1. The use of the atomic bomb
Was it justified?

3. Historical Facts About the Bomb:
August of 1945
120,000 people killed instantly, at least 200,000 over time
Japan surrendered on Sept. 2nd
First and only time nuclear weapons have been used (2 bombs) during war

4. Yes, it was justified:
Japanese military leaders were not willing to negotiate
Battle of Okinawa
110,000 Japanese
7,600 Americans
Japan’s tradition of pride and honor (Samurai code)…fight to last death
Some civilians saw it as a savior…they wanted to surrender
Waiting for surrender would have cost thousands of lives
Estimated 500,000 American lives to invade Japan
POWs would have been killed
Japan had engaged in total war
Word of a plan to fly Kamikaze planes with the plague into San Diego

5. No, it was not justified:
AB scientists argued not to use it first
“If Germany had used it, world would have seen it as a crime against humanity”
Targets were civilians
Show power without using them
Because of radiation, were poisonous weapons…war crime
Many leaders (American and Japanese) say Japan was close to surrender
Should have waited to see effect of Soviet Union’s entry
Many people say US had other motives
Justifying $2 Billion
Revenge for PH
Show power to Soviets

6. Japanese Professor
We have discussed among ourselves the ethics of the use of the bomb. Some consider it in the same category as poison gas and were against its use on a civil population. Others were of the view that in total war, as carried on in Japan, there was no difference between civilians and soldiers, and that the bomb itself was an effective force tending to end the bloodshed, warning Japan to surrender and thus to avoid total destruction. It seems logical to me that he who supports total war in principle cannot complain of war against civilians."

7. President Eisenhower
"In 1945 Secretary of War Stimson, visiting my headquarters in Germany, informed me that our government was preparing to drop an atomic bomb on Japan. I was one of those who felt that there were a number of good reasons to question the wisdom of such an act. During his recitation of the relevant facts, I had been conscious of a feeling of depression and so I voiced to him my grave misgivings, first on the basis of my belief that Japan was already defeated and that dropping the bomb was completely unnecessary, and secondly because I thought that our country should avoid shocking world opinion by the use of a weapon whose employment was, I thought, no longer mandatory as a measure to save American lives.”