Atomic Bomb Dbq Essay

Words: 874
Pages: 4

In World War ll, Harry S. Truman had to make a decision of whether to drop an atomic bomb on the Japanese or not, as an attempt to end the war Truman dropped the atomic bomb causing chaos to roam throughout Japan. This action was unjustified because many innocent Japanese civilians lost their lives in the bombings. These bombs were so powerful that it caused imminent defeat and were not necessary. Also, the US officials were split over the decision of whether or not to bomb Japan. The actions Harry Truman had undertaken in the bombing of the Japanese were unjustified because many innocent people were killed, the bomb was not necessary, and the US officials had split decisions about the atomic bomb. Many innocent lives were taken from the Atomic …show more content…
The military advantages and the saving of American lives achieved by the sudden use of atomic bombs against Japan may be outweighed by the ensuing loss of confidence and by a wave of horror and repulsion sweeping over the rest of the world and perhaps even dividing public opinion at home (Document C). This means that using the bomb to end the war is good but not everyone agrees. There are a lot of opinions that the atomic bomb should be dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Even before the bomb was tested, American officials began to debate how to use it. Admiral William Leahy, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, opposed using the bomb because it killed civilians indiscriminately (Document I). So, before the Manhattan project, which was the top secret project where the US built an atomic bomb, Leahy had mixed feelings on whether he thought Truman should drop the atomic bomb or not. As for Truman, he regarded the bomb as a military weapon and never had any doubts that it should be used (Document I). Many people had different views on the bomb because people that were against using the bomb warned Truman that he should expect massive casualties if he used it, but he did not focus on that aspect as much as they did. Truman believed it was a weapon that should be used to save many American lives, but he didn't think about how many other lives he