To Bomb or Not to Bomb

Paper Summary:

The question of whether or not it was necessary to drop the atomic bomb on Japan and the reasons for doing so is one of the most hotly contested historical issues today. This paper focuses on one of the many arguments against the necessity of the bomb, which deals with the policy of unconditional surrender. Many scholars argue that if Truman would have assured the Japanese leadership that Emperor Hirohito would not be dethroned after Japan's defeat, the atomic bomb would not have been necessary to end the war. The paper provides evidence to support this claim, but in the end, concludes that even the most ardent Japanese peace advocates harbored suicidal sentiments with regard to unconditional surrender and would still refuse to accept Truman's terms after both bombs were dropped.

From the Paper:

"There were many advocates pushing for a change since the beginning of the war, but no real progress was made in this endeavor even after 1944 when high ranking military officials pushed for a policy change. They complained that losses would be increasingly heavy as fighting neared the Japanese homeland. Realizing that changing the terms would make the Japanese more willing to surrender, commanders began pushing Roosevelt to consider clarifying them. Early in 1945, Winston Churchill proposed at the Yalta Conference that clarifying the terms "would be worthwhile if it led to the saving of a year and a half of a war in which so much blood and treasure would be poured out." He proposed that after Germany was defeated the Allies ?issue an ultimatum to Japan, retaining the unconditional surrender wording, but defining it to allow retention of the emperor (Newman, 65).? Many others began coming to the realization that Japan was not going to surrender without assurances to its Emperor, and that this issue was a major obstacle to peace."

More papers on To Bomb or Not to Bomb:

• Term Paper # 140124 : "The Atomic Bomb: A Bibliographic Essay"
• Argumentative Essay # 128620 : "The Atomic Bomb and the Japanese Experience"
• Research Paper # 4888 : "The Manhattan Project: The Building of the Atomic Bomb"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: