The Decision to Drop the Bomb

The discussion topic for this module is on the dropping of the Atomic Bomb. World War II had been going on for many years, including 4 years of direct American involvement. All that stood in the way of total victory for the Allies was the surrender of Japan. Militarily taking the Japanese homeland would have involved a massive amphibious invasion of several islands against people who would often fight to the death. Estimates ranged up to one million American casualties in such an invasion. Many Japanese would also die in such an attack. So far, conventional bombing had not forced Japan into an unconditional surrender.

A new super weapon, such as the world has never seen, had been developed in the top-secret Manhattan Project. These atomic (or A-bombs) could destroy most of a mid-size city with one single bomb. The effects of using this weapon would be devastating to the Japanese and would likely force them to surrender. However, hundreds of thousands would die - many of them civilians. President Truman made the decision to drop the first atomic bomb, nicknamed "Little Boy" on Hiroshima and would three days later drop another bomb "Fat Man" on the city of Nagasaki.

The bombs had the expected effect. About 200,000 Japanese died and the sheer destructive power of the bombs forced the Japanese government to concede defeat and surrender, thus ending World War II. At the time of their use, Americans overwhelmingly supported the use of the atomic bombs. However, as time went on, some would question whether it was necessary to use them to force Japan to surrender as well as the morality of using a weapon that killed so many people. Today, people hold various opinions on the issue and you will get to share your opinion in the discussion. Make sure to read this document from Boundless and view the presentation below.

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