The Bombing Of Hiroshima And Nagasaki

When President Truman authorized the use of two nuclear weapons in 1945 against the Japanese in the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end World War II, the nature of international security was changed irreversibly. At that time, the United States had what was said to have a monopoly of atomic bombs. Soon thereafter, the Soviet Union began working on atomic weaponry. In 1949, it had already detonated it first atomic bomb and tensions began to heat up between the two countries. With the information that the Soviets had tested their first bomb, the United States began work on more powerful weapons1, and a fight for nuclear superiority had begun.

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.

On August 6th 1945, the United States, led by Harry Truman, decided to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, forever changing warfare. This paper will be dedicated to why Harry Truman decided to use the atomic bomb on Japan and the effects that this decision had on humanity afterward.

“On August 6, 1945, the world was changed forever with the denotation of an atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima, followed three days later with the use of another bomb over Nagasaki”1. The United States use of atomic weapons on Japan in 1945 was an event that triggered the fear of many individuals because it was during the period of war. The use of atomic weapons by the United States however, was justified because they had to end the war quicker, they intended to do minimal damage, and they had no other alternative.

2.4 Perspectives: The atomic bomb → cold war In August 1945 two atomic bombs were dropped on Japan; Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Atomic bomb finished World war two but did it lead to the Cold War between USSR and the US? David McReynolds believes that the bomb was to show strength and power, as that is why the US dropped the bomb. President Harry S Truman’s perspective states that the bomb was dropped to end World War 2, so he could bring his troops home.

On August 6, 1945, American bombers dropped the Atomic Bomb over Japan, an event which had lasting effects on American history. Had the bomb not been dropped, there would have been an increased number of negative effects on various countries involved in World War II. The Atomic Bomb was beneficial to America, despite its controversies and negative effects. President Harry S. Truman made the correct decision to drop the Atomic bomb over Japan, because it saved thousands of lives, ended the war quickly, and deterred Stalin from future agression toward America (Tucker, 1). Dropping the Atomic Bomb saved thousands of American and Japanese lives.

The horrific atom bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan on August 6th and 9th of 1945 brought about several reactions in the United States. Starting with the controversial events leading up to the atomic with the Potsdam Proclamation, many Americans began to wonder whether the total destruction of these two cities were necessary. However, immediate American responses and reactions to the bombs were contrary to what they became later on. Americans slowly stopped being ignorant of what had happened in Japan and began to question the actions of their government; although, this questioning of such events was popular at first, they slowly accelerated to stronger beliefs today. Finally, the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 has had major effects on America from the day of the bombing to present day United States

For a start, the use of the atomic bombs helped slow the expansion of the Soviet Union following World War II. In regards to this, the United States was able to use the threat of the atomic bombs to protect Western European countries from outside threats, which included communist takeover by the Soviet Union. This legitimate threat of nuclear defense of allies in Western Europe following the dropping of the atomic bombs was significant because it prevented the Soviet Union from attempting to take over and establish socialist governments in these countries as it had in Eastern Europe. In addition, due to the atomic bombings, the United States obtained a complete surrender by the Japanese to its troops alone rather than to both American and Soviet troops. This Japanese surrender to the U.S. alone was important because it allowed the United States to be in charge of the

The use of the atomic bomb on Japan was not debated at length about whether or not it would decrease war casualties, but was more so debated over how it would influence the upcoming conflict with the Soviet Union(Atomic Diplomacy). For example during the Berlin Blockade of 1948–49, President Truman transferred several B-29 bombers capable of delivering nuclear bombs to the region to signal to the Soviet Union that the United States was both capable of implementing a nuclear attack and willing to execute it if it became necessary(Atomic Diplomacy). This was one instance of “atomic diplomacy” that used the threat of the atomic bomb being used over an actual war. Atomic diplomacy was the basis for the cold war in which no country had direct fighting because the destruction to both places would be too severe that no one would come out as a clear winner of the war.

August 6th 1945, the United States dropped the first of two atomic bombs on Hiroshima, Japan. World War Two was practically over, but Japan and the United States weren’t getting along due to Japan bombing Pearl Harbor. The President of the United States (Truman) and U.K. Prime Minister Winston Churchill Issued the Potsdam Declaration which was the declaration that was put on the table for Japan after Germany had surrendered. Earlier in the war we had been putting together atomic weapons in case the war was getting out of hand. Since Japan wouldn’t surrender after the Potsdam we dropped the 1st bomb. Japan had still not surrendered so we dropped a second bomb on Nagasaki, Japan. There was a combined total of casualties after the 1st bomb of 140,000. The second bomb totaled out to 120,000 casualties. Dropping these bombs helped the United States win the war. In my Opinion, the decision to drop both bombs on Japan was the best alternative the United States had to remain stable and to hold military lives.

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 Atomic bombs released on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan by an American B-29 bomber, the Enola Gay, brought WWII to a significant end. During WWII, the United States and Soviet Union served as allies against the Axis Powers. Though this wasn’t the only alliance standing against Japan, Italy, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria; The United States’ and USSR’s relationship at this point in history was controversial because the two nations never completely trusted each other although fighting common enemies. According to historian Gar Alperovitz, “The bomb made it possible for the United States to do whatever it wanted to Europe because we

The United States was completely unjustified in dropping the atomic bomb because it was used so we could have a sense of “power” over the rest of the world. President Harry Truman had paid no heed to his prior statements as to the intended use of the bomb; and not only had it violated the Hague Convention, but it also caused lifelong repercussions for Japan’s land and people.

The atomic bombing of Japan was an unjustified decision that many considered was inhumane. Through the use of atomic bombs, many innocents were harmed in one way or another. Berger described the atomic bombing of Hiroshima as "a terrorist act" and that it was "evil". While Berger 's argument was extreme, the U.S. still remains unjustified because they did not know exactly how much damage the bomb would actually cause. Bombing Japan, the U.S. harmed thousands of civilians and displayed the effectiveness of the atomic bomb despite having other options to end the war.

Would you kill a thousand to save millions? Well the drastic actions taken by the United States did save millions. There were two actions that had to occur to save the millions and end the war, the dropping of the two atomic bombs being the first of their kind were to be the most powerful bomb ever invented using atomic and nuclear forces so create it and packed over 20,000 tons of TNT and was about ten feet long. The bomber that transported and dropped them was called the 'Enola Gay’. The two Japanese cities’ that were struck by such creations were Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In this essay I will be discussing on how the actions taken by the United States of America were completely justified in dropping the two bombs as is established a future power image, saved millions, ended the war and ended the axis of evil.