Aside from the World War II that was fought with ammunition, there were many more wars (verbal and non-verbal) surrounding the main war; wars on morality and religion, wars on whether to please the electorate or take a firm individual stand, wars on liberation and equality of gender, class and race and wars of economic liberation. The decision to drop the atomic bomb in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan made by President Truman following an open assault by the Japanese is one that was embraced by some and greatly opposed by some based on the side of the spectrum each camp viewed the decision from. Was the decision well thought of and its execution necessary considering the facts and events that circumvented the results of the atomic bomb? The views that different schools of thought ascribed to are highlighted in chapter 23 on Document Project as seen in documents 23.5 and 23.6. Document 23.7 and 23.9 are personal testimonials and eyewitness stories from the innocent civilians in Japan who were caught up in the war between powers that they had nothing to do with. Document 23.8 is an eagle’s eye point of view, a perspective from an outsider dissecting the untold point of view on the war.
The creation of the atomic bomb was one marked with extreme secrecy, maybe fearing the reaction from the electorate which maintained a firm stand on neutrality and anti* in the European wars. The project, “Manhattan Project” initiated and funded by President Franklin Roosevelt’s administration was one whose eventualities under President Truman’s administration brings many calamities and even though the outcome was positive was challenged as to whether “the end justifies the means”. Document 23.5 was a petition that was drafted by scientists who were involved in the creation of the atomic bomb and who understood the imminent danger posed by the weapon of mass destruction when used in the wrong context. The project was endorsed by a German American Jew; J. Robert Oppenheimer attracted severe caution from the scientists who stipulated terms and conditions on the use of an atomic bomb. Before the use of the said weapon, the president was to rightly use their constitutional powers as the Commander-in-Chief to rule that such a weapon could not be used unless the use of which was made public and Japan failed to surrender and in the instance Japan upon knowing this failed to do so then which would transfer the mandate to the president to make a personal decision guided by morality and guidelines given by the document. Document 23.6 is a press release by President Truman on the events leading to the atomic bombing as a condition stated in Document 23.5. He states of how Japan failed to surrender after the first atomic attack justifying the unleashing of the second attack.
These two documents are surrounded by issues of morality, discrimination of race and on the role of the government towards its citizens. The federal government failed its people by conducting a private project that cost a hefty amount of money yet they did not have the finances to be undertaking such projects immediately after the economic crises caused by the Great Depression. The cost was reiterated to the citizens who started experiencing heavy taxation in the name of amassing military might and recognition. President Truman in authorizing the atomic attack fell way below the morality standards. Waging a war at the expense of innocent civilians, yet it was between government agencies and military regrouping, to the extent of stating that they would not stop at anything until all docks, factories, and communications were reduced, was a reason that had greatly been discouraged by the scientists who drafted Document 23.5. This would open up a window that could not be quelled as each power scrambles to secure atomic weapons. This project also set a bad precedent on racial prejudice. As a country known for its liberal mind, the federal government acted quite differently to this. They stereotyped people based on their origin instead of treating them individually. Oppenheimer and Fred Korematsu (a Japanese American) should have received the same harsh treatment since they were natives of the opposing side. However, they chose to oppress the innocent Japanese Americans treating them like spies and despite having no links or information on what their mother country was planning against the US. The concentration camps were dehumanizing and uncalled for. This was contrary to the belief that America was a land of opportunities and freedom for all having gone through the earlier wars against racial segregation and having a number of victories. They should have accorded equal opportunities and freedoms to all its citizens without considering their background. These were second age generations who had no ties to their country and knew America as their only home.
Document 23.7 is a photograph of a survivor looking back at the ruins caused by the atomic attack at Hiroshima. America had stayed true to its word and brought Japan to its knees. Document 23.9 is a memoir of a German priest, Father Johannes Siemes recounting the medical help they accorded to the locals who had been affected by the bombing. The injuries were large and small, fatal and non-fatal, simple and complex and treatable and idiopathic. No one case presented as the other. It was a catastrophe whose magnitude had not been envisioned as all the emergency responses had been destroyed along with the city. He gives a sad recount of an innocent young girl who was caught up in the battle of might of two opposing sides. In the Second World War, the children were amongst the biggest losers. The structures in the homes quickly shifted as men got enlisted in wars and due to absent fathers, mothers were forced to work to take care of their families. Children were left in the care of other children. This period was characterized by high juvenile crime rates. Change is inevitable but sometimes this change comes with negative consequences. However, despite this change women continued to be oppressed and demeaned in the society as weaker and inferior gender to the male gender. They received lesser wages for equivalent work done by male counterparts and lived with the harsh reminder that they were a temporary substitute for the men until the war ended and the men resumed their jobs. This set the pace for the liberation of women amongst other civil rights movements. The government was forced to recognize the needs of the people and address them to avert any more wars. America is a model for other countries and if they failed in addressing this then they would be setting an example to be mirrored by other countries in denying their citizens their rights and freedoms.
Document 23.8 is a strategic bombing survey conducted postwar by the US on the effectiveness of the war and bombing on the different war fronts. From this document, it is clear Japan would have conceded despite the atomic bomb. It was, therefore, an unnecessary move. Had the US maintained its neutrality and isolation from the European crisis, then the decision to drop the atomic bomb would have been averted. Being a superpower does not mean intervention, involvement or interference in other governments' issues and response to their internal affairs. The country has a moral obligation to help out where the citizens of said countries are being oppressed but should retain a non-military help because it only attracts revenge and hatred when matters go south. Pearl Harbor attack would not have happened resulting in so many casualties had the US not offered military support to the Allied Powers.
The documents all point towards the fact that the dropping of the atomic bomb was an irrational poorly thought of decision whose fatalities would have been avoided but only precipitated more strife amongst the involved powers and their citizens.
