Why Was Hiroshima Justified

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On August 6th, 1945 the Enola Gay dropped the atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima, instantly killing 80,000 people. But was the atomic bombing of Hiroshima justified? The situation in the Pacific theatre at that time compelled the United States to drop the atomic bomb. The United States had issued the Potsdam Declaration which had allowed Japan extensive time to surrender. The atomic bomb prevented a full scale land invasion of the Japanese home islands and the decision to drop the bomb came from a committee of shared responsibility made up of experts. The atomic bomb brought an end to a conflict that could not have been ended through conventional terms. The atomic bomb shortened the span of the war which consequently, saved numerous Allied and Japanese lives. Had the atomic bomb not been dropped Operation Downfall would have gone underway. This operation would have been a US led allied effort to invade the Japanese home islands. It consisted of two phases Operation Olympic and Operation Coronet. These offenses would place allied troops on the islands of…show more content…
However, the Japanese did not see themselves as defeated and continued to fight on. On the 26th of July, 1945 the United States issued the ‘Potsdam Conference’. This ultimatum gave the Japanese a chance to accept surrender. It laid out decent terms of surrender and would not cause severe punishment. On the contrary, if Japan did not agree they would face “Prompt and utter destruction” [Asia For Educators, 2009]. When the United States coined the phrase ‘prompt and utter destruction’ they were implying the use of the atomic bomb. When the conference was issued it laid out decent terms of surrender and would not cause severe punishment. Additionally, the United States Air Force dropped thousands of leaflets on potential targets prior to the atomic bombing. The pamphlets warned of the power of the atomic bomb. “To The Japanese
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