Writing Homework Help

World War ll

There are numerous topics inside WWII. With hundreds of thousands of books written about it there seems to be no end to our interest. The discussion this week though will focus on the final end of the War, the use of the atomic bomb on Japan. Today there is still controversy over our use to the weapons. Different sources give differing numbers of casualties. What we can say is that at least 150,000 Japanese citizens lost their lives either during the bombing or within weeks of them. There was another 25,000 to 50,000 who suffered from the radiation and blasts through their lives. Their numbers are much fewer than in the past. Yet, there are still survivors living today.

Our most human part is usually repelled from the images and descriptions of these events. Yet, it would seem from what we have been told, we had to use the bombs to stop the war. And that their use saved a million American lives. It is true that the War Department had ordered a million body bags prior to invasion of Japan. However, there were no where near 1 million soldiers and marines in the Pacific. Their fear was that because of past behavior the Japanese people would fight to the death before the country would surrender. However, there were other opinions and theories about the end of the War which were ignored in favor of using the new weapons.

One thing to remember is that while the scientists understood the power of these new and horrific weapons, no one else did until they were used. The other side of this coin is that we had already killed at least 100,000 people in fire bombing in Tokyo alone. We had also bombed other industrial cities in attempts of ending the War.

This is a complicated topic, and one that many people would simply like to leave alone. However, this is, after all, part-and-parcel, a major aspect in U.S. history, and one that needs to be studied. For the discussion, please use material from the following in developing your post:

The following link takes you to The New Yorker magazine, an issue from 1946, where you can read for yourself what Hersey had to say.

“Hiroshima,” from The New Yorker

This next link it to Exploratorium Nagasaki, where the slideshow is of the photographs taken by Yosuke Yamahata on 10 August 1945, the day after Nagasaki was bombed. He took his camera and walked through the city, taking photos of what he and his companions saw. Please be aware, that some of these photos may be quite difficult to view:

Nagasaki Journey from Exploritorium.edu

This is a link to the Wikipedia article, “Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki”, and specifically addresses the deaths and casualties caused by the effects of the nuclear explosion:

Post-Assault Casualties – Wikipedia

And finally, this last link is to a National Park website for the Manhattan Project National Historic Park, and pertains to the decision made my President Truman in dropping the bomb. This is critical to understanding why the U.S. chose to use the bomb instead of another way to bring the Japanese to the peace table:

Harry S. Truman’s Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb

While you will not necessarily need to view and read all of the material provided in these links, there is enough in one or two of them for you to develop a good 2-3 academic paragraph post. After doing this, please develop a post that explains/discusses/describes . . .

• Why were the bombs used in lieu of another plan for bringing Japan to the peace table?
• Other than the nuclear bomb, what were some of the other plans discussed by the United States?
• Why did President Harry S. Truman ultimately decide to use the bomb on Japan?
• What did we learn from the use of these weapons?
• How did using the bomb change the future, not only for the U.S. but for the world as a whole?