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Steven Forbis
6/1/2008
His-4000
Dr.
Morrill
The atomic age came not with a whisper, but with a deafening roar that
claimed the lives of at least 140,000 people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The
decision to thrust the world into this new era did not come lightly, as many
different factors were taken into consideration before America dropped the
two bombs over Japan. In his book entitled Hiroshima: Why America dropped
the Atomic Bomb, Ronald Takaki delivers to the readers his opinions on
the factors leading up to the detonation of the bombs over Hiroshima and
Nagasaki. His book is intended for readers of all backgrounds as he presents
his ideas in a very easy to follow format, complete with an appendix citing
his many references. Takaki’s references are a good example of primary and
secondary sources, including notes from President Truman’s diary and
interviews with the men and women closest to him. Takaki’s thesis is that
his book is intended to stir up debate about the commonly accepted ideas why
America dropped the two atomic bombs on Japan.
It is generally understood that America dropped the atomic bombs in order to
force Japan into a position where they had to surrender the war in the
Pacific. The surrender would save presumably hundreds of thousands of
American lives. It could also be agreed upon that a secondary effect of the
bomb would be to show the Soviet Union the military might of the United
States. This muscle flexing would hopefully make dealing with the Soviets an
easier task. While Takaki discusses both of these reasons in length, he then
delves into a realm of assumptions and unverified psychological diagnoses.
He devotes a chapter to going in depth on President Truman’s racist
background and his verbal abuse as a boy at the hands of the other
neighborhood boys. Takaki then makes the connection that these childhood
jeers and jokes were cause of America dropping the bombs on Japan. Takaki
brings into evidence that Harry Truman needed to assert himself in such a
fashion that no one would question his inherited presidency.
Takaki also questions the necessity of dropping the bombs on Japan when they
were already negotiating the terms of their surrender. Though he discusses
the ideas of “unconditional surrender”, Takaki fails to piece together
fragments from his own arguments. If Truman was so “insecure” about his
“accidental presidency”, then what would give Truman the political clout to
turn his back on policy set forth by his predecessor, the beloved President
Roosevelt. The unconditional surrender, Takaki states, became not only
policy, but a slogan for the American people. To abandon this and negotiate
with the people who instigated the Bataan Death March would be political
suicide.
All this being said, Takaki completely follows his thesis idea of stirring
up debate regarding the atomic detonations. He presents a myriad of evidence
that could be used as a starting point for further research into some very
interesting topics. His views are non-conformist, which is very refreshing
in today’s one sided views of this time in American history. His writing
style is very matter of fact, which makes for a difficult time separating
truth from supposition. In truth, the ability to write In such a fashion
that makes the writer truly question the things that are generally held to
be true is the goal of every major literary figure; Takaki seems to do this
with great ease.
What Takaki fails at, however, is assuming his readers are incapable of
overlooking obvious holes in his ideas. Yes Takaki presents evidence
supporting his claims, but the claims he makes are so absurd that it seems
like he is stretching to prove his case. Especially in the case of a
President, one can take all kinds of sound bites and quotes and pervert them
to make them say almost anything the writer wants them to say. This is what
Takaki does to help prove his outlandish claims. He snips, cuts, copies and
pastes his way to verifying his points. He manipulates the written word in
order to make it fit into what he is trying to say. Takaki also has no
qualms about putting a price on American lives. He cites a report in which
193,000 American soldiers would be killed or wounded in a land invasion of
south Japan. Takaki claims that this number is far less than the 500,000
lives that might have been lost had we not dropped the bomb. The question
now is, does Takaki claim that 193,000 soldiers hurt, killed or missing are
worth less than the 140,000 enemy that we killed by dropping the bomb?
Takaki fails to realize that America was at war during this time and all
measures must be taken to ensure the highest number of soldiers were
returned home.
In conclusion, it is easy to look back at a time period and say that one
might have done something a different way than history would tell it. While
Ronald Takaki’s book ultimately fails in shining any new light on the
background of America’s decision to drop the atomic bombs, it succeeds in
stirring up debate on subjects that most people have not explored yet.
Takaki’s book should be taken as an example of good writing, but not for its
factual evidence.
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