The bombing of Hiroshima occurred on August 6, 1945 and three days later followed by the bombing of Nagasaki. The bombing killed hundreds of thousands of civilians, including woman and children as said by Admiral William E. Leahy (Document 2). While the dropping of the bomb had devastating effects on not only the people and the environment, it effectively ended the war. The amount of people that died due to the bombs may not even compare to the magnitude of people that could’ve died if the war had continued longer. The effect of the bombs gave the US and everyone around the globe insight into just how dangerous nuclear weapons can be. The decision to drop the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, although devastating, was the right call to make, ultimately ending the war. According to Historians, they believe that President Truman not only dropped the bombs to end the war, but to show dominance in the nuclear arms race postwar (Textbook). Ending the war was seen as a “…sunburst of deliverance” by soldiers and loved ones awaiting the arrival …show more content…
Truman (Document 1). Unbeknownst to the public that such a weapon exists, the President understood only the surface of consequences that the bomb would inflict, but knew that the effects would end the war. Scientific advisors said that dropping the bombs anywhere but the enemy would not end the war (Document 1). With ending the war as the primary objective, President Truman decided when and where the bombs were to be dropped and regarding the bombs as a military weapon, he never doubted they should be used (Document 1). The after effects of the bombs told a gruesome story and gave insight into just how disastrous the atomic bomb can be and engendered more research because of it, showing the world how calamitous the atomic bomb can