Iliyan Stoimenov
Ms. George
Pre-AP US History
02/09/2009
Period 6
Dropping the Bomb on Japan
Dropping the bomb on Japan at the end of World War 2 was justified because it eventually stopped the war, made Japanese surrender and let everyone know how much power USA had at that time.
On August 6, 1945 the first atomic bomb was dropped on Japanese city Hiroshima. Dropping the bomb was justified for many reasons. The primary reason, as many would know, was to stop the war. This war needed to be stopped really badly. Even though it was helping US economy, it was also very costly in both money and lives. If US had not dropped the atomic bomb, there may have been another attack on American soil. It has been estimated that if the United States had not dropped the bomb and had invaded Japan instead, the United States would have lost about million soldiers. In the middle of July, 1945, the intelligence section of the War Department estimated Japanese military strength at about 5,000,000 men. There were some strategic plans of armed forces for the defeat of Japan, as they stood in July, had been prepared without reliance upon the atomic bomb, had not been tested yet in New Mexico. It was estimated that if USA had fought with the Japan, the war would not have ended till latter part of 1946. Such operations would have cost millions of lives. Dropping the bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki kept the Russians out of the war. United States did not need their help to stop the war.
Dropping the bomb, from a technological prospective, was a huge step for the human society. Before 1939, it was there was a belief of scientists that it was theoretically possible to release atomic energy. But no one knew any practical method to do it. By 1942, United States knew that Germany had already started working on atomic bombs, but later on they failed. Apparently, US had the biggest power at that time. Dropping the bomb proved that statement undoubtedly. After that nobody doubted in...