The Atomic Bomb Of Hiroshima And Nagasaki

Was it necessary for Truman to drop the Atomic Bombs on Japan in World War II? On August 6, 1945, the first atomic bomb was dropped by a US aircraft on Hiroshima. This atomic bomb was dropped to force Japan into surrender, this bomb alone destroyed Hiroshima and over 90,000 people were instantly killed in the explosion and an additional 100,000 people perished from burns and radiation sickness. On August 9, 1945 only three days later, the second atomic bomb was dropped over Nagasaki resulting in an additional 80,000 casualties of the Japanese population. The people of Japan surrendered on August 14, 1945 soon after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Many people opposed to the use of the atomic bombs because people argued that Truman 's decision to use atomic bombs was a barbaric act of cruelty. People also argued that the US government had other ulterior motives to drop the atomic bomb that were necessary for America 's ideals. Necessary motives like presenting The Soviet Union a strong message for the Soviets to watch their step around America. A conventional way of warfare for Japan 's surrender would have costed many more American lives. Truman and others believed that the atomic bomb was necessary to save American lives but also Japanese lives. These actions from President Truman marked the end of the most destructive war in history. The two sources that will used and evaluated in this paper are is The Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb by Dennis D. Wainstock (1996)

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.

Well known scientist Albert Einstein, who fled from Nazi persecution, and Enrico Fermi who escaped Fascist Italy, were now living in the United States, on which they both agreed that the President should be enlightened of the vulnerability of atomic technology that was in the hands of Axis power. Fermi made an attempt and travelled to Washington in March to express his involvement with the government officials, who showed little to no concern. Einstein who as well shared a great concern in this topic; penned a letter to President Roosevelt imploring the development of an atomic research program later that year. Roosevelt saw neither prerequisite nor adequacy for such a project, but agreed to proceed gradually. In late 1941, the American effort to scheme and build an atomic bomb which received the code name as the Manhattan Project. The very first research was placed at only a few universities such as Columbia University, University of Chicago, and the University in California at Berkeley. The

During World War II Americans dropped atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki killing nearly 200,000 people. This resulted in Japans surrender in World War II. J. Samuel Walker analyzes this historical event in his book Prompt and Utter Destruction: Truman and the Use of Atomic Bombs. Over the past 70 years’ extensive research has been conducted and there is an understanding that Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bombs is inconclusive. It is impossible to determine that the use of the bomb was the quickest way to end the war. An analysis of President Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bomb reveals one challenge: was the decision to destroy Hiroshima and Nagasaki a show of good judgment.

The Manhattan Project was assembled when “in 1939 the world’s scientific community discovered that German physicists had learned the secrets of splitting a uranium atom.” (US History 1) This caused many people to panic and it was later agreed that this issue of the Axis powers developing nuclear weaponry should be brought up to the United States, which could perhaps stop the Germans from causing unspeakable destruction to much of the world. Scientists Albert Einstein and Enrico Fermi, who both were living in the United States after leaving their previous countries to escape from either persecution or just leave the fascist state that Italy was currently in. Fermi was the scientist that went to Washington in order to express his concerns about this development of the splitting of the uranium atoms but not many others shared his concerns. Once Fermi

        August 6, 1945 defines a pivotal moment in world history. At 8:15am, the United States

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

In 1945, a decision was made that would change the world. President Harry S. Truman gave the order for the United States to drop atomic bombs on the Japanese Empire. Now, almost seven decades later, that decision is still the topic of much debate. Why did Truman decide to use a weapon so destructive that it could kill hundreds of thousands of people at one time? Was the decision he made the right one? It is important to examine the factors that went into this difficult decision before taking sides. Critics argue that it was unnecessary and inhumane to use atomic bombs. It is no secret that the decision to drop the Bomb was terrifying and tragic; however, under the circumstances in World War II, the decision was a justifiable one.

Throughout the years people of debated about the droppings of the atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Some of the arguments against was that it was inhumane. Others have claimed the reason that the United States have dropped those bombs was to show the Soviet Union the power they had. I, however, disagree with both of those statements. It’s not because I do not care for the Japanese life, it’s because I believe this was the only way to end the war as soon as possible with less casualties. Yes, I realize it sounds a bit cruel and odd but I believe that the Japanese would not have stopped until they were relatively near genocide. Also to think that the American’s were trying to flex their muscle for the Soviets is a bit preposterous.

On August 6, 1945, the war in Europe was over and both the U.S. and Russia were concentrating on defeating Japan. When the U.S. decided to use the atomic bomb, 68 major cities in Japan had already been devastated by airstrikes. It was hoped that the bombing of Hiroshima with an atomic weapon would cause Japan to finally surrender unconditionally. That did not happen. Three days later on Aug 9, 1945 Nagasaki was bombed with the second atomic bomb. Japan surrendered unconditionally Aug 14, 1945. The United States had already been bombing Japan for years with a net effect worse than the outcome of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but Japan did not show any signs of surrendering. Why did the United States believe that it was justified to drop an atomic bomb that would kill tens of thousands of Japanese civilians? There are a few well documented reasons why the U.S. felt they had to drop the atomic bombs on Japan. The leading thoughts were that the U.S. wanted to end the war as quickly as possible with the added benefit of preventing Russia from gaining territory in Japan. It would also prevent the need for an all out assault on Japan, thereby preventing American casualties while demonstrating to Russia that the U.S.’s nuclear capabilities were in fact real.

After World War I, no one, not even the Head of Chemical Warfare, suspected such a weapon would be dropped on civilians in the near future. Prior to the development of the atomic bomb in World War II, gas bombing and incendiary bombing were prevalent (Rotter 5). The race to create nuclear weapons and the excitement of succeeding technologically is thought to have distorted the morality of those who decided to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These atomic bombings are plausibly the first and last of their kind, as increasing nuclear programs in countries worldwide promise mutually assured destruction to countries associated in such an ordeal. In the future, all countries involved in a war will need to tread carefully, as

There are many different ways in which WWII could have ended. Rather than taking the risk of dropping atomic bombs on Japan, many people believe that one of the alternative options would have been much more sensible. The variety of possible options the U.S. could have taken to finish the war have been analyzed for years. Though Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki is one of the most controversial and debated topics in history, this researcher believes that he made the right choice.

The atomic bombing of Japan was an unjustified decision that many considered was inhumane. Through the use of atomic bombs, many innocents were harmed in one way or another. Berger described the atomic bombing of Hiroshima as "a terrorist act" and that it was "evil". While Berger 's argument was extreme, the U.S. still remains unjustified because they did not know exactly how much damage the bomb would actually cause. Bombing Japan, the U.S. harmed thousands of civilians and displayed the effectiveness of the atomic bomb despite having other options to end the war.

In August of 1945, both of the only two nuclear bombs ever used in warfare were dropped on the Japanese cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. These two bombs shaped much of the world today.

On August 6, 1945, during World War II an American B-29 bomber dropped the world’s first deployed atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Three days later, a second B-29 dropped another A-bomb on Nagasaki, killing an estimated 40,000 people. Japan’s Emperor