The traditional argument is that the United States of America dropped the atomic bomb on Japan to end World War Two without invading the Japanese home islands.
Those who oppose this view argue variously: that the United States of America dropped the bomb on Japan because the Japanese insisted on keeping their emperor and would not surrender unconditionally, or that the USA did it to “show the Soviets who is boss,” or that the bomb was expensive. The USA needed to prove that it was worth the cost. The adjacent arguments against the traditional viewpoint are that the bombing was unnecessary because the projected casualties of invasion were exaggerated; the Japanese asking only to keep their emperor was pretty close to unconditional as that is only one condition; and the United States could have just blockaded the Japanese.
However, the counterarguments against the traditional view tend to depersonalize the decision to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. The heart of the matter is one question: Why did Harry S. Truman drop the atomic bomb?
