Atomic Bomb: The Cause Of Death And Destruction

One of the most controversial and heavily scrutinized issue of the twentieth century was President Harry S. Truman’s decision to unleash atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. The motives behind Truman’s actions are shrouded in controversy as top military officials publicly denounced the use of such a disastrous weapon. There is overwhelming evidence supporting both sides of the decision, as historians are split in opinion. The United States had been using conventional bombing to try to push Japan over the edge to surrender, but with countless Japanese civilians loyal to their country, invading Japan proved to be more problematic than first thought. Harry S. Truman made the ultimate decision of dropping the atomic bomb in hopes that it would end the war, but the amount of casualties caused by it has historians questioning if it was morally right, “The bomb was unfortunate, but it was the only means to bring Japan to a surrender,” historian Sadao Asada states (Bomb 9). Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were justifiable because they would ultimately lead to the end of the war and would demonstrate U.S. supremacy.

The birth of the Atomic bombs was during WWII, when the nations around the world were fighting against each other, due to disagreements between one another. At the beginning of the war, America was at a stalemate because they did not want to get involved in the war. Even though they were not involved in the war they were helping friendly allies with food supplies and ammunition. And then there was island to the east of the Korean peninsula, also known as Japan, who suddenly decided to send a full blown aerial attack on american territory. In december 7, 1941 Japan launched a full blown attack on Pearl Harbor, an American naval base. This was the turning point of WWII because this spark America to enter into a war. What the enemy did not know, was that the U.S. had a secret under their hands, and that was the weapon that would bring an end the war. An According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. the first Atomic Bomb was build in Los Alamos New Mexico during WWII under the Manhattan Project ("Atomic Bomb." Encyclopaedia Britannica”). But after the bombs were drop the suffering of the Umany people, gave way for the questioning of the actions, some of these questions were : was it the right thing to do, what effect it had in the places that the bomb were dropped, how was America affected before, during, after and the bombs were dropped, what effect did the people had after experiencing the explosion, but the most important

With the start of World War II the race for the first atomic bomb started. With Germany under Hitler’s reign, the Nazis began separating uranium to form the first atomic bomb to control the world. The push for the United States build the first atomic bomb began with this knowledge. With the help of several scientists the United States succeeded in building the atomic bomb first. Two atomic bombs were used; a uranium bomb on Hiroshima and a plutonium bomb on Nagasaki. Along with the many deaths were six stages of A-bomb illness which includes acute stages, atomic bomb trauma, A-bomb radiation illness, radiation blood injury at lethal dosage, blood injuries, and secondary radiation illness. Seven unhealed scars were also an effect of the atomic bombs that includes keloids, A-bomb cataracts, leukemia, cancers, chromosome changes, exposure in utero and microcephaly, and genetic surveys. Regulations and guidance were set in place soon after the bombings to protect the people of the world based on the information that was gathered and it has changed over the years based on the new information that was learned. With the use of the atomic bombs in World War II, a lot of pain and suffering was caused, but a great deal of information was learned to help protect future generations from radiation.

The atomic bombs might have killed thousands, but the bombs also saved millions. Before the war even started Japan had a grudge on America for cutting off of their oil supplies. Germany lost to the allies after hitter committed suicide. Japan was the last remain axis power. When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, America had a right to join the war and get revenge. When America dropped the bombs, they did their best not to harm many civilians. Also they saved more lives than they took. The atomic bomb was the best way toned the war efficiently.

2.4 Perspectives: The atomic bomb → cold war In August 1945 two atomic bombs were dropped on Japan; Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Atomic bomb finished World war two but did it lead to the Cold War between USSR and the US? David McReynolds believes that the bomb was to show strength and power, as that is why the US dropped the bomb. President Harry S Truman’s perspective states that the bomb was dropped to end World War 2, so he could bring his troops home.

Just to provide historical background information on the issue I am about to address I will first set the scene. On the morning of December 7, 1941, hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor near Honolulu, Hawaii. The attacked lasted a little over two hours, but it was devastating: The Japanese managed to destroy nearly 20 American naval vessels, including eight enormous battleships, and almost 200 airplanes. More than 2,000 Americans soldiers and sailors died in the attack, and another 1,000 were wounded. The day after the assault, President

“If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the mighty one.” – Robert Oppenheimer. The Manhattan Project was the research and making of the world’s first atomic weapons. This was a major asset that led the U.S into beating Japan and caused the war to cumulate. The Manhattan Project brought nations together, took the necessary measure to end World War II, and gave America multiple industrial advancements used in modern day warfare.

For decades, people have been debating whether the United States was justified for the attack to Hiroshima, Japan. The nuclear bomb was made in the south western for the sake of the United States under top mystery conditions. The Manhattan Project was constructed by Dr. Robert Oppenheimer who was a German Jew that fled from the Nazi party. For a long time, the Germans and Americans were in a race to finish the bomb first. It was viewed as a stupendous achievement when on July 1945, in the New Mexico betray, the primary nuclear bomb exploded in a trial. On August 6, 1945, an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima by The United States.

This investigation focuses on the use and necessity of the atomic bomb in World War II. To what extent did the atomic bomb dropped by the United States during World War II save lives? This will be investigated using websites, books, military accounts, and newspaper articles. Military calculations of what potentially could have happened had the United States invaded Japan instead of dropping the bomb will be researched. Also, information from the Manhattan Project, reinterpretations of the event, and military strategies of several countries will be used. The physical effects of the bomb on the victims will also be considered. Alternate opinions of why the bomb was dropped will be discussed.

However, notwithstanding the horrifying and destructive nature of these results, there is yet another extremely disastrous result of the atomic bomb: the firestorm. The thermal radiation from the explosion ignites countless fires on all flammable surfaces within a wide radius. Furiously overturning fire hazards such as stoves, heaters, and furnaces as well as rupturing gas lines and causing short circuits, the blast wave intensifies the already precarious situation. Indeed, the blast wave also breaks windows and blows in fire shutters, which causes better ventilation for the fires. The debris from all the fallen buildings creates much more vulnerable fuel for the fire as well. When all of these individual fires started by the combined efforts

Without the bomb, we would have kept on fighting until all Japanese were destroyed, killing more people than with the bomb. About 140,000 people were killed or died within months when the atomic bomb hit Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945. A couple days later, about 80,000 people died after the U.S bombed Nagasaki. The U.S decision to develop and use the atomic bomb during WWII was to end the war, reduce the amount of American and Japanese casualties, and to destroy Japan’s war production sites, eventually ending the war.

The creation of the atomic bomb came about after Albert Einstein warned President Franklin Roosevelt about the Germans experimenting with nuclear technology and recommended its military potential for the US. The Manhattan project was then commission to research and build atomic weapons. After the surrender of Germany and Italy as well as the death of President Roosevelt, Harry Truman was thrown into the driver’s seat and had to deal with last fighting Axis Power, Japan. Truman assembled multiple committees of high ranking military officials in order to decide whether to use the atomic bomb to force Japan’s surrender. The committee members came to a unanimous decision that the atomic

Since the beginning of the construction of the atomic bomb in 1942, 100,000 scientists have worked on the Manhattan Project. During its time, the Manhattan Project was the largest collaborative scientific achievement recorded. It was the largest collective scientific effort ever undertaken. The project required thirty-seven different work sites, thirteen university laboratories, and many esteemed scientists. The Manhattan Project was also considered one of the most secret military projects in history. On August 6th, 1945, as US B-29 bomber plane dropped the first atomic bomb over the city of Hiroshima, the bomb approximately killed 80,000 people upon detonation. Another bomb would eventually be dropped on the city of Nagasaki only three days later, this time killing 40,000 people. After hearing the news of the bombs being dropped, a wave of joy and satisfaction swept across the nation. This reaction seemed to be shared between white and black citizens. Most Americans did not see an issue with using the bomb because it was used as revenge for Pearl Harbor. Meanwhile, African Americans were hoping to be rewarded with equality due to their roles in the war. African Americans viewed the war as an opportunity to display their loyalty to the United States of America. The African American reaction to the bomb was very different from the majority of America’s reaction, rather than celebrating the revenge against the Japanese they took pride in their role leading to the

On August 6th, 1945 the very first atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. A second atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Nagasaki a few days later. This was the largest attack a country had ever seen before and there were many different views on whether the bombs were necessary or not. Like any conflict, there were groups that were against dropping the bomb such as the Wall Street Journal and groups that were backing the decision to drop the bombs such as the New York Times. Each of these newspapers interpreted the bomb’s necessity to end the war, the way that the United States viewed the use of the atomic bomb, and the feelings of the public towards the atomic bomb very differently.

On the 6th of August 1945 America dropped the atomic bomb by the name of ‘Little Boy’ dropped by the plane ‘Enola Gay’ on the Japanese city, Hiroshima. Three days later on the 9th of August America dropped another bombed called, ‘Fat Man’ on the Japanese city of Nagasaki. A surrender was received and accepted by America on the 15th of August and the war against Japan had ended. Harry S. Truman, the man responsible for dropping the bombs claims it ended the war more efficiently and was in fact the best option but many suspicions arose as news from Japan came to light and the utter destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was revealed. It was never formally called a war crime but it should have been.