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Nuclear Weapons

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Nuclear Weapons

In 1939, scientist Albert Einstein wrote a letter to the United States president of the time, Franklin D. Roosevelt, concerning the research of splitting a uranium atom that could lead to the development of an atomic bomb in Germany. In the letter, Einstein wrote,”It may be possible to set off a nuclear chain reaction in a large mass of uranium, by which large amounts of power and new radium like elements would be generated.” He continued,” This new development could lead to the creation of bombs, and as it seems, but less likely, the construction of an even bigger, new type of bomb.” President Roosevelt, although skeptical at first, decided to go through with the research and in 1941 the Manhattan Project was born. Four years later on August 6, the United States Dropped the first nuclear atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima wiping out 90 percent of the city, killing more than 80,000 people, and later tens of thousands more. Then again on August 9, another bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki and killing more than 40,000. 6 days later, the Emperor of Japan announced Japan’s official surrender to the United States in World War II. The effects and after effects of the the two bombs dropped shocked the entire world, even those a part of the Manhattan Project. The Japanese Emperor Hirohito described the bombs as the ”new and most cruel bomb.” This research paper will discuss the pros and cons of the use of nuclear weapons among different countries and how they affects the lives of those living within them. Nuclear weapons are crucial to the defense of a nation at war. When the United States used the 2 atomic bombs, nicknamed “little boy” and “fat man,” they did so in a way of ending the war quickly. A direct attack on Japanese shores could have resulted in the deaths of many American soldiers. Some estimates say upwards of

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