Questions on "The use of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki".

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Questions on “The use of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki”

  1. What are (a) the similarities and (b) the differences (if any) in the justifications given by Byrnes (Source A) and Makins (Source B) for the use of the A-bomb?

The similarities between Source A and B are that both authors believe that the United States was under pressure and correct in dropping the bomb. The authors of the sources were Americans that were involved in the decision making whether to drop the bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki Source A states that, “….Any weapon that could bring an end to the war and save millions of casualties among American boys was justified…” a similar statement appears in Source B stating “Americans were poised for the invasion of Japan and it was estimated that that operation might cost up to a million lives.” Both these quotes show justification that that the dropping of the bomb on the two Japanese cities was necessary.

The differences between the two sources are that in Source A the author focus’s on bringing the war to an end by stating, “It was our duty to bring the war to an end at the earliest possible moment.” Where as in Source B, the author implies that the United States was under pressure and had to save face by fighting back and stating a point about the Japanese attacking Pearl Harbor. Makins states in his source, “In light of all the information that has been turned up since, there was, in fact, no alternative to using the bomb. It was designed to bring the war to an end and, in fact it did so.” Both sources justify different reasons that the bomb was dropped such as; Source B explains that this was an expensive war wit a heavy number in casualties and with all these lives lost poverty would increase and turn the government into communism. The United States believed that they dropped the bomb on Nagasaki and Hiroshima to save them from political deterioration which would have led into communism. Brynes states in his source that the bomb was dropped on the two cities to end the war and to save millions of lives, but he questioned if the Japanese really deserved it.

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  1. What are (a) the similarities and (b) the differences (if any) in the reasons given by Leathy (Source F) and Hart (Source H) for condemning the use of the bomb?

The similarities in these articles is that both authors agree that it was not necessary for the bomb to b dropped on Hiroshima or Nagasaki because Japan was ready to surrender as stated in Source F, “…the use of this barbarous weapon at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was of no material assistance in our war against Japan. The Japanese were already defeated and were ready to surrender…” and is ...

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