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Consequences Of The Atomic Bomb

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In August of 1945, the United States military was beaten, battered, and eager to end World War II. The Germans had surrendered, silencing the European theatre, but the Japanese threat remained in the Pacific. The American forces knew that invading Japan would cost nearly half a million lives, an amount which President Truman felt could not be sacrificed. In an effort to end the war quickly, with minimum American lives lost, the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. Now, seventy-two years later, it is easy to look at the ramifications of the atomic bomb and call America’s actions unwise and catastrophic, but the leaders of the American military saw the bomb as the only option to end World War II. The dropping of the atomic bomb effectively ended World War II, but its consequences not only drastically affected the people of Japan, but also presence of nuclear weapons in modern militaries. President Truman knew that in order for the country to recover the war had to come to an immediate end. However, the only option the United States leaders saw to end the war was to drop the atomic bomb. Doing what he thought best for his country, Truman decided to bomb Nagasaki and Hiroshima. The bomb dropped on Hiroshima instantly killed 70,000 people and the bomb on Nagasaki killed 80,000. Combined deaths from the aftermath of the bombs, including injuries and radiation, amounted to over 200,000. Due to the massive casualty amount and the lasting

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