Towards the end of WWII, people were on edge and ready for the war to end. Something big needed to happen. Something had to be done that would cause an uproar and controversy. Some event that would ultimately cause the war to come to its last leg. But how was this going to be done? Many lives had been lost and countless battles had been fought. So what drastic action could be taken to make sure that the war would come to a close and not just begin a new set of battles? At the time, Japan was and the USA was on bad terms. Japan had attacked Pearl Harbor and destroyed many United States Navy fleets. The US had been surprised with their backs against the wall and had no definite way of fighting back. President Roosevelt was in shambles and needed to quickly figure out a plan to retaliate at Japan. He needed to kill as many possible people and as quickly as possible. Some new mechanism of warfare that would leave a permanent affect on the Japanese needed to be created. The Japanese had caught the US with their backs against the wall and needed to come back and take them down. The Atomic Bomb; A new form of chemical warfare was developed by chemists, physicists, and math professors, designed to be an absolute killing machine.
On August 6th, 1945, the first of two atomic bombs, nicknamed “Little Boy”, was dropped on a heavily populated area, Hiroshima. The Japanese had attacked a Navy zone, so why would the United States target a civilian area? The civilians themselves had not attacked Pearl Harbor. Only the military had, so why would the Americans kill innocent people? Understanding the fact that the Americans needed to retaliate is one thing, but killing more civilians than military people is unnecessary.
To top things off, the US dropped another bomb “Fat Man” on Nagasaki three days later. As if killing 140,000 people was not enough, the second bomb killed an additional 80,000 people. Permanent damage had been put on the two bomb sites with many lives taken. So was this whole payback revenge idea even worth it in the long run? The United States had taken things to the extreme by killing an absurd amount of people. Not just taking lives, but causing Plutonium damage that can be seen to this day. Who in their right mind would think of taking the lives of so many civilians who were living their own independent lives? The Japanese people had nothing to do with the Pearl Harbor Incident, only the Army. So why would Roosevelt target such a densely populated area? There were too many unanswered questions after this horrific act.
Ultimately, after the second bomb, Japan surrendered and this marked the end of WWII. Some other safer and more life friendly ways could have been taken to preserve the lives of so many that had died in Japan. A treaty could have been signed to prevent warfare or just a simple meeting of countries. Unfortunately, Roosevelt had to take drastic measures due to irrational fear and anger. In the end, many lives could have been saved and things could have gone down a better path. This shows that our government has its failures. No one is perfect. We all make drastic decisions in desperate times.
I agree with you that numerous Japanese lives could have been saved if there was an alternative ending to the war but on the other hand don’t you think that without this dramatic end the war would have dragged on taking countless American and Japanese lives with its ongoing battles while both governments desperately seek a treaty or truce?
ReplyDeleteThe war could have lasted longer and could have went on for years. It all could have been stopped by a signed treaty. I think it should have been stopped by our leaders coming together and making an agreement. We will never know if that was a possibility. But, that does not excuse the dropping of this bomb. When the Twin Towers where attacked, and our civilians were targeted, didn't we call that an act of terrorism?
ReplyDeleteDo you agree with Roosevelt's action to drop the bomb? If they werent an option what do you think would be a better way to settle things?
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ally, but I don't think it was possible to get all the apposing leaders to sign a treaty. I think that the way this war ended was simply the one way we can now live in peace because now we know what war is like.
ReplyDeleteI would have to say dropping the bomb was completely necessary and was a great way to end the war. Many Japanese lives were lost but if the war continued their might have been a lot more deaths of Americans which we would not be good. If the atomic bomb was not used the Japanese could have planned another attack on us so I think it was necessary and a good choice.
ReplyDeleteI think that the atom bomb was looked at as a weapon that could end the war in a short time but was it the right way to end it? Japan did attack Pearl Harbor but it was a military base with had much more recruited men than civilians. In Hiroshima there were only civilians. Do you think that if we dropped the bomb on a military base the outcome would be different?
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