The Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb

Events Leading up to the Decision Progress in Pacific Guadalcanal-1st major land victory Code Talkers: Navajo Indians recruited to transmit messages in the Navajo language Kamikazes: Japanese suicide pilots Yalta Conference: 1945 Big 3 discuss end of war and future: Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin Germany surrenders April 1945 demand the unconditional surrender of Japan, Japan rejected

Possibility of Invading Japan projected 1 million American lives would be lost Manhattan Project: top secret government project to develop the Atomic Bomb Started in 1942 and finished in 1945 Led by American Physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer 8/6/45 “little boy” dropped on Hiroshima 8/9/45 “Fat Man” dropped on Nagasaki 8/14/45 Japan Surrenders

Possibility of Invading Japan projected 1 million American lives would be lost Manhattan Project: top secret government project to develop the Atomic Bomb Started in 1942 and finished in 1945 Led by American Physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer 8/6/45 “little boy” dropped on Hiroshima 8/9/45 “Fat Man” dropped on Nagasaki 8/14/45 Japan Surrenders

HANDOUT: Reasoning/Evidence FOR Dropping the Bomb It will save the lives of American soldiers who would be killed in large numbers if we have to attempt an invasion of mainland Japan (estimates are anywhere between 200,000 to 1 million potential lives that could be lost). Look at the high number of casualties we had in Iwo Jima and Okinawa and this time we will face trained fighting civilians as well as a large force of Japanese soldiers who will fight to the death to defend their homeland. A simple demonstration may not convince the Japanese – we need to drop the bomb on a city to prove its true capabilities. We need to use a city that has been free from attack so that actual damage can be assessed – Hiroshima is a pristine target.

Reasoning/Evidence FOR Dropping the Bomb The Japanese will not surrender unconditionally unless they are forced to do so – we cannot allow them to keep their emperor, Hirohito, he is guilty of war crimes. Two billion dollars has been spent creating this bomb. Americans will never forgive the government if they find out that we had the bomb and did not use it. Even though Russia was our WWII friend and ally, we cannot trust them, and we need to show them not to mess with us after the war. Russia is about to enter the war against Japan. We need victory on our own terms so that Russia does not expand its territory. Americans want revenge for the unprovoked assault by the Japanese on Pearl Harbor as well as their horrible treatment of our American Prisoners Of War (POW’s).

Reasoning/Evidence AGAINST Dropping the Bomb The estimates of how many U.S. lives might be lost cannot be justified, and many U.S. officials have spoken out against the high estimates, placing estimates at closer to 50,000. The Japanese are practically beaten. Our naval blockade and our conventional bombing have destroyed Japan. The Japanese have already made offerings of peace through Russia and they are willing to surrender to us conditionally. They only want to keep their emperor – who is a religious figure to them. If Japan is ready to surrender, dropping the bomb is completely unnecessary. This bomb will wipe out entire cities and its damage will be mostly civilian (non-military) targets.

Reasoning/Evidence AGAINST Dropping the Bomb We could demonstrate the bomb to the Japanese first, so that they will know how deadly the bomb is, and no lives will be lost. War should not be won by killing women and children and Hiroshima is not a military target. It would damage our own reputation in how the rest of the world views us. An invasion of mainland Japan is not needed. Just let our naval blockade continue doing its job. We are not using the bomb as a last resort. There are still many things which could bring the war to a close much sooner and with less bloodshed on both sides – including offering to let them keep their emperor or threatening an invasion by Russia or even warning the citizens ahead of time. The dropping of the bomb would be an indiscriminate killer, potentially killing American Prisoners of War (POW’s), as well as innocent women and children.

Harry S. Truman, Diary, July 25, 1945 “We have discovered the most terrible bomb in the history of the world. It may be the fire destruction prophesied in the Euphrates Valley Era, after Noah and his fabulous Ark. Anyway we "think" we have found the way to cause a disintegration of the atom. An experiment in the New Mexico desert was startling - to put it mildly...This weapon is to be used against Japan between now and August 10th. I have told the Sec. of War, Mr. Stimson, to use it so that military objectives and soldiers and sailors are the target and not women and children. Even if the Japs are savages, ruthless, merciless and fanatic, we as the leader of the world for the common welfare cannot drop that terrible bomb on the old capital or the new. He and I are in accord. The target will be a purely military one and we will issue a warning statement asking the Japs to surrender and save lives. I'm sure they will not do that, but we will have given them the chance. It is certainly a good thing for the world that Hitler's crowd or Stalin's did not discover this atomic bomb. It seems to be the most terrible thing ever discovered, but it can be made the most useful...”

Truman Speech, August 9, 1945 (excerpt) “The world will note that the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, a military base. That was because we wished in this first attack to avoid, insofar as possible, the killing of civilians. But that attack is only a warning of things to come. If Japan does not surrender, bombs will have to be dropped on her war industries and, unfortunately, thousands of civilian lives will be lost. I urge Japanese civilians to leave industrial cities immediately, and save themselves from destruction. Having found the bomb we have used it. We have used it against those who attacked us without warning at Pearl Harbor, against those who have starved and beaten and executed American prisoners of war, against those who have abandoned all pretense of obeying international laws of warfare. We have used it in order to shorten the agony of war, in order to save the lives of thousands and thousands of young Americans. We shall continue to use it until we completely destroy Japan's power to make war. Only a Japanese surrender will stop us.”

8/10/45 Diary Entry “Ate lunch at my desk and discussed the Jap offer to surrender which came in a couple of hours earlier. They wanted to make a condition precedent to the surrender. Our terms are 'unconditional'. They wanted to keep the Emperor. We told 'em we'd tell 'em how to keep him, but we'd make the terms.”

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