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Was The Atomic Bomb Justified Essay

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The US was justified to a very limited extent when dropping the atomic bomb on Hiroshima during World War 2 as Japan had been on the verge of surrendering due to not having any allies, having its navy almost destroyed, its islands were under a naval blockade, and its cities were undergoing air attacks. However, the US believed that it had been their only solution due to the Japanese attack on the US naval base. The US also believed that it could be used to keep the USSR in line.

Many people believed that the US had been justified in dropping the bomb as Japan had been continuously at war; with China, Britain and the United States. Due to this, the United States felt as if they had been obliged to stop the killing. Also, the Japanese declined the Potsdam Conference’s demand to surrender. Therefore, US President Harry S. Truman chose a solution …show more content…

Because of this Truman hoped that the U.S. atomic monopoly might offer diplomatic leverage with the Soviets. Therefore, many people, including Einstein believed that the dropping of the bomb was a political – diplomatic decision rather than a military or scientific decision which had been used to kick-start the Cold War rather than end the Second World War.
In conclusion, although the United States stated that they had used the atomic bombs to speed up the end of World War 2, they had not been justified to do so as they had not only caused extreme destruction to the physical and economical structure of the country and the emotional stability of the citizens, which could have been avoided. They had also caused the start of The Cold War against the Soviet Union as the threat of the atomic bombs forced the USSR to create their own nuclear

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