Assess Americas rationale for the 1945 atomic

bombing on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and whether the

attack was justified.

The morning of 6th August, 1945, marks a pivotal date in history. It was when the first ever
atomic bomb was dropped. The B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay released a single bomb known
by the name Little Boy that substantially destroyed the entire city of Hiroshima,
immediately vaporising 70,000 Japanese citizens. Three days later another atomic bomb
known by the name Fat Man was released over Nagasaki killing approximately 80,000
Japanese people.1 The United States of America has been the only nation ever to detonate
atomic bombs against an enemy in warfare. US President Harry Trumans decision to employ
atomic weapons against Japan has been the subject to much controversy mainly because of
the high civilian death toll and the impact that it had on future generations that resulted from
the bombings and whether the fact that it ended World War 2 justifies its use. This essay
assesses Americas rationale for the 1945 atomic bombing on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and
whether the attack was justified.

In order to assess the justification of the attack, one must examine the historical context of the
time period that compelled Truman to drop the atomic bombs. By the early 20th century,
Japan was considered to be a world power. Japan welcomed new technology but lacked
natural resources of its own such as oil and rubber which were crucial for modernising a
country. The Americans began to worry regarding Japans ambitions to use East Asia to gain
natural resources as they too wanted to influence events in China and had no intentions of
sharing naval power in the Pacific with Japan.2 Essentially Japan and the U.S. were
competing for the same resources and Asian markets. This is why when Japan launched a full
scale war against China in July 1937 and brutally killed 300,000 Chinese civilians in
Nanking, the U.S. along with Britain sent supplies in aid to China. Consequently, the
Japanese began to see the Western Democracies as their enemies. In September 1940, US
President Roosevelt put pressure on the Japanese people to withdraw from China, by banning
the exports of many goods to Japan and restricting their imports to Japan. In 1941, Japan
began to grow short of essential imports after the US restricted its trade. Japan tried
1

Ushistory.org. (2015). The Decision to Drop the Bomb. Independence Hall Association. Accessed on 15/07/15
from http://www.ushistory.org/us/51g.asp
2
Chrisp, P. (2003). The War in the Pacific (World Wars). 1st ed. Heinemann Library. Accessed on 14/07/15

Assess Americas rationale for the 1945 atomic

bombing on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and whether the
attack was justified.
negotiating with Roosevelt without much success. Japanese leader Yamamoto believed that
Japans only way out was by launching a surprise attack, destroying the US fleet at Pearl
Harbor.2
On 7th December 1941, without first declaring war, Japan carried out a sneak attack on the
U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbour, Hawaii.3 There were 423 Japanese planes arriving in Pearl
Harbour, killing a total of 2,403 and wounding 1178 people. Japan had made the first move
and bombed Pearl Harbor which angered the U.S. This lead to the U.S. declaring war on
Japan and caused the entering of the U.S. into WW2, allying with Great Britain, China and
the Soviet Union to fight against the Axis Powers (Japan, Germany and Italy).4 Thus the
Pearl Harbor attack marked the beginning Americas involvement in WW2, one of the most
horrific wars in the history of human existence.
The prime reason for the dropping of the bomb was to end the war as quickly as possible with
the fewest U.S. casualties and to save lives by avoiding an invasion of the Japanese
homeland. Truman believed an invasion would cost 500,000 American lives. He agreed that
the bomb would be the quickest and easiest way to end the war.5 This was the primary
reason; however historians believe that there were other motives which compelled Truman to
drop the bomb. Historians such as Gar Alperovitz argue that the United States dropped the
atomic bombs on Japan in order to intimidate the Soviet Union, which it recognised as a post
war rival.6 Other reasons include were to justify the cost of the Manhattan Project. The
Manhattan Project was a secret program to which the U.S. had funneled an estimated
$1,889,604,000 through December 31, 1945.7 Truman had not known about the Manhattan
Project, it was only when he became the president that his advisors told him about the top
secret development of the atom bomb. Truman agreed to use the bomb to end the war with
Japan and to justify the cost of the Manhattan Project since he didnt want the $2 billion to go
to waste. Additionally, another reason that America chose to use the atom bomb for was to
3

Feinberg, B,S. (1995). Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Childrens Press Chicago. Accessed on 14/05/2015
Unknown. Pearl Harbor. WorldWar2History.info. accessed on 17/07/15 from
http://worldwar2history.info/Pearl-Harbor/
5
Lawton, C. (2004). Hiroshima the story of the first atom bomb. Candlewick Press. Accessed on 26/06/2015
6
Alperovitz, Gar. (1985). Atomic Diplomacy: Hiroshima and Potsdam: The Use of the Atomic Bomb and the
American Confrontation with Soviet Power. Penguin New York. Accessed on 21/07/2015.
7
CSIS. (2012). Understanding the Decision to Drop the Bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Accessed on
15/06/2015 at http://csis.org/blog/understanding-decision-drop-bomb-hiroshima-and-nagasaki
4

Assess Americas rationale for the 1945 atomic

bombing on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and whether the
attack was justified.
respond to the Pearl Harbor attack. They believed that the Japanese attacked without warning.
The Americans wanted to show the world how powerful they are. The bombing showed other
countries that the U.S. had weapons, and would use them if they are attacked first. Hence,
Americas rationale for the 1945 atomic bombing was to end the war as soon as possible, to
justify the cost of the Manhattan Project, to respond to the Pearl Harbor attack and to
intimidate the Soviet Union.
Whilst America did have some valid reasons for the use of the bombs, the justification of the
bombs has been an ongoing debate, particularly in terms of ethics and morality. In general,
the use of nuclear weapons is regarded as a crime against humanity. According to the Avalon
Project at Yale University, 199,000 Japanese were direct casualties, and this figure does not
include the people who died later because of radiation sickness.8 The atomic bombs after
effects were grotesque and horrible. Survivors developed sores, lost their hair or suffered
cataracts on their eyes. Radiation victims were prone to blood diseases and cancers.9
Survivors of the bombings suffered from vomiting and diarrhoea and faced a life of poor
health and poverty. Furthermore, nuclear weapons are destructive in nature. They cause
environmental damage and chemical pollution. The use of the atomic bomb created a new
meaning of total war by destroying thousands of civilians in a grotesque manner, making its
use unethical and immoral.10
Additionally, some other reasons why the attack is seen to be not justified is because it is a
breaching if international law. According to the international law, the bombing of civilians
was regarded as a barbaric act. Many critics have also suggested that the use of the bombs
was racially motivated. Historian Ronald Takaki has given his perspective suggesting that
such a weapon would have never been used on white Europeans. 11
The argument that the atomic bombs were used to end the war as quickly as possible has been
rebutted. The U.S. Military Strategic Survey concluded that certainly prior to 31 December
8

The Avalon Project. The Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Accessed on 19/07/2015 from
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/subject_menus/mpmenu.asp
9
Tames, R. (1998). Hiroshima-The shadow of the bomb. Reed Educational & Proffessional Publishing Ltd.
Accessed on 20/05/2015.
10
Unknown. Accessed on 1/06/2015 from http://schools.yrdsb.ca/markville.ss/history/honours/leslieessay.pdf
11
Takaki, R. (1999). Hiroshima: Why America dropped the atomic bomb. Little, Brown Boston. Accessed on
21/07/2015

Assess Americas rationale for the 1945 atomic

bombing on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and whether the
attack was justified.
1945, and in all probability prior to 1 November 1945, Japan would have surrendered even if
the atomic bombs had not been dropped, even if Russia had not entered the war, and even if
no invasion had been planned or contemplated. However given the intransigence of the
Japanese military, the Japanese leaders wouldnt have surrendered easily. The allies knew
that Japan was close to surrendering but many Japanese politicians found this idea impossible
to accept. They feared that the allies would remove Emperor Hirohito from power and to
many Japanese people; Hirohito was regarded as their god. The allies knew that it would
take more than words to make Japan accept defeat and feared that the war in the Pacific woud
continue with the loss of many more lives.5 Japan needed external pressure in the form of the
atomic bomb for its government to surrender. The atomic bomb proves to be a decisive factor
in the end of the war, where on 15th August Japan surrenders, in fact, Hizatune Sakomizu,
Secretary to the Japanese cabinet in 1945 said, If the A-bomb had not been dropped we
would have had great difficulty to find a good reason to end the war12
Other reasons why the use of the bomb was justified was because looking at it from Trumans
point of view, it was his duty and responsibility to take care of his citizens, including soldiers,
his duty is to act in his best interests of his citizens. Hence, it can be said that his strongest
interest was to end the war the best possible way for the U.S. Also, looking at it from a
historical context, the bombings were justified. During this time period, the world abandoned
morality in a desperate attempt to repel the threatening forces of fascism, expansionism, and
imperialism. Mass conventional bombings were used by both sides as military strategies.
Additionally, the American leaders had asked Japan to surrender unconditionally, however as
Japan did not accept this, it was right to try ending the war some other way and avoiding the
need for invasion.10
In conclusion, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki is justified politically and as a
military strategy since it ended the war thus saving many lives. However, it is not justified
ethically as it is a crime against humanity.
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12

Grant, R.G. (1997). Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Wayland Publishers Ltd. Accessed on 20/05/2015.