Ronald Takakis Hiroshima :: essays research papers

Although WW II cease over 50 historic period ago there is still much discussion as to the events which ended the War in the Pacific. The primary event which historians attribute to this end are the enjoyment of atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Although the bombing of these cities did force the lacquerese to pin, umteen people today ask Was the wasting disease of the atomic bomb necessity to end the warfare? and more importantly Why was the decisiveness to use the bomb made? Ronald Takaki examines these questions in his book Hiroshima.The official reason abandoned for dropping the bomb was to bring a quick end to tht war and save American lives. However, Takaki presents many different explanations as to wherefore the decision to use the bomb was made. He disagrees with the popular belief that the decision to use the bomb was made solely to quickly end the war in the Pacific and to save American lives. Takaki presents theories such as international conc erns, American sentiment, and racism in an attempt to more fully explain why this decision was made. The United States entered WW II immediately following the japanese encounter on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The U.S. entry was a major turning point in the war because it brought the strongest industrial chroma to the Allied side. The Americans helped the Allies to win the war in Europe with the surrender of Germany on May 7, 1945. However, the war in the Pacific continued. The war with Japan at this point consisted primarily of strategic bombings. America had recently effected an atomic bomb and was considering using this weapon of mass destruction for the first time. The goal was to force the unlearned surrender of the Japanese. Roosevelt had used the term unconditional surrender in a press conference in 1943 and it had since sour a central war aim. Truman and his staff (still feeling bound by FDRs words) demanded unconditional surrender from the Japanese. Consequently on July 26, 1945 Truman issued an ultimatum to Japan. This ultimatum stated that Japan must accept unconditional surrender or suffer divulge devastation of the Japanese Homeland. This surrender included abdication of the throne by their emperor. Japan was not willing to surrender their dynasty and ignored the ultimatum. On August 6th and August 9th, atomic bombs were dropped on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki respectively.