Why Is The Atomic Bomb Wrong

“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

The atomic bomb was powerful enough that one of them could cause devastating threats and end the war. Two atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan in August 1945. These atomic bombs took away the lives of all 20 million people at one time, and Japan immediately declared surrender in August 15th. During the Second World War, in May 1945, Germany surrendered to the Allies, and the battle is over. But, Japan had showed no signs of surrender to the Allies in the fight against the Philippines. Thus, President of United States decided to drop the atomic bombs on Hiroshima to beat the Japan. (854, 863-864,

In August 1945, America dropped two Atomic bombs on Japan in the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The two bombings killed at least 130,000 people and were the first and last use of nuclear weapons in warfare.

As president Harry S. Truman states in his speech, “With this bomb we have now added a new and revolutionary increase in destruction to supplement the growing power of our armed forces… We are now prepared to obliterate more rapidly and completely every productive enterprise the Japanese have above ground in any city” (Document D). This newly attained bomb would not only add to America’s destructive firepower, it would also have the power to end the war. It would ultimately destroy Japan and its ability to continue fighting the war against the Allied

Part of the city was virtually leveled by the time the dust had settled. Thousands more people died months and years after from injuries and radiation poisoning. The second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan just 3 days later on August 9th, 1945. The original target for the second bomb, codenamed "fat man", was the city kokura but the target was obscured by clouds over it. This time, over 3.5 square miles of the city was destroyed and over 60,000 people were killed instantly. Also like last time, thousands more people died years after from injuries and radiation poisoning. These two bombs brought about the end of WW2, but they also brought the beginning of the nuclear arms race.

Even before the outbreak of War, the United States was concerned with a fascist regime in Europe researching in nuclear weapons. In retaliation, the United States began to fund an atomic weapon development program which became known as “The Manhattan Project” led by J. Robert Oppenheimer. Over the next several years, the Manhattan project started obtaining key materials such as Uranium-235 and Plutonium and testing prototypes until they reached a working model (Coroner).

The creation of the atomic bomb was a theory advocated by one of the greatest minds the

Leo Szilard was a Hungarian Physicist who dedicated himself to learning how to create a successful chain reaction to make an atomic bomb before the Germans had a chance to do so. Szilard convinced Albert Einstein to help research with him on how to create an atomic bomb. The “Einstein-Szilard” letter, sent to President Franklin D. Roosevelt led to the foundation of research into nuclear fission by the United States government. This ultimately encouraged the development of the program, the Manhattan Project.

World War II began September 1, 1939 and ended September 2, 1945. When this war began, many young boys and men were drafted into the war. Most of them left what they were doing and all they’ve known, to fight in the war. It was the war that advanced technology and created social changes. The United States was the first country to use the atomic bomb in warfare. On August 6, 1945, the first of two atomic bombs were dropped. The first bomb was named, “Little Boy,” and was dropped on the city of Hiroshima. The second bomb was named, “Fat Man,” (History.com Staff 2009) and was dropped on the city of Nagasaki three days later. The bombs resulted in thousands of casualties and radiation among the civilians. Dropping the atomic bomb was the right decision because the bomb would end the war, it was revenge for Pearl Harbor, and it saved the lives of more Americans.

The formula E=MC2 is responsible for the immense power of the Atomic Bomb. E = mc2, equation in German-born physicist Albert Einstein’s theory of special relativity that showed that the increased relativistic mass (m) of a body comes from the energy of motion of the body—that is, its kinetic energy (E)—divided by the speed of light squared (c2). This equation expresses the fact that mass and energy are the same physical entity and can be changed into each other.

Though the scientists themselves were the ones to encourage the creation of the atom bomb, their plans and views differed immensely from those of the military. As World War II raged on, Germany was suspected of harnessing atomic energy and directing it into powering a weapon. Albert Einstein, agreeing with Leo Silzard, the man who first thought into the concept, urged President Franklin D. Roosevelt to look further into the study of atomic energy and the possibility of using it for a bomb. President Roosevelt, fearing the German’s advances in this study, quickly agreed and sent money to the University of Chicago to begin the study and research of atomic energy. (Roleff 62) (The Manhattan Project 1) Upon sending this money, the top-secret research program and building of the atomic bomb began. Later moving from Chicago to Los Alamos, New Mexico, this secret project was called the Manhattan Project. (1) Einstein later explained that his recommendation to the president was to only further the United State’s knowledge of this energy and to have an extra line of defense if the Germans were to ever launch a nuclear attack. (Roleff 62) When the possibility of using one of these weapons was

“On August 6, 1945, a single bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, killing 80,000 people immediately and about 60,000 more within six months. On August 9, a second atomic bomb that ultimately killed about 70,000 people was dropped in Nagasaki.” These two bombs destroyed Japan really bad. There is a big debate about whether United States should drop the atomic bomb on Japan. In my opinion, I felt that United States made the right decision by dropping the bomb.

Despite the fact, some might justify that using the bomb was acceptable. It showed how strong the U.S. was and demonstrated how determined they were to get what they wanted too. Americans said that Japan started this with the attack of Pearl Harbor and the Japanese would keep killing Americans if nothing was done. Also Americans paid too high of a price to accept anything except surrendering (“Take Responsibility…” and “Push Ahead…”). This was significant because the atomic bomb was sent out as a threat at first if Japan did not surrender, however Japan never gave an answer to the U.S. regarding the Potsdam ultimatum. Another reason why the atomic bomb was justified was because it would destroy the armed forces of five million men and five thousand suicide aircraft without the help of the Soviet Union because Japan would lose either way (Bundy

At the end of World War I and the beginning of World War II scientist started to develop new ways to to react to wars.Scientist like Julius Robert Oppenheimer with the help of Albert Einstein created the first atomic bomb called the “Little Boy” and the “FatMan”. Oppenheimer was the director of the Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico. He was incharge of gather the best minds to develop weapons of mass destruction. Oppenheimer along with 200 other physics developed weapons that would change the world forever.

A man who is almost synonymous with the development of the atomic bomb as well as with the conflicts between the desires of the government