Nuclear Weapons And The World War II

The end of World War Two in Europe, or V-E day made two things very clear. First, that America showed itself as a world power, and the second was that Russia had no intentions of leaving the land it had taken on its way to Berlin. With the war in the pacific still ongoing, the Americans had to turn its focus to the war on the islands and deal with Russia afterwards. Eventually in July of 1945, an end to the pacific theater of war came (V-J day) with the dropping of the two atomic bombs, little boy and fat man, on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The decision to drop the first bomb was made by new president Harry Truman, and was not only used to force Japan into an unconditional surrender, but also to intimidate the Solviet Union.

As World War II was coming to an end during 1945, the creation of one of the most destructive weapons known to humanity occurred within the United States. This weapon, known as “the atomic bomb,” was used on the two Japanese cities: Hiroshima and Nagasaki, resulting in a death toll unprecedented by any military weapon used before and an immediate, unconditional surrender. Some historians believe President Truman decided to drop the atomic bomb in order to intimidate the Soviet Union whereas others believe it was a strictly military measure designed to force Japan’s unconditional surrender. In the Report of a Scientific Panel of nuclear physicists, some scientific colleagues believed the atomic bomb was a “purely technical

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 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.

America’s use of the atomic bombs on the Japanese cities also opened the door to other countries challenging them through their own use of nuclear bombs. Many have criticized that the atomic bomb was an act of “muscle flexing” due to the sheer power and destruction caused by the decision to drop the two bombs. (Nicholls, 67). Not only were these bombs a demonstration of the power that these nuclear weapons had, but they were a testament of power that the United States now held. Never before had a country surrendered in war without first being invaded, so the decision to drop the bomb and Japan's subsequent surrender were extremely significant (Baldwin, 39). These bombings didn’t just impact the Japanese, but the whole world and gave way to

President Harry Truman’s use of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan during the Second World War is the most controversial decision in history. While it was an undoubtedly difficult decision, it was indeed necessary in order to end this six year war that had ravaged the world. While many critics argue that the bomb was used primarily as an act of vengeance toward Japan, simplifying such a crucial moment in human history downplays the very real threat Japan posed to the United States. While avoiding strained relations with the other Allied countries, Truman had to assess the possible danger of the Soviet Union in a post-war world. Furthermore, the possibility of an arms race, the moral implications of using this weapon, and

“As Yale Professor Gaddis Smith has noted, it has been demonstrated that the decision to bomb Japan was centrally connected to Truman's confrontational approach to the Soviet Union” (Donohue 2012). The atomic bomb served as a potent warning to the Soviet Union. In this respect, Hiroshima and Nagasaki may have been the first shots of the Cold War as well as the final shots of World War II. Regardless, the United States remains the only nation in the world to have exercised a nuclear weapon on another nation. The bombs did, however, bring a close to the most destructive war in

President Harry S. Truman decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan is perhaps the most controversial act of policy in United States history. One of the many different reasons given for the use of this weapon was the shock effect it would produce in the Japanese foreign policy circle. While the shock of the Japanese will be discussed later, it is important to note that it had a similar effect on the west. This shock effect has caused countless authors to speculate as to the motivation behind, and effects of this revolutionary weapon.

To fully examine the factors that led to the United States to drop an atomic bomb on the city of Nagasaki, one can look at the event as a result of two major decisions. The first decision concerned the use of newly developed nuclear weapons in lieu of other military techniques to secure a timely Japanese surrender. The second decision was to use several of these weapons instead of only one. Although the Truman administration displayed little hesitation or ambivalence over the decision to use atomic weapons (Walker, 51), it is important to examine what factors contributed to these swift actions.

On August 6, 1945 the United States dropped the first ever atomic bomb on Japan, which effectively ended World War II. The dropping of this atomic bomb was a momentous event in history. The decision to drop the atomic bomb has been analyzed as to why it was necessary, how it impacted morality, and also a question that had arisen was: if the United States was in a situation to do it again, would they drop more atomic bombs? The governments reason as to why the bombs were dropped was that they were the swiftest way to end the war and save millions of lives that could have been lost if the war raged on, but some think the United States dropped them in large part to intimidate the Soviet Union. Why did the United States build the atomic bomb

Nonetheless, the power of the bomb had convinced the world of its horror it even amazed its inventors. The surrender of Japan was not the only thing that compelled the use of the bombs. President Truman knew that they would have eventually given in, but he had them dropped anyway “as a way of scaring the Communist Soviet Union into peaceful post-war behavior” (Collier, 81). The bomb impressed them and stopped them from asking for joint occupation of Japan. This was a major feat because that is the major reason why Russia joined the war hastily in 1945 in the first place. They sensed a victory for the U.S and perhaps the spoils of war for themselves.

When the United States created the atomic bombs during World War II, American officials questioned when and where the bombs would be used. A select group of people comprised of, “government officials, military advisors, and scientists” were brought together in order to decide how the United States should proceed with the new

Toronto, Canada---- Since the end of World War Two, the United States and the Soviet Union have experienced a number of political clashes. From the Marshall Plan to the Korean war, to testing nuclear weapons, and to the use of missiles, the United States and the Soviet Union have definitely established a divide between the two empires. The growing dependence of the United States in Europe and Great Britain has increased imperialist speculation from the USSR. However, the United States justifies their presence though the policy of Containment, in its attempt to defend democracy. Also since post World War Two, there has been a massive increase of arms in both the Soviet Union and the United States. From the booming economy of the war and the devastating atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the United States became a global superpower. The need for efficient nuclear weapons suddenly became an obsession. In 1952, the USSR managed to develop their own Atomic bomb, which threatened the position of the United States. And from there an arms race began. The use of nuclear weapons is an extreme that neither empire wishes to reach, however, the public is not certain.

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.

Another hypothesis set forth for the utilization of the nuclear weapons was the developing intensity between the United States and the Soviet Union. It was turning out to be progressively clear from the behavior of the Soviet Union that there would be a part inside of the associates taking after the war. The United States and Britain felt that the Soviets were not to be trusted, and a show of Western military force was important to maintain