The Bombing of Hiroshima Essay

The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were only a few days apart from each other and before they dropped the atomic bombs on those two cities, airplanes flew by and dropped leaflets warning the people of Japan warning them to evacuate the cities. The leaflets warned the people of Japan that they have the most destructive weapon possessed by man and the only reason they are forced to use said bombs is because Japan’s military leaders will not surrender to the United States (“WGBH”). While people believe that the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was unjustified, the U.S. was right in bombing Japan to defend their country and to not cause any more allied casualties.

“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

Was the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the American Government unavoidably necessary? This is what Samuel J. Walker intends to uncover in his publication. His argument is that the justifications made by the American Government after the dropping of the Atomic bombs were gross exaggerations and that the reasoning behind their ultimate decision is complicated. He contends that because of their lack of knowledge of the actual damage that the force of the

Before the bombs were set off over Nagasaki and Hiroshima, a test bomb was detonated in the desert lands of New Mexico. The scientists involved in the research and fruition of this weapon were holding their breaths to see if it worked. They were not concerned with how many potential lives their creation could end, they were only interested in seeing if all of their hard work and two billion dollars in funding would pay off. Dr. J. R. Oppenheimer was credited with the idea of using the atomic bomb as a military weapon. If the bomb worked the intention was to use it to end lives, but as they watched in anticipation to see if the

After they recount the intensity of these battles, the bombs follow logically as a pardon from further carnage by our amphibious invasions of the Japanese home islands. This was one political technique used to manipulate the decision of President Truman.

President Roosevelt knew that America was making these highly deadly bombs, but they were top secret, no one knew, so he made the choice to keep from telling anyone, including his Vice President Truman. When President Roosevelt died Truman was swore in right away and was immediately told about the atomic bombs. After the atomic bombs were finished, successful and ready, the United States Generals started saying that we needed to use them on Japan because they felt that was the plan whole time. They voiced their opinion but left the decision to President Truman. Truman had to decide if he was, or was not making a good decision before he made it. Therefore, he made a committee to help him decide, so the decision was not all on him. The committee came up with four different options for Truman to choose from. Option one was that they just “conventional Bomb the

Many debates have been provoked based on President Truman's decision to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. The debate is not solely based on the bomb being dropped, but more on the actual necessity and intention of the bomb being dropped.

The use of the atomic bomb the U.S used against Japan was Unjustified. The U.S had several other alternatives to solve the conflict between the two countries. Furthermore, the bomb was strongly racially motivated and had many inhumane side-effects to the dangerous explosion when the blast had hit Japan. Before resorting to using the bomb the U.S should have considered the many options they had at hand.

    There were many causes for the United States dropping the bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. One of these causes was because we wanted to increase the chances of Japan surrendering so that

George Weller, the first journalist in Nagasaki, writes of the unfathomable destruction. He writes, “When I walked out of Nagasaki’s roofless railroad station, I saw a city frizzled like a baked apple, crusted black at the open core where the searing sun born at Alamogordo had split open the blue sky of midday.” No single bomb of this magnitude had ever been seen before, and the leaders were in denial that it was even possible. Even the people living there did not know what had happened. An example can be found in George Weller’s novel, even though he is describing Nagasaki. In one entry he states, “As one whittles away at embroidery and checks the stories, the impression grows that the atomic bomb is a tremendous but not a peculiar weapon. (…) Nobody here in Nagasaki has yet been able to show that the bomb is different than any other, except in the broader extent of its flash and a more powerful knockout.” By the time the Japanese leaders had successfully processed the information, the second atomic bomb was on the way. In America’s defense, the second bomb had been scheduled for the 11th, but, due to bad weather, it had to be pushed forward two days. Had the Japanese been given enough time to properly process the information, then they most likely would have surrendered before the second atomic bomb was dropped, saving thousands of lives.

There were many factors that were considered on whether to or not to use the newly found weapon against Japan in the time period. With having the opinions of scientists as well as military advisors, President Truman had several people 's opinions in mind, with many opinions present it made the decision on whether to or not to drop the bomb difficult to decide for the president. Many can agree or disagree with what would have happened if Truman hadn’t had ordered the first atomic bomb dropped. If the bomb hadn’t been dropped, there is no telling on what would have happened in the war with Japan.

It states that people discussed that fact of weather the bomb should be used or not. Mr. Barnes did not want to use the bomb. He as well as the rest of the Government knew that Japan had lost and they could win the war in a couple of six months more. Mr. Barnes was more concerned with the Soviet Union influencing Europe, thus he believed if they used the bomb, they could manage the Soviets better. (Document D). This helps show that the own future secretary of state, James Byrnes wanted to use the bomb to intimate the Soviets so that they could have better control over them. The government knew that the Japanese had lost the war, but the usage of the bomb had to be used to not only make the Japanese surrender but to also make the Soviets stop their plan to conquer Europe. It is understandable that America were cautious of the Soviets but enough to put the lives of thousands of people at the hands of a lethal atomic bomb in order to prove their point of world domination is just just ridiculous and selfish. They could have used different means of conquering their means yet they decided to use the worst of them all. Mr. Barnes is one of the few that wanted to demonstrate world dominance at the expense of people

The dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945 and Nagasaki on August 9th, 1945 was the first and last time the weapon has been used to date; the atomic explosions exposed the true potential of nuclear warfare whilst also highlighting the global superiority that America possessed at the conclusion of World War II. On August 6th 1945 “Little Boy”, a uranium atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima in an effort by the United States backed by the Soviet Union, the British and the Chinese to force a Japanese surrender. However American intelligence suggested no evidence of Japanese surrender which acted as the catalyst for the second use of a plutonic implosion type bomb, “Fat Man” on Nagasaki on August 9th 1945. The sheer force of the bombs reportedly killed 66,000 in Hiroshima and 39,000 in Nagasaki Japanese residents whilst injuring another 94,000 residents suffering symptoms of intense third degree burns.

There were many causes for the United States dropping the bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. One of these causes was because we wanted to increase the chances of Japan surrendering so that our

Through the efforts of the “Manhattan Project” and the scientists within it, several nuclear bombs were created. Two of which, “Little Boy” and “Fat Man,” ended up being dropped on Japan. “Little Boy,” the only uranium bomb created was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 (Batchelder 99-105). “Fat Man,” the second nuclear bomb ever used in warfare, detonated above Nagasaki on August 11, 1945 (Batchelder 95-105). The leaders of the United States, decided that dropping the newly developed atomic bombs on Japan was the smartest action they could take at the time, given the current situation that the United States and the world was in. Dropping the bombs on Japan was mainly motivated by the belief that human lives could be saved. A massive invasion of the Japanese mainland was the only other option if no bombs were going to be dropped. The fact that the Japanese main army of approximately two million had never before been defeated on top of the Japanese terrain which was much better suited for guerrilla warfare than the mechanical ways of the U.S. put estimated American deaths alone well over the deaths at Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined (Batchelder 114-118).