The Dropping of the Atomic Bombs during WWII
On August 6th 1945 the United States, under President Harry S. Truman, dropped the first of two atomic bombs on Hiroshima, a fairly large city in Japan. Three days later on August 9th, a second atomic bomb was dropped on another Japanese city, Nagasaki. A big question that is still argued today is whether the droppings of the two atomic bombs, that forced the Japanese to surrender, were a necessary act. Many historians and politicians argue this point and will most likely never come to an agreement. Although there are countless numbers of important events that happened during World War II, both in Europe and the Pacific, the dropping of the two atomic bombs on Japan was the most influential event in the war.
The United States entered World War II on December 8th 1941, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared war on Japan. The United States declared war as a direct response to the bombings of Pearl Harbor. The United States fought in both Europe and in the Pacific for almost five years before the United States made the decision to drop the two atomic bombs. In response to the dropping of the atomic bomb, United States Lieutenant Commander, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, proclaimed, “”Anyone who saw Nagasaki would suddenly realize that they’d been kept in the dark by the United States government as to what atomic bombs can do.” (Lawrence Ferlinghetti) 1. This quote summarizes the effect the atomic bomb had on Japan. A very big question that still lies in the minds of many people today is: was the atomic bomb necessary for the surrender of the Japanese?
The Essay on The Atomic Bomb in World War II 2
... allied governments, particularly the United States and Great Britain had developed nuclear programs to try to create an atomic bomb, after rumors that the ... of both bombs in both cities, serving as a s The day after the bombing, the Soviet Union declared war and Japan and ... invaded from the north. The Japanese announced surrender on August 14th, 1945, bringing an end to the worst war ...
There is not actually a correct answer to this question, but there are many facts that back up both sides of the argument. The bombs were so deadly and so horrifyingly damaging, that even a good amount of United States Military leaders did not agree with the dropping of the two atomic bombs, on the cities on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was deeply troubled by the two bombings.
He disclosed his strong reservations about using the new weapon in his 1963 by stating, “The Japanese were ready to surrender and it wasn’t necessary to hit them with that awful thing …….. I hated to see our country be the first to use such a weapon,” (General Dwight D. Eisenhower)2. General Eisenhower was not the only military leader to voice his opinion about the dropping of the atomic bombs in a negative way. Many other military and political citizens of the United States spoke negatively about the decision to drop the atomic bombs, including Admiral William D. Leahy, Herbert Hoover, General Douglas MacArthur, Assistant Sec. of War, John McCloy, and many others.
All these men had very valid reasons for believing that the dropping of the atomic bombs was unnecessary, and over the top. Many people believe that the Japanese were on the brink of surrendering of that the atomic bomb was not necessary. Admiral William D. Leahy of the United States Military is quoted voicing his negative opinion toward the decision.”The lethal possibilities of atomic warfare in the future are frightening. My own feeling was that in being the first to use it, we had adopted an ethical standard common to the barbarians of the Dark Ages. I was not taught to make war in that fashion, and wars cannot be won by destroying women and children.” (William D. Leahy)3
The numbers of wounded and dead after the bombings are horrific. After the first of the two atomic bombs was dropped on Hiroshima 9 out of 10 people within a half mile of the bomb were found dead. It is estimated that over 150,000 people died from the atomic bomb. Scientist believe that nine percent of the survivors from the atomic bomb died of cancer later, due to the radiation given off from the bomb. It is also estimated that another 87,000 were killed from the atomic bomb dropped in Nagasaki. It does not even have to be said that these numbers are extremely devastating. The most disturbing fact about all the casualties is that almost every single person who died was an innocent civilian.
The Essay on Atomic Bomb War Truman People
Atomic Bomb This report is about the Atomic Bomb, what it demolished, and what were different opinions on the war. Of course there were many different opinions, ranging from we didn't have to do it. To it was the only thing that seemed possible to get the war stopped. And others wonder why it had to be over civilian homes and work places. Roosevelt knew all about the bomb. The bomb was under a top ...
Now, with this being said there are still many people who support President Truman’s decision to drop the two atomic bombs. Many believe that the bombings were necessary in order to get the Japanese to surrender. When one looks at the decision to drop the atomic bombs from Truman’s perspective, it is not as crazy of an idea as most would think. Truman may have used the atomic bomb to retaliate against Japan for their attack on Pearl Harbor. After hearing of the results of the raid against Hiroshima, Truman spoke biting words about the atomic bombs destruction: “This is the greatest thing in history” (Sherwin)
4. This does not prove that Truman’s principle motivation for using the atomic bomb was to retaliate, but Pearl Harbor was in Truman’s memory: “Nobody is more disturbed over the use of atomic bombs than I am but I was greatly disturbed over the unwarranted attack by the Japanese on Pearl Harbor and their murder of our prisoners of war” (Alperovitz) 5. When defending the use of the atomic bomb he mentioned Pearl Harbor a lot, and the brutality that the Japanese inflicted upon American prisoners of war. Truman’s decision shows that he had hatred towards Japan: “The only language they seem to understand is the one we have been using to bombard them. When you have to deal with a beast you have to treat him as a beast” (Alperovitz) 6. Although it is impossible to determine what Truman thought or felt, it is fair to say that Japan’s brutality played a role in his decision to use the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
The name for the process of making the atomic bomb was called the Manhattan Project. The atomic bomb was first made known to the United States government in 1939 when Albert Einstein wrote to then President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Einstein and several other scientists told Roosevelt of the efforts in Nazi Germany to purify a special type of uranium, which could be used to build an atomic bomb. It was shortly after this that the United States Government began the serious work known then only as “The Manhattan Project.” Simply put, the Manhattan Project was committed to making research that would produce a deadly atomic bomb. Over the course of six years, from 1939 to 1945, more than $2 billion was spent on the whole Manhattan Project.
The Term Paper on The Atomic Bomb in World War II
... defeat of Japan. President Truman, who authorized the use of the atomic bomb, made a wise decision under the circumstances of the war. The ... most tenacious and driven of Americas foes throughout the war. The battles for Okinawa, Wake and Guam all were ample testament ... odds. The kamikaze was a perfect example of the Japanese battle attitude. Japanese pilots would strap themselves into planes laden ...
The first testing of the atomic bomb was on July 16, 1945, in a basin of the Jemez Mountains in northern New Mexico. The light of the explosion then turned orange when the atomic fireball began shooting upwards at 360 feet per second. The mushroom cloud of radioactive chemicals went up to about 30,000 feet. The bomb was tested to see if it was going to be used at a future time. Clearly the testing went well because less than a month later the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. Many people believe that the United States already had the idea of dropping the atomic bombs on Japan when the first testing began. Others believe this test was simply just a test and they had no intentions of dropping the atomic bombs at this point in time. There is no possible way to tell what the Unite States was thinking at this time, but more people believe that the United States knew they were going to drop the atomic bomb before they even began testing.
The dropping of both atomic bombs, on both Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killed over 200,000 people in Japan. There were plenty of battles during World War II that are greater than the atomic bombs from a casualty perspective. Some examples include The Battle of Kursk, July 5th, 1943 to July 13th, 1943, The Battle of Prussia, June 22nd, 1944 to August 16th, 1944, Battle of Stalingrad, August 23rd, 1942 to February 2nd, 1943, and a few others. The difference between these battles and the dropping of the atomic bombs is that, there were 200,000 deaths in 2 days. All the battles listed above are battle that lasted almost 3 months at times. Also, none of these battles forced surrender. The dropping of the two atomic bombs forced a Japanese surrender due to the damage of the two major cities, this ending the Pacific part of World War II. Although there are countless numbers of important events that happened during World War II, both in Europe and the Pacific, the dropping of the two atomic bombs on Japan was the most influential event in the war.
Was It Necessary to Drop the Atomic Bomb to End World War II? Research Essay
On the eve of World War II, scientists in Germany succeeded in splitting the nucleus of a uranium atom, releasing a huge amount of energy. Albert Einstein wrote to President Franklin Roosevelt and warned him that Nazi Germany might be working to develop atomic weapons. FDR responded by giving his approval for an American program, later code-named the Manhattan Project, to develop the ultimate ...
