The creation of the atomic bomb came about after Albert Einstein warned President Franklin Roosevelt about the Germans experimenting with nuclear technology and recommended its military potential for the US. The Manhattan project was then commission to research and build atomic weapons. After the surrender of Germany and Italy as well as the death of President Roosevelt, Harry Truman was thrown into the driver’s seat and had to deal with last fighting Axis Power, Japan. Truman assembled multiple committees of high ranking military officials in order to decide whether to use the atomic bomb to force Japan’s surrender. The committee members came to a unanimous decision that the atomic
“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
September 1, 1939, marked the beginning of World War II. The war was long fought involving the three axis powers and several allied powers. Among those were Japan and the United States following Japan’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 (Praino, 2015). Hundreds of thousands of lives were lost amongst the battles from each side of the war. In 1939, Albert Einstein and Enrico Fermi fled to America and informed the elected officials that Germany had discovered new outbreaks in splitting atoms, which was one step closer to the creation of destructive weapons for the Axis power. With that news, American facilities launched a program that would later be codenamed “The Manhattan Project” which was the birthplace of the first nuclear atomic reactions. After the first reaction was created, it was a vicious cycle from there that continued to escalate. With the war reaching an all-time high in casualties, Truman was faced with a big decision as the programs had finally experienced breakthroughs to the atomic bomb. He could choose to remain in conventional war tactics and continue to prolong the war until Japan was ready to surrender, or attempt to save the lives of many American soldiers and citizens by dropping the atomic bombs onto two major cities in Japan (Praino, 2015). By choosing the latter, an estimated 225,000 Japanese lives were lost (Perkins, 2016) and the ethical merits of Truman’s decision are still questioned today while some views remain confident in the choice.
World War Two and the Atomic Bomb World War II is one of the most historic points in the history of the world. The war was by far the most devastating in the history of the world. There were many controversial actions during the war, but one of the biggest was the decision
They came, unwarned. On the 7th of December 1941, the Japanese executed a full-fledged attack on Pearl Harbor. They mercilessly created havoc, with attacks that caused the sinking of eighteen American ships, as well as 170 aircrafts. The casualties were dreadful, with 1,177 of those lost lives had been of the crewmen. The very next day, President Roosevelt declared war on Japan, and thus the United States’ involvement of World War II. Americans of every state were absolutely enraged and bent on their will for vengeance against the Asian country. Within the shadows of galvanized America, Robert Oppenheimer had set his infamous Manhattan Project into action. This project was so disclosed that only a limited number of men truly knew of its purpose. The clandestine project held prior securities to the point in which famous scientists had to use codenames in order to visit Los Alamos, even wives were kept in the dark, and only key scientists could bring their wives along with them. (Source D) This project had been the discreet creation of the Atomic Bombs. Time and time again, this topic had never really dissipated, its controversial who, what and whys prompting generations to debate its palpable purpose. Was the aim really focused for the “good of all?” Was it for America’s self-preservation and wish to promptly put an end to all of the suffering? Many Americans to this day still believe and argue for the usefulness of the atomic bombings, that the droppings were justified.
The dropping of the Atomic Bomb changed not only warfare forever, but also all international relations. With that being said, the decision to do so was one of the biggest decisions made by any government in the history of time. Nuclear warfare was way more destructive and way faster than any other form of warfare preceding. With the United States seemingly always viewed to be “the good guys” it is puzzling that this country is the same one who killed hundreds of thousands of people all at once and essentially ruined not one but two entire cities within minutes of dropping two single bombs. This decision was not taken lightly, and with basically two schools of thought, liberalism vs. realism, insisting to do so or not to do so, and realism won out. Realism and the many counterparts that strengthen this school of thought is what drove the decision to go ahead and drop the atomic bomb.
During 1941 through 1945 a war had occurred in the Pacific between the Americans and the Japanese this war was called The Pacific Theater. This war was also being fought during the duration of another World War against Germany and Japan but on May 8, 1945 Germany surrendered to the allied powers leaving Japan to still be dealt with. However Japan would not surrender even after the major battles between the Americans and Japanese in Iwo Jima and Okinawa. The Americans then came to conclusion to try and get to a new military weapon which then started the ManHattan Project. The Manhattan Project established a new powerful military weapon known as the Atomic Bomb. This new entirely militarized weapon was designed to force Japan into surrendering because Japan was still willing to fight even though they were on a brink of defeat and they were
Some regard the atomic bomb as “the thank God for the atom bomb”. This places God on the U.S. side and regards the bombs as our saving grace. This bomb forced the Japanese to surrender which in turn proved the U.S. to be the heroes who saved the American’s lives.1 The Americans intended on ending the war but did not expect to end it with such a large number of casualties. The results of the atomic bomb and how it effected the Japanese people both emotionally and physically will be addressed. “The bombs marked both an end and a beginning—the end of an appalling global conflagration in which more than 50 million people were killed and the beginning of the nuclear arms race and a new world in which
Bombing two major cities may seem wrong but it was necessary in order to come out as a successful nation. During World War 2 on August 6th and 9th of 1945 the United States was the first country to use an atomic device against an enemy. This enemy was the country of Japan. After the Japanese killed thousands of U.S soldiers with their ruthless and unexpected attack on Pearl Harbour the United States released two atomic bombs on their two major cities. These cities were known as Nagasaki and Hiroshima. After the bombs were dropped the war was put to an end. The use of the atomic bombs is a widely debated topic on whether their use was necessary or not. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were not only necessary to end the war but it was also necessary because many American lives were lost.
In the 20th century- 1945 to be exact- during World War 2 a burst of light followed by an immense explosion with more power than 20,000 tons of TNT headed for Hiroshima, Japan. This was the world’s first atomic bomb, and 3 days later another one was dropped but this time on the city of Nagasaki. The U.S. dropped these bombs in order to trap Japan in a corner and leave them no choice but to surrender. This controversial event has led many to wonder if it was in fact a military necessity and yes it was, not only did it stop the war, it saved the lives of many American and Japanese soldiers, and it stopped Japan from breaking the international laws of warfare.
Secretary of War, Stimson was able to raise the possible outcomes that will come from the use of the bomb on non-combatants. It would taint the United States ‘international standing and reputation” . However, Truman did not take the location of the city into consideration. Furthermore, he was not particularly concern with the targets because he believed the air force would take of that. He left that to the military officials that were in charge of the operation, but he wanted to women or children to get hurt in the process. Ultimately, Truman trusted his officials in the matters of the atomic bomb. He’s faith in his official determined the consequences that would erupt.
Perhaps the most controversial and heavily scrutinized issue of the twentieth century was President Harry Truman’s decision to unleash atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the summer of 1945. While the sequence of events preceding that fateful summer morning of August 6,1945 are fully understood, the motives behind Truman’s actions are shrouded in controversy. Top military officials publicly denounced the use of such a horrendous weapon, while the obvious advantages to the bomb, traditionalists argue, was a shortened Pacific War. Parallactic views between traditional beliefs and revisionist theories suggest that the issue is still very much unresolved. Why is the issue so hotly debated? Partially because of the overwhelming
Between 1944 and 1945, the Allies attacked Germany and the U.S. advanced across the Pacific to the doorsteps of Japan. In these last two years of war, Americans also created a new form of weapon that changed both warfare and global politics. With advances in technology, the Allied and Axis scientists were able to construct the most deadly, crucial weapon, the atomic bomb. Its creation started in 1942, when President Roosevelt presented the Manhattan Project as a priority in the development of the atomic bomb. However, the decision to use this mortal weapon fell into the hands of the new president, Harry Truman. He had to decide whether to save the lives of millions of Americans or to kill thousands of innocent Japanese families.
August 6th, 1945, 70,0000 lives were ended in a matter of seconds. The United States had dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima. Today many argue whether or not the U.S. should have taken such a drastic measure. Was it entirely necessary that we drop such a devastating weapon? To answer that first we must look at was going on in the world at the time of the conflict. The U.S. had been fighting a massive war since 1941. Moral was most likely low, and resources were at the same level as moral. Still both sides continued to fight and both were determined to win. Obviously the best thing that could have possibly happened would have been to bring the war to a quick end with a minimum of allied casualties. Harry Truman’s decision to