Review Of The Atomic Bomb Dbq

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Jeremy Schleicher

Period 4

Atomic Bomb DBQ

Thesis SFI

America's executive decision to use the atomic bomb on Japan was done for the sole reason of ensuring our power over the Soviet Union, and Japan's surrender was a mere side-effect of the bombing. During 1939 to 1947, numerous conferences were held to discuss diplomatic matters, and the importance of getting Japan to accept an unconditional surrender. The Japanese were already weakened because of the war, and the military predicted that they would eventually be forced to surrender in a short amount of time. Even the scientists who worked on the atomic bomb agreed that it was unnecessary to drop the bomb on Japan, because their surrender would be evident in the near future, however, there was still some dispute over whether or not it was necessary (Doc. G). Therefore, the United States' decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan had nothing to do with forcing the Japanese to surrender; it was only done to intimidate the Soviet Union.

President Eisenhower met with Truman in mid-1945 to convince him that the Soviet Union would deny everything from the Japanese besides a full surrender (Doc. C). This supports the idea that the United States only dropped the bomb because it was a necessary precaution to keep Soviet forces out of the war in Japan. During World War II, it was necessary to form an alliance with the Soviet Union in order to defeat Germany. Both sides knew that the other couldn't be trusted, yet they needed to defeat their common enemy, the German dictator Adolf Hitler. Therefore, this tenacious alliance was merely temporary. After the Potsdam Conference, Truman announced that the atomic bomb was complete, and ready to be used (Doc. E). The United States no longer had to rely on Russia for protection from Germany. The completion of the atomic bomb would put the United States in the top diplomatic position in Great Powers. The Soviet Union wasn't actually told about the completion of the bomb, yet they still found about the Manhattan Project, through multiple international spy networks, such as the KGB. Following this, in August of 1945 Truman justified his own reasons for dropping the atomic bomb on Japan through the use of radios (Doc. H). He justified himself by saying that the war would have carried on for much too long if the bomb had not been dropped and that he did it to saves the lives of our American soldiers, and also to intimidate Russia, who he still (accurately) claimed could not be fully trusted.

Military officials who had expressed discontent with Japan's conduct of war had predicted that Japan would be forced to surrender whether or not America actually dropped the bomb. This unease was shown through events such as the Internment of Japanese-Americans towards the west coast, and Japan's gruesome war conduct was shown in their fighting techniques. One such example of the horrors of Japanese warfare were Kamikaze pilots, suicide pilots who would use their planes as weapons to crash into the enemies. In 1947, the Secretary of War Henry Stimson declared that the war would not have ended until 1946 if it weren’t for the Americans to drop the bomb (Doc. A). As Secretary of War, Stimson took direct control of the entire project, and closely supervised the Manhattan Project as well. Both Roosevelt and Truman followed Stimson's advice on the bomb, and Stimson’s views often overruled those of military officers when they opposed his views with opposing opinions. Even American war officials agreed that dropping the atomic bomb ended the war quickly, and few will argue that point to this day. However, they acknowledge that Japan's offensive front was already exhausted, and would have eventually been defeated without the use of the bomb. (Doc. B) Therefore, it can be assumed that the United States ultimately did not drop the atomic bomb to defeat the Japanese, as victory was already evident. It must be assumed that the dropping of the bomb was done only to scare Russia. In early 1945, before the bomb was even dropped, Russia was threatening to enter into the war against Japan if they did not agree to an unconditional surrender. (Doc. D) The United States found it unnecessary for the Soviet Union to enter the war against Japan, and eventually used the atomic bomb to talk them out of their decision.

Atomic scientists agree as well that dropping the atomic bomb had absolutely nothing to do with Japan’s surrender. By this time in the war, Japan was basically already defeated. (Doc. F) James Byrnes, an atomic scientist, was another man who argued that dropping the bomb needed to be done in order to limit Russia's power and influence. Other scientists also agreed that the bomb was used to shorten the causalities, lengths, and basic costs of the war. (Doc. H) If the war had continues, it is predicted that monetary costs would have shot through the roof, creating prices that America simply had no intention of paying. So, another factor of dropping the bomb on Japan was to prevent the cost of the war from driving our country back into a depression.

Clearly, Japan's surrender was not the main goal of the atomic bomb. The goal was to instill fear in our growing superpower rival, the Soviet Union, and to put the United States in the top diplomatic position among world powers. The American government and military have both agreed that a Japanese surrender was evident in the near future. Atomic scientists have also justified that Japan's surrender was only an additional accomplishment, while the primary goal of the bomb was to intimidate Russian forces, and lessen their power on a global scale. In the end, dropping the atomic bomb was not just a way to end the war with Japan, but another chance for America to show their enemies just who holds the power, atomically speaking, of course.