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Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

The Pew Research Center conducted a 2015 survey showing that 56% of Americans support the atomic bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki from WWII, while only 34% oppose the bombings.

The study highlighted the impact of the respondent’s generation, showing that 70% of Americans 65 and older support the bombings, while only 47% of 18- to 29-year-olds support the bombings. Younger generations of Americans are less supportive of the bombings, according to the Pew Research Center statistics. Political leanings also impacted responses according to the survey. 74% of Republicans support the bombings while 52% of Democrats support the bombings.

American approval of the US dropping the atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki has decreased steadily since 1945. A 1945 Gallup poll showed that 85% of Americans approved of using atomic weapons on Japanese cities, while only 10% disapproved. Forty five years later in 1990, Gallup conducted another poll and recorded 53% of Americans approving the bombings with 41% disapproving the bombings. Another 2005 Gallup poll echoes the findings of the 2015 Pew Research Center study by finding 57% of Americans approved the bombings while 38% disapproved.

While the poll data from The Pew Research Center and Gallup show a stark drop in support for the bombings over the last half century, Stanford political scientists have conducted research supporting their hypothesis that US public support for the use of nuclear force would be just as high today as in 1945 if a similar yet contemporary real life scenario presented itself.

In a 2017 study conducted by political scientists Scott D. Sagan and Benjamin A. Valentino, it was found that 67% of Americans support the conventional strike with use of atomic force in a hypothetical situation that killed 100,000 Iranian civilians over the other hypothetical option of an invasion that would kill 20,000 American soldiers.

On the other hand, a 2010 Pew survey showed that 64% of Americans approved of Barack Obama’s declaration of US abstinence of nuclear weapons against a nation that did not have them, showing that most Americans have a conflicted view on use of atomic force.

Relevant sources:

Pew Research Center 2015

Gallup Polls

Stanford University

International Security Journal

Pew Research Center 2010

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