Colin's Last Stand, Episode 39: Explaining (and Defending) the Nuclear Bombing of Japan (Patreon)

Explaining (and Defending) the Nuclear Bombing of Japan -- Colin's Last Stand (Episode 39)

In 1945, the United States dropped not one, but two nuclear bombs on Japan, ending World War II. The alternative to this controversial move? An invasion of the Japanese Home Islands that would have cost the lives of millions. Harry Truman, as it turns out, made the right call. CORRECTION: At 7:26, the video erroneously states Gadget's explosion as equaling a force of 20 million tons of TNT. The explosion was actually equivalent to 22 kilotons -- or 22,000 tons of TNT -- or 909 times less than stated. Oppenheimer is probably rolling over in his grave. I apologize for the error. Colin's Last Stand is free of baked-in ads, product placement, and other obnoxious forms of advertising because of your support. Please consider subscribing to CLS' Patreon to show your support for independent historical and political content: http://www.patreon.com/colinslaststand Twitter: @notaxation Instagram: @clsmoriarty Facebook: /colinslaststand Reddit: /r/ColinsLastStand Colin's Last Stand is a product of Colin's Last Stand, LLC PO Box 1233 | Santa Monica, CA 90406 Still images in this video were acquired from the following sources, for which Colin's Last Stand is thankful: AbeBooks, Atomic Heritage Foundation, Shutterstock (with license), US Army War College, Wikimedia, and Wikipedia. Bibliography/Reading List: http://time.com/4346336/atomic-bombs-1945-history/ https://www.osti.gov/opennet/manhattan-project-history/Events/1945/hiroshima.htm https://www.osti.gov/opennet/manhattan-project-history/Events/1945/nagasaki.htm https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1946/12/if-the-atomic-bomb-had-not-been-used/376238/ http://theamericanpresident.us/images/projections.pdf https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/books-and-monographs/the-final-months-of-the-war-with-japan-signals-intelligence-u-s-invasion-planning-and-the-a-bomb-decision/csi9810001.html https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/books-and-monographs/the-final-months-of-the-war-with-japan-signals-intelligence-u-s-invasion-planning-and-the-a-bomb-decision/final.pdf http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a528442.pdf http://ssi.armywarcollege.edu/pubs/parameters/articles/1994/1994%20silkett.pdf http://thediplomat.com/2014/08/how-hiroshima-and-nagasaki-saved-millions-of-lives/ http://prospect.org/article/american-war-dead-numbers http://www.wearethemighty.com/articles/todays-purple-hearts-were-first-made-for-the-invasion-of-japan http://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4078&context=gradschool_theses https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/nuclear-weapons-are-the-uss-instruments-of-peace/2013/10/04/6f6969ba-2d14-11e3-b139-029811dbb57f_story.html http://nationalinterest.org/feature/no-other-choice-why-truman-dropped-the-atomic-bomb-japan-13504 http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/how-a-hiroshima-survivor-helped-remember-12-u-s-pows-killed-by-bomb/ http://www.nationalreview.com/article/422300/truman-made-right-call-and-its-probably-why-im-alive-tell-tale-tom-rogan http://blog.nuclearsecrecy.com/2015/03/06/to-demonstrate-or-not-to-demonstrate/ http://www.atomicheritage.org/history/debate-over-japanese-surrender https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/08/13/germany-won-respect-by-addressing-its-world-war-ii-crimes-japan-not-so-much/?utm_term=.76e6851b831b http://militaryhistorynow.com/2013/11/06/the-campaign-to-conquer-japan-would-have-dwarfed-the-d-day-landings/ http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Operation_Downfall http://www.ushistory.org/us/51f.asp https://www.britannica.com/event/Manhattan-Project http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=12169 http://www.thedailybeast.com/us-planned-to-drop-12-atomic-bombs-on-japan