USA Bombing of Japan
Use of Nuclear Weapons
The Whos, The Whats, and The Whys
Throughout the war, the U.S. had been doing secret tests and experiments (called The Manhattan Project) to develop this weapon of mass destruction. The plan was simple for the United States; issue the Japanese a last chance of surrender or face utter destruction, if Japanese did not comply, then drop the atomic bomb and see what happens.
Media Portrayal
Why was it necessary to use to end the war? The Japanese were not showing any signs of surrender at all throughout the war. Even when they were pushed back to there home island. The U.S. and other allied nations offered multiple times to the Japanese their unconditional surrender. Every time, the Japanese refused. The United States did not want to risk American lives with a bloody invasion of Japan. The only thing left to do, was to drop a bomb, or two, on them.
Other media claim that it wasn't at all needed to go as far as to drop a nuke on Japan. The fact that the atom bomb was equivalent to 12,500 tons of TNT, killed 70,000 people instantly, and burnt down the 4 square miles of the city of Hiroshima, seemed a little overkill. On top of the immediate devastation, the residual radiation, left by the bomb, affected many Japanese citizens years after the bomb was dropped.
Criticisms
Marxist criticism could also play a role. The United States was able to create the atomic bomb because they had the money and resources to do so. They also weren't afraid of the possibility of Japan having any nukes, because they knew Japan couldn't afford it.
My Opinion
Sources
-http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=SIN1403-0-115&artno=0000260630&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=Hiroshima%20%28Japan%29%2C%20History%2C%20Bombardment%20%281945%29&title=Tokyo%20Admits%20Hiroshima%20Destroyed%20by%20Atomic%20Bomb&res=Y&ren=N&gov=N&lnk=N&ic=N
-http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/suic/topic/actionWin?resetBreadCrumb=&query=&prodId=SUIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&display-query=&mode=view&limiter=AC+y&showDisambiguation=&u=avon12&displayGroups=&p=SUIC&action=e&catId=GALE%7CXGGVQA684988996&scanId=