The Atomic Bomb

The beginnings of the Nuclear Age started when Albert Einstein wrote to President Franklin Roosevelt warning him of a dangerous weapon the Nazis had begun researching, known as the atomic bomb. (1) Though, when President Roosevelt first read this letter, he was too preoccupied with events in Europe to be bothered with such ideas. He at the time did not take the creation of such weapon to seriously, nor did he believe America had the resources for such a task. (2) Finally, on October 19, 1939 President Roosevelt wrote back to Einstein stating that the United States had begun to research the power of uranium. (2) With the help of the British, whom reluctantly gave the United States leadership on this project, in June of 1942 the Manhattan Project had begun, though most of the world had no idea that this was even happening, not even Vice President Truman. (2)

The dropping of the atomic bomb was the first of many nuclear projects. The first project was called the Manhattan project. Three bombs were created, one was a test, and the two others were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, cities in Japan. These bombs created mass destruction for the two cities; buildings were obliterated, fires erupted, and radiation spread for miles. After foreign countries saw what the United States was capable of, countries all around the world started to develop their own nuclear weapons, creating a surplus of weapons of mass destruction. “Today, eight countries in the world have nuclear arsenals (weapon supplies). The United States and Russia (formerly part of the Soviet Union) have most of the world’s nuclear weapons. Other countries with nuclear arms include China, France, India, Israel, Pakistan, and the United Kingdom” (Kroenig). Following World War Two, the Soviet Union and the United States were leaders of nuclear weapons. This period was called the Cold War. Forty-five years of potential nuclear destruction loomed over the Soviets and Americans. It wasn’t until after the Cold War that diplomats created the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty. The Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty, or NPT for short, recognizes the United States, Russia, China, France, and the United Kingdom as nuclear weapon states. Nearly every country in the world is a member of the treaty, even if they do not possess nuclear weapons, by law they state that they are a nonnuclear

With the start of World War II the race for the first atomic bomb started. With Germany under Hitler’s reign, the Nazis began separating uranium to form the first atomic bomb to control the world. The push for the United States build the first atomic bomb began with this knowledge. With the help of several scientists the United States succeeded in building the atomic bomb first. Two atomic bombs were used; a uranium bomb on Hiroshima and a plutonium bomb on Nagasaki. Along with the many deaths were six stages of A-bomb illness which includes acute stages, atomic bomb trauma, A-bomb radiation illness, radiation blood injury at lethal dosage, blood injuries, and secondary radiation illness. Seven unhealed scars were also an effect of the atomic bombs that includes keloids, A-bomb cataracts, leukemia, cancers, chromosome changes, exposure in utero and microcephaly, and genetic surveys. Regulations and guidance were set in place soon after the bombings to protect the people of the world based on the information that was gathered and it has changed over the years based on the new information that was learned. With the use of the atomic bombs in World War II, a lot of pain and suffering was caused, but a great deal of information was learned to help protect future generations from radiation.

“ The atom bomb was no ‘great decision.’ It was merely another powerful weapon in the arsenal of righteousness.” This quote was said by Harry S. Truman the first President who used an atomic bomb. The program that was able to create this monstrous power was known as the Manhattan Project. Creating this weapon was their main priority. The United States was in the midst of World War 2. The atomic bomb is considered to be the main factor that ended that war. It was a race against the multiple enemies of the United States, to be the first to acquire this power and use it when necessary. The Manhattan Project was kept strictly confidential and, created the foundation of the future and more powerful nuclear weapons to come.

Thesis: The dropping of the atomic bomb during World War II by the United States on Japan was a justified act. Not only was the dropping of the atomic bomb used to save American lives, but it prevented the war from lingering on, taking the lives of more civilians. The bomb did not just make sense, but it saved lives, despite taking some, therefore making the atomic bomb a reasonable action. It is not war mentality to think of preserving the lives of innocent people when the safety of the world is at stake. World War II, taking place in Japan, was likely to continue to linger on which would produce more deaths in the long run. In a book entitled, Thank God for the Atomic Bomb, by WWII soldier, Paul Fussell, he noted that "The people who preferred an invasion to a bombing seemed to have no intention of proceeding to the Japanese front themselves. I have already noted what a few more days would mean to the luckless troops and sailors on the spot....on Okinawa, only a few weeks before Hiroshima, 123,000 Japanese and Americans killed each other. War is immoral. War is cruel". By saying this it proves that although dropping the atomic bomb had some consequences, not dropping it, and letting the war carry on had far worse outcomes, and those who did want an invasion were not willing to go fight for it, again proving the high demand for the wars end. Then, in a speech made by President Truman he explains, "My chief

The Manhattan Project was a research and development project that produced the first nuclear weapons during World War II. The Manhattan project was the invention of the first two nuclear bombs, Fat man and little boy. These two bombs were dropped on Japanese islands to end World War II.

The dropping of the atomic bombs in Japan was a very helpful source for the United States during the WWII. President Truman, took the responsibility of dropping and creation of the atomic bomb. For the reason that The United States was seeking revenge on Japan for the attack at Pearl Harbor. The atomic bomb caused a high number of innocent Japanese deaths and also awful sickness. The atomic bombs left a big impact in the Japanese empire; also effected the Japanese at the time of the atomic bomb and the generation following. There were several manners that led to the usage of the atomic bomb, yet the usage of the atomic bomb caused a lot of negative effects for the people of Japan.

During the 20th century, specifically the year 1945, the United States of America had two atomic bombs that the commander and chief, and president at the time, Harry Truman, knew about. President Truman plan was to drop the bombs on two of Japans cities, Hiroshima first and then Nagasaki. Truman’s plans went accordingly, which to this day leads to a very controversial topic on whether or not dropping the atomic bombs was a good or bad thing. There is evidence and reasoning to back up both claims, in which everyone is entitled to their own opinion. However, in my opinion, I believe the choice of Harry Truman to drop the two atomic bombs was the right choice because it saved lives, helped end the war faster, and it was merely the only choice for the sake of the American soldiers.

The people of America are the one nation in world’s history to subject many human beings to the atomic bombs purposely. That fact is well known to many people, but too little Americans think that the atomic bombing of Japan by the U.S. in August of 1945 in such cautious terms. Before the bombings occurred, there was a debate which was limited to the few top officials who knew of the secret of “tube alloys” and secret “S-1”. Once there was an announcement of the bombings, those who were amongst the war, overall accepted these acts had properly vanquished the destructive Japanese who forced the U.S. into war through their infamous sneak attack on Pearl Harbor years before. The Japanese no longer seem apparent and multiple people have an

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.

The dropping of the Atom Bomb is one of many historical events of the World War II. The Atom Bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, two Japanese cities. The two nuclear bombs were dropped by the Americans at the end of the war, more specifically on August 6th and August 9th in 1945. The reason for these events is to this day, not clearly understood by many, but for the Americans it was believed to be the best way to end the war. The attack being so controversial, in this paper, I will give my view on this harmful event and I will attempt to explain the different arguments used to justify the dropping of the weapons on these two cities.

The harbinger of Death was finally at the command of humankind. The arguably darkest days of armed conflict, characterized by the brightest of lights, was a result of unlocking the power of the atom. In an instant and a flash, at the Trinity test site, the nuclear age was born. The United States Army had its bomb, but the bomb was just the beginning. The United States Army Air Forces realized not only the tactical advantage of wielding such power, but the most effective means of exercising that power. The inception of the 509th Composite Group, 1st Atomic Bombardment coupled with the advent of the B-29 Superfortress offered the United States the means to devastate Japan, destroy their will to fight, and ultimately silence the Japanese

The dropping of the nuclear bombs by the United States on Japan did not win the war but they did end the war but the dropping of them and the damage they caused was unnecessary. Reynolds describes in the text how technological and medicinal advances like radar and penicillin won the war not nuclear weapons. The nuclear weapons were more trouble then they were worth according to sources in Reynolds book “In vain they argued the program had cost up to 50 percent more, with a price tag of some $3billion. To no avail. The world war had ended with a atomic bang, not an electronic whimper” . In the text the author describes how the war was ending and the allies were closing in on Germany and Japan but the U.S instead of wasting more time and losing

On August 6th, 1945 Akihiro Takahashi, a 14-year old boy, never made it to school. Instead, he was engulfed in a “tremendous heat” and left on the side of a Hiroshima street to watch his own flesh melt off his body (Takahashi). Later that week, despite surviving the dropping of the atomic bomb on her city, Eiko Taoka would watch helplessly as her infant son died of radiation poisoning--something she blames herself for to this day (Taoka). There are thousands of stories like these, and each one describes the incredible destructive power behind atomic weapons and the deep wounds they leave behind. Even now, seventy years after that fateful day, writers and filmmakers utilize the terror induced by the thought of atomic warfare in their

Upon securing victory in Japan, whatever relief the American people felt from winning WWII was tempered by the realization that science had just created a weapon that could wipe nations off the face of the earth. The atomic bomb, if other countries obtained the technology, could bring about a nuclear holocaust. This fear of technology could have stymied scientific progress post WWII. However, going into the Cold War, people once again put their hope in science and looked at scientific progress as a measure of whether they were beating the Soviet Union. This was most evident in the space race, as both countries invested large amounts of resources into their space programs. Somehow, both countries had decided that scientific research for going into space would be the frontier upon which they would fight their indirect war.