Arguement to Alter World History The Modern Era to Favor...

I am a high school student writing to urge you to take a stronger position on the issue of the atomic bomb attacks against Japan in your textbook World History: The Modern Era. I understand your desire to examine the issue objectively and refrain from offending those with a personal connection to the event. However, it is my strong opinion that you should support one side of the issue, specifically the side in favor of the atomic bomb strike, for the reason that they were necessary. President Harry S. Truman’s decision to attack Japan with nuclear weapons, while criticized for moral reasons, was justified by the unyielding resolve of the Japanese people, the substantial remaining resources of the Japanese war machine, and massive estimated casualty rates associated with an invasion of Japan. By 1945 two of the Axis powers, Germany and Italy, had surrendered to the Allies; only the Japanese Empire persisted. Japan had been on the defensive for much of the war and now stood litt le chance of winning. Despite its many losses, however, the Japanese military retained sufficient manpower and resources to continue fending off an American invasion of Japan for an unknown amount of time. Without the usage of atomic weaponry, the war could have gone on indefinitely. According to Secretary of War Henry Stimson, an army of five million men was still fighting in defense of Japan (Doc 1). The United States may have achieved naval and aerial superiority, but any invasion of Japan would