Hiroshima Bombing Effects

“In 1957, with the arms race in full swing, the Department of Defense had decided it was just a matter of time before an airplane transporting an atomic bomb would crash on American soil, unleashing a radioactive disaster the likes of which the world had never seem.” On August 6, 1945, the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, killing 20,000 soldiers and 70,000 – 126,000 civilians. On August 9, 1945, the second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, killing 39,000 – 80,000. A total of 129,000 – 226,000 people were killed in combining both bomb droppings. Dropping both atomic bombs on Japan was necessary to end the war because the military needed to end the war, the Japanese were given fair warnings

The estimates ranged from 268,000 to 4 million . The effect of the atomic weapons was felt in the short and long term. The death toll was 66,000 in Hiroshima and 39,000 in Nagasaki initially, but many of the casualties that initially survived died very soon due to the radiation poisoning . Large numbers developed. A myriad of people died in the first and second weeks after the bombs were dropped. In December of 1945 the death count rose to 160,000 from Hiroshima and 80,000 as a result of the Nagasaki attack . The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in addition, theoretically saved many Japanese lives. The economic and social situation in Japan was atrocious at the time. The Japanese were in the middle of a heated war with the United States and their lack of resources was beginning to become an insurmountable problem. Food rationing had become so extreme that one Japanese professor had the following to

The United States dropped their first atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945. The explosion was tragic, “90 percent of the city was wiped out and immediately killed 80,000 people; tens and thousand more would later die to radiation exposure” (Lemay and Paul). Innocent children and citizens would die.

The research for the first Atomic bomb took place in the United States, by a group of nuclear engineers; the name of this research was called, “The Manhattan Project”. On July 16, 1945, the detonation of the first atomic bomb was tested near Los Alamos, New Mexico. As the atomic bomb was detonated, it sent shock-waves across the globe, which demonstrated that nuclear power would forever change the meaning of war.

President Truman and the United States were not justified in using this weapon to force the Japanese to surrender. First of all, the use of this weapon was inhumane to the Japanese civilians. The weapon resulted in an estimated value of 129,000-226,000 deaths. Even after the tragedy, survivors were affected by the high amounts of radiation in their bodies. Most of them contracted cancer and faced the consequences of the bomb. Survivors had to battle burns, starvation, and even severe sickness. Survivors also had to battle with the “inner scars”, physiological damage to the brain. While they were treated for radiation illnesses, many were left traumatized, some the only survivors from their family. Some who still bore inner scars committed suicide. For the rest of their lives, the Hiroshima and Nagasaki survivors would be shunned by the Japanese society and haunted by the bomb's’ radiation. The usage of this bomb was inhumane

The Bombs were not as bad as people think it was. President Harry S. Truman had already warned that any attempt to invade japan would cause unusual acts that would bring the war to a brief end. Roughly about 90,000-146,000 people were killed in Hiroshima & 39,000-80,000 in Nagasaki,which most of the death occurred on the very first day of the bombings. The Army Officer made it seem like that was the only choice was the bomb but it really wasn’t.

During the early morning of August 6, 1945, after numerous years of conflict between the US and Japan in the Pacific, the Enola Gay, an American B-29 bomber, loaded with a new and destructive weapon, soared across the sky over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Seconds later, that new weapon- an atomic bomb that released its destructive energy by the splitting of uranium atoms- lit up the sky, killing nearly 80,000 Japanese civilians instantly. Three days later, the United States dropped a second bomb on the Japanese city of Nagasaki, which resulted in about 40,000 more instant deaths. Thousands of more Japanese civilians died over time due to radiation sickness, leukemia, and other types of cancer. After losing thousands of people,

The dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945 and Nagasaki on August 9th, 1945 was the first and last time the weapon has been used to date; the atomic explosions exposed the true potential of nuclear warfare whilst also highlighting the global superiority that America possessed at the conclusion of World War II. On August 6th 1945 “Little Boy”, a uranium atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima in an effort by the United States backed by the Soviet Union, the British and the Chinese to force a Japanese surrender. However American intelligence suggested no evidence of Japanese surrender which acted as the catalyst for the second use of a plutonic implosion type bomb, “Fat Man” on Nagasaki on August 9th 1945. The sheer force of the bombs reportedly killed 66,000 in Hiroshima and 39,000 in Nagasaki Japanese residents whilst injuring another 94,000 residents suffering symptoms of intense third degree burns.

Imagine you are standing in a city in Japan overlooking Hiroshima. Smoke in the distance and everyone frightened at the scene. Buildings collapse by the dozen and people rushing to their houses. You get inside and check the news Hiroshima was bombed. In 1945 the U.S. dropped 2 bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to stop Japan. The bombing of Hiroshima made an important impact on our history and culture.

Although historians may argue that the economically dropping the bomb on japan got us out of world war II, because it saved american lives.

On August 6, 1945, the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, then on August 9, 1945, the second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan. Japan surrendered on August 14, 1945, ending World War II. It is estimated that 200,000 lives were taken in both of the bombings. Prior to these bombings, during the Potsdam Declaration, Truman advised Japan that they would face “prompt and utter destruction” if they did not surrender. ( Miller Center, 2016 ) 1. ( The White House, 2016 ) 2

As the last shots of World War II were fired in Europe, the U.S. had a plan for their new advanced weapons of mass destruction. The atomic bombs were dropped on Japan in early August of 1946 (Kennedy). These bombs and their short-lived history have had a huge impact on modern warfare and the essence of power surrounding a country. The Manhattan Project began in a frantic effort to end World War II before the Germans got their hands on the technology. As a result of this project, countries could now interact differently in terms of warfare and how they handle hostile foreign affairs.

The time was 5:29 a.m., July 16, 1945 and out in the middle of the Jornada del Muerto desert which was about 35 miles away from the nearest town, Socorro, New Mexico, the United States ---for the first the human history --- unleashed the power of nuclear weapons. The detonation of the “Trinity” bomb release around 84 TJ which is equivalent to around 20 kilotons of TNT that created a massive crater at the ground zero bomb test. Those who had observed the detonation described as a “ball of fire” as if the “sun was coming up in the south”.

In Hiroshima, the bomb left 66,000 dead and a staggering 69,000 injured. Additionally, in the city of Nagasaki, 39,000 were killed and 25,000 injured. One survivor Yoshitaka Kawamoto, who was only thirteen years old at the Hiroshima bombing recounts his horrifying experience, “ All I can remember was a pale lightning flash for two or three seconds. Then, I collapsed. I crawled over the debris … Then, I found one of my classmates lying alive. ... It is hard to tell, his skull was cracked open, his flesh was dangling out from his head. These bombings targeted innocent civilians and killed indiscriminately, killing the young and the old all at once. As well as instantaneously killing civilians, atomic weapons were unique in the sense that they continued killing many from the side effects of

At about eight A.M on August sixth, 1945 the Japanese city Hiroshima was destroyed by the deployment of the first nuclear weapon, nicknamed “Little Boy.” Soon after, at about eleven A.M the following day, a second bomb was dropped, called “Fat Man” on Nagasaki. Together, these bombings caused massive destruction. The death total was well near 220, 000. Only portions of these deaths were from the days of the bombings, with an equal number occurring later in the year from exposure to radiation. More have died since from leukemia.