...The Atomic Bomb: A Necessity or a Desire Tanmay Bhanushali Year 10 Historical Paper “Great power imposes the obligation of exercising restraint” Leo Szilard - Hungarian-born Physicist and main scientist to oppose the atomic Bombings This was spoken in an interview titled “President Truman did not Understand”. This was between a US news reporter and Leo Szilard the key figure among the scientists opposing the use of the bomb. The interview was in August 15, 1960. Why was their so fierce Opposition? In what Way did Truman Not Understand? These answers lie in the depths of the controversy about the Atomic Bomb. Introduction The atomic bomb was a topic of major controversy but the main debate was about the necessity of the atomic bomb. Many say that the atomic bomb was dropped because it would save millions of American lives. However at that period the Japanese were also at the point of surrendering. Huge amounts of incendiary bombs were used in large-scale cities against japan. Many of the scientists in the Manhattan Project were disturbed about it. The incendiary bombs reduced much morale from the Japanese army and crippled the will power. However this small cripple made Japan even angrier because these incendiary bombs were used on innocent civilians and not the Japanese army. Many think that it was necessary to use the Atomic Bombs because Japan attacked America first and not the other way around. It is a fact that when Hitler attacked...
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...In a speech given by Harry S. Truman, announcing the usage of the A-Bomb in Hiroshima, he informs the people of the United States what has happened and why it happened. The speech was given sixteen hours after the bomb was dropped. Harry Truman then explains why the American airplane dropped the bomb in the first place, “The Japanese began the war from the air at Pearl Harbor. They have been repaid…”(Truman, Paragraph 2). Truman then goes on the explain the bomb and why it was so effective. He explains how powerful this bomb actually was and how it was a new weapon of war. “That bomb had more power than 20,000 tons of T.N.T. It had more than two thousand times the blast power of the british ‘Grand Slam’ which is the largest bomb ever yet used in the history of warfare”(Truman, Paragraph 1) Largest is what Truman explains the bomb as. That means that the military...
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...Truman’s decision to order the dropping of the atom bomb. HARRY S TRUMAN & THE DECISION TO ORDER THE DROPPING OF THE ATOMIC BOMB Boom! Boom! Seventy thousands Japanese citizens were perished instantly after the first atomic bomb was dropped in Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. Japanese still refused to surrender to Allied forces. On August 9, 1945, with the dropping of the second atomic bomb in Nagasaki, where eighty thousands people were vaporized, Japanese surrendered unconditionally and the World War II ended (“The Decision to Drop the Bomb” 5-6). But was it a right decision of Harry S Truman to end the war with two atomic bombs? Becoming the president of the United States on April 12, 1945 upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S Truman faced with a decision of unprecedented gravity in his life: dropping the atomic bombs in Japan to end the World War II. It was just a matter of opinion whether his decision was right or wrong. But at the time the bombs were dropped, most Americans as wells as Allied forces accepted President Truman’s decision and agreed that the atomic bombs were necessary to end the war quickly before the disastrous invasion of the Japanese mainland could occur. But after that, many people started questioning about President Truman’s decision to order the dropping of the atomic bombs. They believed that dropping two atomic bombs to destroy two cities of Japan helped America generally and President Truman specifically accomplishing several things. Most...
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...Monday, August 6, 1945, at 8:15 AM, the nuclear bomb 'Little Boy' was dropped on Hiroshima by an American B-29 bomber. The decision to do so has become one of the most controversial topics in scholarly debate. The two major arguments among historians, such as Herbert Feis, Barton Bernstein and Martin Sherwin, are that on the one hand, the atomic bomb was dropped to end the war with Japan and on the other, that the bomb was dropped by the Truman administration to make the Soviet Union more manageable. I am in more agreement with the latter and this essay will argue that the decision to drop the atomic bomb was an American attempt to inhibit Soviet diplomatic ambitions rather than an attempt to bring the war to a quick end. The American decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan was without doubt influenced by the desire to end the war since that is what it accomplished. Truman assured after the bombs had been dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki that “the dropping of the bombs stopped the war and saved millions of lives.”[1] The dropping of the atomic bombs prevented an American invasion on Japan, the approximate cost for this exceeded $500,000 and more than a million lives would have been lost. Herbert Feis argued that many in the Truman administration believed that a land invasion of Japan would not have been sufficient enough to cause Japan to surrender quickly and unconditionally and thus Truman’s decision to use the atomic bomb was a quick solution to ending the war with Japan...
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...History of the A-Bomb In early August 1945 atomic bombs were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These two bombs quickly yielded the surrender of Japan and the end of American involvement in World War II. By 1946 the two bombs caused the death of perhaps as many as 240,000 Japanese citizens1. The popular, or traditional, view that dominated the 1950s and 60s – put forth by President Harry Truman and Secretary of War Henry Stimson – was that the dropping of the bomb was a diplomatic maneuver aimed at intimating and gaining the upper hand in relations with Russia. Today, fifty-four years after the two bombings, with the advantage of historical hindsight and the advantage of new evidence, a third view, free of obscuring bias and passion, can be presented. First, the dropping of the bomb was born out of complex infinite military, domestic and diplomatic pressures and concerns. Second, many potentially viable alternatives to dropping the bombs were not explored by Truman and other men in power, as they probably should have been. Lastly, because these alternatives were never explored, we can only conjecture over whether or not Truman’s decision was a morally just one, and if indeed it was necessary to use atomic energy to win the war. The war in Asia had its roots in the early 1930s. Japan had expansionist aims in Eastern Asia and the Western Pacific, especially in Indochina2. In July of 1940 the United States placed an embargo on materials exported to...
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...Was the decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan justified? The dropping of the atomic bombs was justified because the Japanese were not willing to surrender, therefore Truman didn’t have much of a choice but to drop the atomic bomb. The US wanted Japan to surrender to reduce the number of American lives lost. The dropping of the atomic bombs was justified because Japan wouldn’t surrender, so Truman was left under pressure. Hiroshima was bombed on August 6, and Nagasaki on August 9. The two cities were part of the Japanese war effort. One was an army center and the other was naval and industrial (Document B). This explains why it was justified because Truman bombed the important places that would eventually attack the United States. The bomb...
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...When we imagine what could have been if the atomic bombs were not dropped, all history of World War II as we know it would be altered entirely. At the point in the war in 1945, Japanese defenses were gradually weakening despite their constant refusals of surrender. Considering Japan wanted to continue to fight until the end, President Harry Truman ultimately chose to drop the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, taking nearly 300,000 Japanese lives. Yet, what if President Truman had chosen not to use the atomic bombs? While taking this question into thought, if the United States did not drop the bombs, it would have led to everlasting detriments to the U.S. and Japan. Provided that if the U.S. did not release atomic bombs, not only would our country suffer a great loss of American life, but Japan would lose quite an amount of citizens as well. According to James Maddox, author of “The Biggest Decision: Why We Had to Drop the Atomic Bomb,” without the dropping of the bombs, it would have led America to a bloody...
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...The use of an atomic bomb is something that has lingered in the conscience of many Americans since the American B-29 Enola Gay dropped the first atomic bomb ever used on August 6, 1945. The United States was urging Japan to surrender, when they refused to comply with these terms, the bomb was dropped and 100,000 people were killed. Two professors of American History, Robert James Maddox and Tsuyoshi Hasegawa, share their opposing views on weather the atomic bomb was necessary to end World War II. Maddox claims that the atomic bomb forced the Japanese army to agree to surrender, which significantly saved more lives than would have been lost. Hasegawa asserts that the Soviet invasion of Japan was a more prominent reasoning for surrender in comparison to the use of the atomic bomb and considers alternatives that seemed to be overlooked by military leaders. A meeting was held at the White House on June 18, 1945. A committee was assembled to consider the major issues concerning the use of the bomb that would present its opinion to the president, army chiefs and secretaries. Army chief of Staff General George C. Marshall was asked to present future war plans. They suggested an operation that was code-named Olympic which would be the invasion of Kyushu to blockade and stage an invasion of Japan’s main island. They then recommended to Truman, “the bomb should be used against Japan as soon as possible… against a military target surrounded by other buildings… without prior warning...
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...turning point for the United States in World War II. The rumors of the creation of an atomic bomb put the Allies on edge; each wanting to be the first to create such a destructive technology. The reason behind why the US chose to execute this project, the processes and events that took place, and the subsequent effects of the project depict the importance of this major US event. To fully understand the importance of the Manhattan Project, it is first imperative to understand the reasoning behind why the United States chose to pursue the project. In 1939, Allied scientists had fears that Nazi Germany might develop nuclear weapons (The Manhattan Project). At this point in the War, Hitler was at his most powerful. He had one of the largest followings in history and his reign was producing devastating outcomes for the Jewish population (The Manhattan Project). Once the scientific community discovered that German physicists could split a uranium atom, action needed to be taken (The Manhattan Project). Albert Einstein, who fled Nazi Germany to live in the US, felt as though President Roosevelt should be made aware of the dangers of atomic technology being in the hands of Hitler (Ushistory). A letter written by Einstein was received by Roosevelt, yet the President found no reason to immediately respond to such a situation (Ushistory). However, 1941 began the American effort to construct an atomic bomb (The Manhattan Project). Initially, Roosevelt set up the Advisory Committee on...
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...Technology in WWII: The Atomic Bomb The most significant way that technology changed in WWII, was with the invention of the atomic bomb. A scientific advancement in the 1930’s made the atomic bomb production possible. The discovery of nuclear fission; the process in which an atom is split, and the realization that the power from this could be controlled to produce mass amounts of energy were elements of what fuelled this development. Once the bombs were made and tested the decision on whether or not they should be used was given to the US president at the time, Harry Truman. Two Japan cities ended up being the main targets for the bombings and suffered great fatalities as a result. The affects of the decision to drop the bombs are still being seen today and it is still debated whether or not Truman made the right decision. Whether it was a justified decision or not, this breakthrough in technology was, and remains to be, a significant turning point in warfare. Looking closer at the decision Truman was faced with we can get a better look at why he decided to drop the bombs. The Allies were still at war with Japan, so the main idea was to drop the bombs on Japan, and weaken them enough so that they would surrender. This was seen as a better solution than the other way that the situation would have been handled – troops forcefully taking over Tokyo – because it wouldn’t be at the cost of countless numbers of soldier’s lives. Also, the bombs could inflict much more damage...
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...Hiroshima: Why America Dropped the Bomb Ronald Takaki Back Bay Books September 1, 1996 Joseph Marty Professor J. Cosco U.S. History Since 1865 November 27, 2011 Throughout the recent years of history, there has been an intense debate justifying the use of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima as well as Nagasaki a few days after, but many others argue that it was unjust to use such a weapon of massive catastrophe on an almost defeated nation at the time during the end of World War II: Japan. Ronald Takaki, author of the book Hiroshima: Why America Dropped the Bomb was an avid writer in the terms of Asian-America equality and morals based on his own experiences. In this book, he gave many thorough details explaining plausible reasons as to why Truman decided to launch the devastating attack on an already weak Japan. Takaki has used many sources including military reports, personal letters, and self recordings to further expand on this debate based approximately on facts more than moral opinions. When America had already won the war in Europe, there was still one more target left deemed as a threat to society according to the government. That target was Japan. The commander of the Pacific forces at the time was General Douglas Macarthur and he was never consulted about the use of the atomic bomb. Macarthur was only notified two days before the official use of the atomic bomb. The general was very depressed to hear about the use of the bomb because he...
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...Hiroshima and Nagasaki Takesha McCaleb Mr. Spitler Was the Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki necessary to end the war? As I did my research on this topic I found out that some found it necessary while others didn’t. During the course of this research paper I will be discussing why the atomic bomb was dropped. The effects right after the bomb was dropped for the Japanese and Americans also the after effects such as genetic effects. I will also touch on how Americans feel about the bomb more than fifty years later and what lessons were learned throughout all of this. Hiroshima was founded in 1589, on the coast of the Seto Inland Sea, and became a major urban centre during the Meiji period. The city is located on the broad, flat delta of the Ota River, which has 7 channel outlets dividing the city into six islands which project into Hiroshima Bay. The city is almost entirely flat and only slightly above sea level; to the northwest and northeast of the city, some hills rise to 700 feet. Hiroshima was founded by Mori Motonari as his capital. About a half century later, after the Battle of Sekigahara, his grandson and the leader of the West Army Mori Terumoto lost the battle. Finally Asano was appointed the daimyo of this area and Hiroshima served as the capital of Hiroshima Han during the Edo period. After the Han was abolished the city became the capital of Hiroshima prefecture. During the First Sino-Japanese War, Hiroshima emerged as a major supply and...
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...of the atomic bomb. This project, led by Robert Oppenheimer, a theoretical physicist, was code named the Manhattan Project. On August 6th, 1945, the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, by the United States of America. A second bomb was dropped three days by the U.S. later on Nagasaki. Before these devastating events, World War II was drawing to an agonizingly slow close. In the events prior to this bombing, an estimated 2,420,000 Americans and Japanese men were killed. Starting at the unwarranted attack on Pearl Harbour, Japanese soldiers bombed army bases, ships, and anything that would result in the cause of casualties. This was the start of...
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...Atomic Bomb Debate During the final stages of World War Two in 1945 the United States conducted two atomic bombings against the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, the first on August 6, 1945, and the second on August 9, 1945. For six months, the United States had made use of intense strategic fire-bombing of 67 Japanese cities. Together with the United Kingdom and the Republic of China, the United States called for a surrender of Japan in the Potsdam Declaration on July 26, 1945. The Japanese government ignored this ultimatum. By executive order of President Harry S. Truman, the U.S. dropped the nuclear weapon "Little Boy" on the city of Hiroshima on Monday, August 6, 1945, followed by the detonation of "Fat Man" over Nagasaki on August 9. I don’t think that they should have dropped the second one due to the fact, the Japanese wanted to surrender after the first bomb dropped. The United Sates was the first to use such a deadly weapon. It was immoral to drop the second one. It harmed several innocent civilians. Hiroshima was the primary target of the first nuclear bombing mission with Kokura and Nagasaki being alternative targets. About an hour before the bombing, Japanese early warning radar detected the approach of some American aircraft headed for the southern part of Japan. An alert was given and radio broadcasting stopped in many cities, among them Hiroshima. To conserve fuel and aircraft, the Japanese had decided not to intercept small formations. The normal...
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...Pacific island, Okinawa, with the bloodiest battle of World War II which they were reluctant to repeat, although they had plans to invade the Japanese Islands in November 1945. James Byrnes, as the United States Secretary of State had convinced military and political personnel that the bomb...
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