Fearful cries spread through the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as the atomic bombs were dropped. Thousands of people were killed instantly, with the rest left critically injured. Eventually, it was measured that 135,000 people were killed as a result of these bombs. We know that many people were killed. But how and why were the atomic bombs created? Who decided to use them? These questions all contribute to the fact that the atomic bombs impacted the world greatly. It all started when World War II began in 1939. "Some scientists believed that Nazi Germany was building an atomic bomb. As a result, President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered the United States build one first." (Grolier Online) During the war, it was revealed that German physicists learned how to split an atom. Two scientists, Albert Einstein and Enrico Fermi, decided to notify the president of the dangers that the Allies will face if atomic technology is finalized by the Axis powers. Even though both warned Roosevelt of the dangers, he did not find it necessary to start a project. Eventually, in late 1941, the Manhattan project was created. Its purpose was to build an atomic bomb. The first atomic bomb was created at a laboratory located in New Mexico. It split a special kind of uranium called U-235 into two pieces. The pieces were not big enough to cause a chain reaction; but, they were brought together in a gun barrel. This created supercritical mass, and the mass would explode instantly. This was how the
The birth of the Atomic bombs was during WWII, when the nations around the world were fighting against each other, due to disagreements between one another. At the beginning of the war, America was at a stalemate because they did not want to get involved in the war. Even though they were not involved in the war they were helping friendly allies with food supplies and ammunition. And then there was island to the east of the Korean peninsula, also known as Japan, who suddenly decided to send a full blown aerial attack on american territory. In december 7, 1941 Japan launched a full blown attack on Pearl Harbor, an American naval base. This was the turning point of WWII because this spark America to enter into a war. What the enemy did not know, was that the U.S. had a secret under their hands, and that was the weapon that would bring an end the war. An According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. the first Atomic Bomb was build in Los Alamos New Mexico during WWII under the Manhattan Project ("Atomic Bomb." Encyclopaedia Britannica”). But after the bombs were drop the suffering of the Umany people, gave way for the questioning of the actions, some of these questions were : was it the right thing to do, what effect it had in the places that the bomb were dropped, how was America affected before, during, after and the bombs were dropped, what effect did the people had after experiencing the explosion, but the most important
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.
The creation of the atomic bomb, and subsequently the Manhattan Project, was created in response to the belief that the German Government was in the process of creating atomic weapons. This belief was expressed to President Roosevelt in a letter written to him by Albert Einstein, who introduce Roosevelt to the ability of atomic weapons and shared with him that the German Government had stop selling the crucial ingredient of uranium from their recently
On August 8th 1945 the first atomic weapon, a fission bomb, was dropped on the city of Hiroshima in an attempt to force the Japanese to surrender in World War II (Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, 2009). This event exposed the danger of nuclear energy. This massive explosion demolished 90 percent of the city and immediately killed 80,000 people. This was only the beginning though, tens of thousands of innocent people died due to the aftermath of radiation exposure for another generation (Rosenberg, n.d). This day marks one of the most controversial in history. While some argue that Truman’s decision to drop the bomb was in America’s best interest, others question the ethics of dropping the most destructive weapon in the history of war on a city filled with innocent civilians (Pavlik 1995).
The atomic bomb was initially created during the time period directly preceding, and including, World War II. Although the United States was the first nation to actually utilize this devastating weapon in a combat situation, it is significant to note that several other nations, including Russia and Germany, were also rapidly attempting to manifest the technology that could produce this devastating weapon. The U.S. utilized this weapon against the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki within two days of each other to conclude the war with the triumph of the Allied powers. Japan was largely chosen as a target since it represented the last of the efforts of the Axis powers which included Germany and Italy to win World War II. The widespread destruction sown in both of the aforementioned cities, however, quickly led to Japan's surrender and the end of the war.
The first atomic bomb was detonated in Los Alamos, New Mexico, July 16, 1945. The American government poured billions of dollars into the development of the atomic bomb. It had been 3 years since the Manhattan Project began. What fueled such an excited push to create such a weapon? In 1939, Leo Szilard wrote a letter and had Albert Einstein sign the letter, to give the contents accreditation, to send to the President of the United States of America, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The letter explained that Nazi Germany was stockpiling uranium in hopes of being able to create an atomic bomb. This letter would eventually lead to the creation of the Manhattan project in 1942. America developed nuclear weapons and started a nuclear arms race with the
The idea to make an atomic bomb was conceived after the discovery of the neutron and fission. After James Chadwick discovered the neutron in 1932, scientists began testing to see how it interacted with other materials. The scientists began
“The Atomic bombs killed 199,000 people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, according to Yale Law School library.” The historic atomic bombs that were made in the Y-12 project were dropped in Japan. This was a historic event because it killed innocent lives that had no place in the war, and was known as the reason why World War 2 came to conclusion of the Allies winning the war. “To produce the atomic bombs it took nearly 2 billion dollars, this was stated in ushistory.org.” Although many believe the atomic bombs were the foreseen solution to the end of the war the atomic bombs did not accomplish a solution but only tore families apart, destroyed cities, and committed a mass slaughter.
Eager to end WWII the atomic bomb was created to end the fight between Japan and the United States. The U.S. dropped it on the cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The atomic bomb was created with uranium (U-235) and by using fission it would form a large nuclear chain reaction that would be devastating. The creation of this mass destruction weapon was called the Manhattan Project. The project cost around two billion dollars. In mid-July, 1945, these bombs were tested to see if they would be successful at halting Japan. On August 6, 1945 a day in history and a day that will never be forgotten the U.S. dropped the atomic bomb “Little Boy” on Hiroshima in Japan. Three days later the second bomb dropped called “Fat Man” on the city of Nagasaki. The
The total amount of people that died from the dropping of the atomic bomb was immense. Here are the statistics. Within the first two to four months of the bombings, the acute effects of the atomic bombings killed 90,000–146,000 people in Hiroshima and 39,000–80,000 in Nagasaki; roughly half of the deaths in each city occurred on the first day.
‘The Atomic Bomb; a bomb which derives its destructive power from the rapid release of nuclear energy by fission of heavy atomic nuclei, causing damage through heat, blast, and radioactivity’. On August 6 1945, at 8:15 am local time, the city of Hiroshima in Japan, home to 350 000 people, became the first victim of the destructive war weapon. As of this vicious and devastating day, world history was changed forever. The long and short-term significance of this event shaped the way in which people then and today, live. Without this bomb, Japan would not have faced the inhumane murder of thousands upon thousands of its children, women and men, and the possible start of the Cold War between powers in the “Western Bloc” (the United States, and its allies) and powers in the “Eastern Bloc” (the Soviet Union and its allies in the Warsaw Pact). However, the bomb also initiated the advancement of medical science, and the end of World War II, with Japan surrendering. Regardless of whether the bomb dropped on Hiroshima in Japan had more negatives or positives, all historians can agree that it changed the path of the world’s history forever, and life on Earth would never be the same again.
The process of building the Atomic Bomb began during the Roosevelt Administration. In 1939, there was fear from scientists around the world that Germany was experimenting with the possibilities of nuclear warfare. Albert Einstein escaped from Nazi Germany and wrote a detailed letter to President Roosevelt expressing his concerns. There were developments in physics and chemistry to make the idea of using atomic energy as a possible weapon. If Hitler became in control of such weapons, there was no doubt that he would not hesitate to put them to use. The race to discover the effects of uranium and the chain reactions that it can create began officially in 1940. The project was officially operated under the Manhattan Project in 1941. During this
The citizens of Hiroshima, Japan awoke on August 6, 1945 to a seemingly normal, bustling day within the city. However, sirens blasted throughout the streets at seven in the morning, provoking citizens to take shelter within their safe spots. The world was at war and the threat of the enemy could have closed in at any minute. A wave of relief washed over their souls when the all-clear signal rang over the intercoms. However, they knew little about what was in store for their futures. An hour and fifteen minutes later, a tremendous flash of lightning covered the city and instantaneously blinded people. The flame of light shone brighter than the sun, leaving the city covered in white ash with shadows of figures painting the grounds. The United States had just attacked the city of Hiroshima with the deadliest weapon known in warfare and one that had never been used in combat throughout all of history: the atomic bomb. The use of the atomic bomb not only changed warfare for the rest of time, but also changed the lives of both Japanese and American citizens for decades to come.
Ironically, approximately twenty years later, the United States of America was blamed for doing just that. Arguably, the entire Atomic Bomb situation began on August 2, 1939, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt received a letter revealing by purifying uranium 235 one had the potential to create a bomb. It also revealed the efforts in Nazi Germany to create a bomb (Bellis 1). In response to this letter, a secret government project called the “Manhattan Project”, began (Bellis 1).
It has been seventy years since the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the end of the Second World War in the Pacific Theatre. However, the unconditional surrender that was favored by the Allies was only accepted by Japan after the Soviet Union entry into the “Greater East Asia War” and the nuclear devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It is a common myth in the Western world that the nuclear bombs “Little Boy” and “Fat Man” caused Japan to surrender and in turn saved the lives of thousands of American soldiers that were about to embark upon Operation Downfall, the invasion of Japan. However, decades after the war the idea that the nuclear bombing of Japan was a military necessity is not taken at face-value as it once was. Any historian who would explore the situation in the Pacific theater will find that most of the actions taken by the warring nations during the end were in reality very political in nature. This means that the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have a political necessity instead of a military one. This political necessity was which nation would ‘win’ the surrender of the Japanese Empire. The United States of America and the Soviet Union were racing each other for the surrender of Japan for different reasons. The Soviets wanted to make sure that their prize promised to them at the Yalta Conference would be upheld. On the other hand the Americans wanted to win Japan’s surrender before the Soviets could launch an invasion on Japanese home