Wednesday, June 13, 2007

---Whether the United States should have used atomic weapons against Japan in the Second World War is a topic of great controversy. I believe that this use was very necessary. The use of the weapons, however horrid they were, saved countless lives, on both sides. The President, Truman, made this decision that has changed the world for the better since.
---Some people believe that our target was immoral. I disagree. Almost all of the people living in these cities were workers in factories, which were also in the city. These factories were supplying equipment to troops elsewhere. The Japanese government was also requiring every capable citizen to be trained to fight with sharpened bamboo weapons, virtually turning every person in the nation into a solider. The immorality was committed by the Japanese government. They would starve and beat the United States prisoners of war. This caused many people to die.
---If we hadn't used the atomic weapon against Japan we would have had to attack their home land. In estimates given by Truman himself there could be as many as 1,000,000 American deaths in an attack suck as this. What is not usually talked about is the number of Japanese saved by the use of the atomic weapons. According to, in the battle of Iwo Jima, 8,223 allies lost their lives along side 20,703 Japanese. In the battle of Guadalcanal, 7, 099 allies, and 30,343 Japanese were killed. I found the average of these losses. On average 7,661 allied soldiers died in a major battle, whereas 25,523 Japanese were killed in a battle. I setup a proportion to figure the number of estimated Japanese loses. The numbers were unbelievable. I estimate that as many 3,331,549 Japan deaths were to be expected in an attack on the Japanese mainland. According to about 199,000 people died in the atomic bombings, less than 1/16 of the estimated deaths. The use of the atomic bombs saved many lives.
----People should not be second guessing the decision of President Truman. We know very little about the President's decision making process. Most of what is taught is based on speculation, or have large pieces of the story missing. President Truman mad much more information than we have today. This decision was made over a half of a century ago, and our culture has change a great deal since that time, and such a decision should be judged accordingly to that culture not this one. It is rumored that the bomb was dropped without Truman's approval. This would not have been so. If anyone would have bypassed the president on such a decision would have been court marshaled and put in prison for the rest of their lives.
---I believe that the Atomic bomb was a necessary evil, needed to end World War II. The Use of this atomic weapon saved many people. It is estimated that it saved as many as 1,000,000 American lives as well as 3,331,549 Japanese. Modern people with missing information should not condemn decision made over a half a century ago. This weapon, however horrid it may seem to be, was a blessing to World War II.