Hydrogen Bombs During The Korean War

When President Truman authorized the use of two nuclear weapons in 1945 against the Japanese in the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end World War II, the nature of international security was changed irreversibly. At that time, the United States had what was said to have a monopoly of atomic bombs. Soon thereafter, the Soviet Union began working on atomic weaponry. In 1949, it had already detonated it first atomic bomb and tensions began to heat up between the two countries. With the information that the Soviets had tested their first bomb, the United States began work on more powerful weapons1, and a fight for nuclear superiority had begun.

The world will never be the same again with the creation of the bomb because it effects not only the United States and the USSR but the rest of the world as well. As a new idea in the world, a more destructive bomb is considered an unimaginable concept. Once the world learns of the Hydrogen Bomb and its and that it is more destructive than the atomic bomb, the world will fear the United States and will change its view on the American people. With the creation of the hydrogen bomb ideas of America will be negative: “a large part of the world believe that we are going far beyond any possible military needs, that we have abandoned our program peace and are resigned to war” (pp.4), America would look like it was preparing for war and the creation of the hydrogen bomb would get the USSR’s attention, leading to a continuation of the present arms war, potentially leading to a breakout in war between the two most powerful countries in the

The cold war in conjunction with the nuclear arms race raised a countless number of dangers that were new to Americans. One of the most obvious risks raised by the nuclear arms race was the blast of the bomb itself. The bombs that were emerging were only getting colossal, and the effects were reaching potential world destruction. For example, the atomic bombs used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were minuscule compared to the Hydrogen bomb, which the U.S built to stay ahead of the Soviet Union. But as history has shown itself, the Soviet Union came kept up with the competition and created a Hydrogen bomb as well. Now both countries possessed bombs that could decimate out entire countries.

Technology has allowed for the furtherance of warfare, from the invention of gun powder to the splitting of the atom. These findings have propelled the leap of numerous nations’ in the ability to wage war against each other. Of these discoveries, the splitting atom spawned an invention that would hurl the world from conventional warfare into the nuclear age. These ideals were the brainstorming of some of the greatest minds in America and abroad. These scientists began to formulate the creation of the atomic bomb, a device that would change the world in ways that had never been imagined before.

The decision to drop the atomic bomb, made by President Truman, was largely influenced by political factors rather than military factors. Traditionalist historians argue from the military perspective that the bomb was used to end the war as quickly as possible and with as minimal causalities as possible. Revisionist historians, on the other hand, argue the political perspective where they believe that the bomb was dropped as a diplomatic tool to intimidate the rising superpower that was the Soviet Union. In 1945, there was little reason to doubt the traditionalist perspective; however, in retrospect, with the evidence now gathered and available, it was very likely there were other strategic reasons that played a larger role in the decision Truman had made. By observing the historical timeline, the Cold War began shortly after World War II. Truman was aware of the rising power of the USSR and the threat of the spread of communism into Europe and Asia. The fear of this threat was what likely influenced him and Congress to use the bomb more so than the desire to end the war more efficiently.

Throughout the Cold War, two hostile alliances, the United States and the Soviet Union, were involved in the conflict regarding the Korean War. One of the main radical actions the Soviet Union carried out was the 1949 explosion of an atomic bomb, which terminated the monopoly of the bomb in the United States (“Us Enters the Korean

The Atomic Bomb or known Atom Bomb was created by a scientist, which assembled the first bomb. He and General Leslie Graves officially and successfully tested it in New Mexico, July 21, 1945. Despite this, two refugees from Italy and Germany in the early 1940’s, Enrico Fermi and Leo Szilard were the first to ever produce a controlled chain reaction. The bomb was created to use during WW2 and end it. This was big for America as president Franklin was notified that Germany was working on a similar weapon to use on America and its Allies. This bomb was needed to win the war and it took approximately 160,000 lives as a result while also having many affects on the people then, the people today, and the environment (Henretta, Edwards, & Self, 2012). The US was the first and only country to this day to drop an atomic bomb on another country, not once, but twice. This did end the war; however, the results were quite devastating to Japan. The environment and lives lost were all greatly impacted however, the world as a whole would be impacted for years to come. It also had its political reasoning behind it to show the global power of America. The devastation caused by the bombs also created deterrence from using them in the future at the time. Furthermore, now as other countries have improved technological

The USSR “perceived this as a serious threat” (Brezhkov), in comparison, Stalin's actions were viewed as threats to the West. With increased tensions between the two nations, the Cold War was soon to break out. Moving forward, in the year of 1952, the United States had successfully exploded a new hydrogen bomb “The detonation destroyed the island and sent up a three-mile-wide mushroom cloud” (Glider-Lehrman). Seeing the successful testing of a new bomb, that was supposedly stronger than an atomic one, would put any nation in a defensive state. Amidst the Cold War, the hydrogen bomb test of 1952 would result in the Soviets being constantly aware of the major threat the US has now imposed for many years to come.

Controversy: (n) Disagreement, typically when prolonged, public, and heated. The decision to drop the atomic bomb was one of President Truman’s and America’s hardest decisions. It would put an end to one of the deadliest wars but take the lives of many innocent people in the process. To this day, people wonder if it was worth it. Despite the controversies and barriers for the decision to drop the bomb in early August 1945, America committed to the total annihilation of Japan. One controversy over the dropping of the bomb is the fact that Japan was not given fully-disclosed about information of the Atomic bomb when given the chance to surrender unconditionally. Another pending problem was the thought that the enemy could develop and utilize atomic technology before we did. Finally, the question that made scientists and Truman think was, “Would the bomb end the war or prolong it, and was it worth it?” Therefore, it is clear that Robert Oppenheimer’s speech, “Speech to the Association of Los Alamos Scientists,” 70 scientist “Petition to the President of the United States,” and www.ushistory.org “The Decision to Drop the Bomb” all definitively discuss the controversy involved the decision to drop the bomb, caused by people’s opinions on not giving Japan all the information, the possibility of Japan developing similar weapons, and the need to end the war.

First, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki marked the beginning of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. During World War II, the United States originally used the atomic bomb as a means to end the war with Japan. Many historians, however, believe President Truman had an ulterior motive behind the use of the weapon. The Soviet Union planned to create a series of communist buffer states after the war, but this did not bode well with American interests. Thus, America used the atomic bomb in Japan to deter the Soviet Union and have more influence in post-war decisions (Davis 398). This action would start a period of rivalry and uncertainty for both countries. From this point on, political decisions made were greatly influenced by the opposite

This began as the United States secretly built atomic bombs. Initially, the United States believed that they were the only country with nuclear weapons. Because of this, United States President Harry Truman told secrets about the nuclear weapons to all it’s World War II allies, except Russia. According to the New York Times article “The Rosenberg Trial” by Sam Roberts, in 1949 a United States spy plane cruiser flying off Siberia detected abnormally high levels of radioactivity. This showed that the Soviets were now a part of the nuclear arms race. Later that month, it was found out that Soviets had infiltrated the secret American atomic bomb program. Both countries proceeded to build up their supply of nuclear weapons to intimidate the other. This escalated into the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. The New York Times article “The Cuban Missile Crisis” by Anthony DePalma states that this clash began when it was found out that Soviet leader, Nikita Kruschev, was secretly shipping nuclear missiles into communist Cuba and pointing them at American cities. This was done in retaliation to the missiles that the United States had stationed in Turkey, which were pointed at Soviet cities. This feud almost led to physical combat in the war. However, both President Kennedy and Kruschev were able to avoid physical fighting. The nuclear arms race led to increased hostility between the two superpowers, which led to the cycle of the two countries trying to provoke fear in the other, which was based upon fear that the other had instilled in

As the Korean War came to an end, superpowers America and the Soviet Union continued to test atomic bombs, more powerful and effective. However, after tests on an atomic bomb that had been fused, also known as the hydrogen bomb, the leaders and scientists of both countries were shocked by the results (technological advances are not always the best for the future). The immense destruction caused by this bomb would annihilate the entire human population if set in a war (which is why war is dangerous). At the same time, leaders came and went, each with their different ideas and opinions, as some believed that the bomb could only be used in total war, while others thought that the bomb could only be used as a way to threaten other countries into

The United States had been in war for almost four years. Over 416,800 American lives were taken, and four percent of the world's population was killed in World War II. America needed a way to end the war as quickly as possible with the fewest U.S. casualties. A Japanese invasion was considered, but it would put American lives at stake. With the invention of the atomic bomb, President Truman made the most debated decision: the decision to use the most deadly weapon ever invented- the nuclear bomb. It was a very controversial decision. On one hand, the nuclear warheads ended World War II as quick as possible. On the other hand, it created mass destruction and devastated the two cities targeted: Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Some say that the

The nature of the Atomic Bomb created a global and theoretical set of stakeholders that few other ethical dilemmas reach. In many ways this use of nuclear technology created the Cold War and the global fear of a nuclear Armageddon. At that time every citizen of the globe feared how the use of nuclear weapons would harm them and their world. The future is also a stakeholder in this conversation. The effects of nuclear fallout were not well understood at the time. Nuclear aftermath could last for decades and even longer, effecting the health and livelihood of all living things for generations to come. The information that could be collected and research opportunities created after a nuclear weapon detonation would be studied for centuries and will change medicine and research forever. Future citizens and scientists were also stakeholders in this decision.

After World War II, a new enemy was in the horizon: technology. In the 1940’s, the United States was the leader of the “Free World” paving a path and setting an example for the rest of the world to follow (Maland 191). Americans believed the misconception that “American society was sound, and that communism was a clear danger to the survival of the United States and its allies” (Maland 191). The U.S. maintained a policy of containment by fighting communism wherever it may be, and in a show of might in 1952, they detonated the first hydrogen bomb (Maland 192). Only a short year later, the mighty Soviet Union announced that they too had the Atom bomb (Maland 192). And, when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik in 1957, the United States became alarmed that they were falling behind in science and technology. Because the Soviets had the same capability to annihilate the world with the bomb as the United States, tensions between the two countries increase daily. But, this new war tactic brought into question man’s ability to make decisions of nuclear proportions with