Sioson, Jorell E.

BSED – 2G

Surrender rather than defeat: The Hiroshima and Nagasaki Bombing

“Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.” This powerful quote from a
Hindu Scripture that echoed through our history was uttered by the man who is
responsible for creating the atomic bomb, a destructive invention that made World War ll
come to an end and the one who led the Manhattan Project, it is none other than J. Robert
Oppenheimer, a brilliant American theoretical physicist (Grebey, 2023). He is the reason
why the bombing occurred, however the real perpetrator behind the decision is the
Former President of the United States, Harry Truman. After the passing of the late
President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman took the position as the President on April
12, 1945. He was the 33rd president, and only a few months after he assumed the
position, he already faced a difficult situation where he had to make an important decision,
and that is to drop the atomic bomb against Japan. And on August 6, 1945, the decision
was made and the most devastating scientific advancement of the Manhattan project was
dropped on Hiroshima, and three days later, Nagasaki met a similar fate (Kagan, 1995).
According to the Atomic Heritage Foundation, (2014), Little Boy is the codename of
nuclear weapon dropped on Hiroshima, it is a gun type of device and it is fueled with
uranium. Meanwhile, the Atomic bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki was given the
nickname Fat Man. This is a bomb fueled with Plutonium and it is an implosion type of
device. These cataclysmic events created by a critical decision have resulted in significant
loss of precious lives and widespread destruction. By examining historical context, it is
apparent that several factors played a significant role behind the decision of the United
States to drop the atomic bomb on Japan leading to this pivotal moment in World War II
history. This study aims to focus on understanding the reason behind why the atomic
bombs were dropped on Japan twice. This paper also seeks to pinpoint the factors that
influenced Harry Truman's decision, by analyzing if it is driven by his political goals,
military, power, cultural, personal interest, or others by exploring the wider historical
context behind this pivotal event.

Numerous authors have tried to study and explain the reasons for using the atomic
bomb, but how many of them have reflected on its cruelties? As stated by Henry Stimson,
who wrote "The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb" in 1947 and was the current Secretary
of War during the World War ll Era, he stated that there was a meeting of the most
prominent nuclear physicists at his time, consisting of Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer, Dr.
Enrico Fermi, Dr. E. O. Lawrence, and Dr. A. H. Compton. They argued about the things
they should consider when using the bomb. First, Japan must be attacked as soon as
possible with the bomb. Second, it should be exercised against a dual target, which
includes a military facility or war plant that is close to or surrounded by residences or other
structures that are most vulnerable to destruction. And last, the weapon should not be
utilized before being informed of its nature. After a long run of discussions, Stimson also
mentioned that Kyoto is one of the included cities in Japan that is possible to bomb, but
due to the art and cultural heritage of the city, Kyoto will be left off the list. As a result, four
of Japan's remaining cities, including Nagasaki and Hiroshima, were included in the bomb
attack. On the other hand, as cited by Sean Malloy in his research year 2012, in the book
by Gar Alperovitz titled "Atomic Diplomacy: Hiroshima and Potsdam," published in 1965,
Alperovitz claimed that Japan was already defeated even without the use of nuclear
weapons. It is also stated in the journal of Martin J. Sherwin in 1995 that Japan is
"conditionally surrendered." In terms of political motives, American leaders already knew
that Japan would be defeated, but the words "defeat" and “surrender” are two different
things. And "conditionally surrendered" is not what the government want; they want
unconditional surrender from their enemy, so they can control it without any agreement
before the Soviet Union declares war on the Japanese people.
 Moreover, based on the written journal of Donald Kagan, "Why America Dropped
The Bomb" in 1995, he specified Truman's political goals since his resolution to delay the
meeting in Potsdam until the bomb was successfully created and tested. As mentioned
by, the main purpose of the bomb is not just about winning or losing but also to show its
power to the Soviet Union in order to stop them from advancing in Asia. However, a great
number of studies state that creating atomic bomb and demonstrating its destructive
power will be the end of the World War ll and will save hundreds of thousands of
Americans’ lives all at once. One of these is the by research of Matt Crogan in 2012 titled
"Reflections on the Atomic Bomb’s effect on America since its dropping on Hiroshima and
Nagasaki", he stated that invading the country would require a great number of soldiers,
and given the fact that their lives were at risk, many of them would have died.

Based on these historical context, I can therefore conclude that Truman’s decision
to bomb the country of Japan twice was all about politics. In his resolution, the majority of
it was about political motives. His intention is not just about saving his fellow Americans,
but it is just a factor of that. So, the conscience and the burden of his people were not as
heavy as his. It was all about politics among the three countries: Japan, Russia, and the
United States. As the bombing in Tokyo continued, Japan was still not able to surrender.
Therefore, Truman decided to bomb Hiroshima as soon as possible. However, after that,
Japan still refused to negotiate a surrender, which is why the second bomb attack in
Nagasaki happened. Truman wanted Japan to surrender conditionally, not to be defeated,
because those words are two different things. They also wanted to prevent the Soviet
Union from advancing in Asia. Among all of these reasons, they wanted to show how
powerful the United States is. When it comes to the geographical area of the two cities, I
cannot say that was the main reason why the United States chose to bomb the enemy
twice. Additionally, arts and cultural heritage were also reasons America chose to bomb
both cities in Japan. Nevertheless, those that I mentioned played a major role in why
Hiroshima and Nagasaki were chosen for bomb attacks and the reason why the United
States bombed the Japanese people twice.