Nuclear Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

220,000 dead. (Bernard, 2010) Most of these deaths from civilians. Thousands of lives ruined. The cause of the nuclear age, which would later bring the Cold War. This was all because of the atomic bombs dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. But what if I told you that it was necessary to drop these bombs. That the consequences would’ve been far worse if the U.S. decided to invade Japan. The United States of America was right to drop the A-bombs because it prevented more death from both sides, allowed the U.S. to become a superpower following WWII, and the act ended the war earlier. The dropping of the atomic bombs saved the lives of many people.

Intense moral justification was needed in order to make the decision to drop the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki however, President Truman was ultimately the man who made the final decision to launch ‘Little Boy’ and destroy Hiroshima, Nagasaki and their civilians, thus forcing an end to the war. Although there were many alternatives presented to President Truman, it is unknown as to whether they would have actually succeeded in ending the war or producing less casualties. Truman made the decision to drop these bombs in the heat of war but his justification of having a military target appeared extremely unrealistic, as both cities were full of innocent civilians. The morality of the bombs have been debated over the years, however the publication of the actual damage to civilian life caused a strong voice opposed to the usage in the 60 years following the action.

Between 1945 and 1960, the United States was confronted with a colossal predicament. A Cold War had emerged between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. This war did not involve any direct attacks between the two, instead indirect confrontations. Subsequently, the war took a massive toll on the U.S. An era of high tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union posed a communist threat to America.

The first bomb in Hiroshima killed 140,000 people by the end of 1945. The explosion its self killed 80,000 people instantly. The other major toll the bomb took on the city was the fact that it had killed 60,000 people in the next five years due to sickness from radiation from the bomb. The second bomb Fat Man killed 70,000 people by the end of 1945. Fat man killed 39,000 people instantly but left 25,000 people injured from the blast. If people who had cancer from the radiation that adds close to another 100,000 people who died from the second bombs. In the next five years 140,000 people died from sickness due to the bomb. In total in the five years after the bombs exploded 210,000 people died from effects from the bomb.

There are many opinions on who started the Cold War, whether it be the USSR’s fault or the United States. With old trust issues rising up again, the next forty years resulted in constant tension and aggression between the two rival powers. But, when it’s time to place the blame for this tedious conflict, it is clear the United States can be blamed, for they were constantly imposing their greater power, and led the USSR to lose their trust due to international acts of aggression from the US. From 1945-1991 the US took action abroad to stop the USSR from gaining more global power, they misinterpreted Soviet motives, and threatened the USSR with acts of aggression through major bomb threats. With both nations having different motives after WWII,

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 Cold War was a time where the U.S. was transitioning into the world’s greatest power. There was so much political unrest in Russia that it was no surprise when the two most powerful countries came to a head.

Winston Churchill recognized this concept, in addition to the struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union. Foner explained Churchill thinking’s by saying, “But not until March 1947, in a speech announcing what came to be known as the Truman Doctrine, did the president officially embrace the Cold War as a foundation of American foreign policy and describe it as a worldwide struggle over the future of freedom” (page 898). The ideological conflicts that existed clearly brought tension along with it, alongside the struggle for

In 1945 America committed an act that some consider to be one of the most destructive acts in the world. It has been questioned why America would execute the devastating dropping of the bombs, nicknamed fat man and little boy, on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War two.

On this day seventy years ago, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Nagasaki, killing about 80,000 people, most of which being innocent men, women and children. Most of the deaths occurred on the first day of the bombing, with tens of thousands dying over the next few months from burns, radiation sickness, injuries, illness, and malnutrition.

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.

By bombing Japan, many civilians were killed as a result of the U.S. 's desire to use a new weapon. Laurence describes the bomb as, "a thing of beauty to behold" and "Never before had so much brain power been focused on a single problem" (11). This demonstrated how the U.S. saw Japan as a problem that needed to be dealt with quickly and that the new and supposedly destructive weapon was the best choice. While the targets, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, were both production areas ,they were inhabited by a number of civilians. By choosing to drop the bomb, thousands were annihilated and any survivors began to suffer from radiation sickness shortly after. Because of its destruction, the U.S. believed the atomic bomb was a quick solution to the war.

Would you kill a thousand to save millions? Well the drastic actions taken by the United States did save millions. There were two actions that had to occur to save the millions and end the war, the dropping of the two atomic bombs being the first of their kind were to be the most powerful bomb ever invented using atomic and nuclear forces so create it and packed over 20,000 tons of TNT and was about ten feet long. The bomber that transported and dropped them was called the 'Enola Gay’. The two Japanese cities’ that were struck by such creations were Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In this essay I will be discussing on how the actions taken by the United States of America were completely justified in dropping the two bombs as is established a future power image, saved millions, ended the war and ended the axis of evil.

The ‘Cold War’ is one of the most interesting ‘wars’ fought in world history. The sheer number of countries both directly and indirectly involved is enough to pose the question – To what extent was the Cold War a truly Global War? This essay will examine this idea. It will identify two main areas of argument, focusing on the earlier part of the conflict (1945-1963). Firstly it will examine the growing US and Soviet influence in the world post 1945. Secondly it will examine three main conflicts, the Berlin Blockade, the Korean War and the Cuban Missile Crisis that these two super powers were involved in. Overall this essay will argue that the Cold War was no doubt a truly global war.

On the 6th November 1945, a United States bomber flies over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The only cargo aboard that B-29 bomber was an atomic bomb waiting on its target. At 8.15am the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, taking 140,000 lives with it. Most of the 140,000 died instantly, horrifyingly the rest of the innocent civilians that were not in direct contact with the bomb died painful deaths in the four months following. They died from radiation sickness and different types of cancers.