Atomic Bomb Dbq

On August 6, 1945 a uranium gun-type atomic bomb (little boy) was dropped on Hiroshima, followed by a plutonium implosion-type bomb (Fat Man) on the city of Nagasaki on August 9. On August 15, just days after the bombing of Nagasaki and the Soviet Union's declaration of war, Japan announced its surrender to the Allies. On September 2, 1945, it signed the instrument of surrender, ending World War II. The bombings' role in Japan's surrender and their ethical justification are still debated. So why did we drop the atomic bomb? We dropped the bomb to save American lives and to get revenge for the attack on Pearl Harbor.

The main reason we dropped the bomb is to save American lives. Because "the Allies would be faced with the enormous task of destroying an armed force of five million men and five thousand suicide aircraft, belonging to a race which has already amply demonstrated its ability to fight literally to the death." (Doc A) it made the decision to use the atomic bomb critical. The US was planning a "greatly intensified strategic air bombing through the summer and early fall, to be followed on November 1 by an invasion of the southern island of Kyushu… followed in turn by an invasion of the main island of Honshu in the spring of 1946… I was informed that such operations might be expected to cost over a million casualties, to American forces alone." (Doc A). Harry S Truman said to Richard Russell on Aug. 9, 1945, "My object is to save as many American lives as possible…" (Doc H). The reason we dropped the bomb was to save American lives, instead of wasting them on a battlefield that didn't need to be fought.

Another reason that we dropped the bomb is to get revenge on Japan for attacking Pearl Harbor. The atomic bombs contributed to Japan's surrender but did not cause it. The US air force had, "hit some 60 Japanese cities with