Atomic Bomb Essay, Research Paper

In this paper, it will be discussed why the Atomic Bomb is the biggest method of destruction known to man. The paper will be discussing the results of the Atomic Bombs, along with the effects years after the initial explosion. People always wonder how many people actually died in the two Atomic Bombs which were dropped in Japan.

There were a number of factors involved with this decision that were instrumental in its final outcome. Several of them were factors that looked to the future. How would the world view the first country that used such a weapon? How would it affect postwar relations? What would be the role of nuclear power in the future? Though all of these are valid concerns, the most important factors to influence the decision were those that dealt with the situation at the time. The world was at war and people were dying. These were the most important factors to influence the decision. As President of the United States and Commander-in-Chief of the American Armed Forces, Truman had an obligation to do everything in his power to win the war, to shorten its duration, and to save the lives of as many American troops as possible. Truman determined that the best way to fulfill his obligations was to order the atomic bombing of Japan

On August 6, 1945, the first Atomic Bomb used in warfare, was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan. U.S. President, Harry Truman ordered the dropping of the Atomic Bomb, on what he reported would only destroy military bases. The devastation turned out to be nothing like anybody had ever seen before. On August 2, 1945 “20th Air Force attacks targets in Japan on 6th August. Primary Target Hiroshima At this point, only

the direct order of President Truman could stop the dropping of the bomb. As it turned out, Truman thought nothing of the sort. His intention was to bomb Hiroshima,

and nothing was going to stop him. The bomb which was dropped on Hiroshima was nicknamed “Little Boy” Three days later, another bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan.

The bombing of Nagasaki completely wiped out the northern part of the city.

It appears that the most crucial action of the Japanese that led to Hiroshima and Nagasaki being bombed was their rejection of the Potsdam Declaration. When Truman determined that they were not going to accept the conditions outlined in the Potsdam Declaration, there was no turning back. It is ironic that the Japanese would not accept unconditional surrender, because they refused to give up the Emperor. In the end, they made the offer to accept the Potsdam Declaration, but on the condition that they be allowed to keep the Emperor. Truman agreed to this point and the war ended. Many would argue that if they had made the same offer instead of rejecting the Potsdam Declaration, there never would have been a need for the bombs to be dropped. Even before the Potsdam Conference, a number of Truman’s advisors had informed him that it might be necessary, as well as advantageous, to allow for the retention of the Emperor. As shown in this paper, the Atomic Bomb made its mark in history. It was not planned to make an effect on the world, but I don t think that they planned to kill so many innocent bystanders. As said in the paper Truman thought that the

bomb was only going to destroy the military bases. Little did he know that it was going to kill 150,000 people. That was the amount of people that died from the detonation, but there are still thousands of people today that are still suffering from he bomb. It is very hard to imagine what it was actually like to have a bomb hit the ground, and instantly terminate your life. Imagine sitting in your house while watching television and then suddenly you hear a loud boom, and your house starts to burn up from the heat rays and then caves in on you from the blast. There isn t much that the world can do about

the atomic bomb right now. All that we have to hope for is that we all learned from history of the Atomic Bomb and we won t make the same mistake again.