict in man’s history. August 14, 1945. World War II was finally Bibliography: Works Cited Dannen, Gene, E-text. Atomic Bomb: Decision-Official Bombing Order, July 25, 1945. 1995-1998. 28 March 2000 . Goodman, Philip. Hiroshima and Nagasaki: The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb. 29 April 1998. 28 March 2000 . Hirschfeld, Burt. A Cloud Over Hiroshima. New York: Julian Messner, 1967. Snow, A.C. “How the A-bomb saved my life.” News and Observer 26 March 2000, final ed.: D2. 28 March 2000 . Statement by the President, August 6, 1945. 28 March 2000 . Why Did They Drop the Atomic Bomb? 27 March 2000 .

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