Dropping the Atomic Bomb: Was It Necessary?
Dropping the Atomic Bomb: Was it really necessary?
In 1945, the United States with help from Canada, released a new force into unsuspecting Japan which shocked the world. It was the weapon the Manhattan project spent months working on while spending approximately $20 billion. It used up to 12% of America’s electricity during the war even though many people did not know what they were working on. It was a weapon so powerful that many heads of this project feared it would go terribly wrong. It would save many lives and end many others. It was the atomic bomb. This weapon of mass destruction was used on two Japanese cities during World War 2 though it was very controversial. However, with further review, it was completely necessary to drop the two atomic bombs on the striving cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in order for the war to come to a swift conclusion. It saved many lives, while repelling the super power Soviet Union and it established a powerful identity for all three countries that helped make the atomic bomb.
Without these bombs, many more lives would have been lost on both sides. This weapon potentially saved millions of lives even though they took hundreds of thousands more. Though many people argue over the fact that many lives have been lost and are still being affected by these bombs, many more would’ve been lost any way. A few months earlier, the United States had launched a firebombing campaign on Tokyo, Japan which killed double the amount both atomic bombs combined had. This campaign had literally burned down all of Tokyo. Tokyo was also a major Japanese city, while Hiroshima, the first city hit by the atomic bomb, was the second biggest Japanese army base. "The world will note that the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, a military base. That was because we wished in this first attack to avoid, in so far as possible, the killing of civilians." Many people that were killed in this attack were Japanese militants and they would have been
In 1945, the United States with help from Canada, released a new force into unsuspecting Japan which shocked the world. It was the weapon the Manhattan project spent months working on while spending approximately $20 billion. It used up to 12% of America’s electricity during the war even though many people did not know what they were working on. It was a weapon so powerful that many heads of this project feared it would go terribly wrong. It would save many lives and end many others. It was the atomic bomb. This weapon of mass destruction was used on two Japanese cities during World War 2 though it was very controversial. However, with further review, it was completely necessary to drop the two atomic bombs on the striving cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in order for the war to come to a swift conclusion. It saved many lives, while repelling the super power Soviet Union and it established a powerful identity for all three countries that helped make the atomic bomb.
Without these bombs, many more lives would have been lost on both sides. This weapon potentially saved millions of lives even though they took hundreds of thousands more. Though many people argue over the fact that many lives have been lost and are still being affected by these bombs, many more would’ve been lost any way. A few months earlier, the United States had launched a firebombing campaign on Tokyo, Japan which killed double the amount both atomic bombs combined had. This campaign had literally burned down all of Tokyo. Tokyo was also a major Japanese city, while Hiroshima, the first city hit by the atomic bomb, was the second biggest Japanese army base. "The world will note that the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, a military base. That was because we wished in this first attack to avoid, in so far as possible, the killing of civilians." Many people that were killed in this attack were Japanese militants and they would have been
Bibliography: “50 Facts About U.S. Nuclear Weapons.” Brookings. 1998, Brooking Institution, May 15, 2012 http://www.brookings.edu/about/projects/archive/nucweapons/50 This article shows 50 different interesting facts about the U.S and nuclear weapons “The Manhattan Project.” Pittsburgh University. 2005, Pittsburgh University, May 15 , 2012 <http://www.pitt.edu/~sdb14/atombomb.html> This article discussed the Manhattan project and Truman and many other key figures responses to it “Truman Public Papers- Radio report to American people on Potsdam conference.” Truman Library. Truman Museum. May 12, 2012 <http://www.trumanlibrary.org/publicpapers/index.php?pid=104&st=&st1> This web page contained U.S “Iwo Jima and Okinawa.” Think Quest. 2002, Oracle, May 15, 2012 <http://library.thinkquest.org/18106/iwojima.html> This online article contains information of the battle of Iwo Jima and the battle of Okinawa “Truman Doctrine.” Avalon Project. 2008, Yale University, May 16, 2012 <http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/trudoc.asp> This web page has Truman’s complete speech on what would be later known as the Truman Doctrine Szilard, Gertrud “Leo Szilard: His version of the Facts” New York, The MIT Press (October 3, 1980) This is a relatively old bibliography on Leo Szilard “The Manhattan Project and Before.” Manhattan project. March 1999, Nuclear Weapon Archive, May 20, 2012 <http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Usa/Med/Med.html> This article reveals how the atomic bomb was thought of and how the Manhattan project worked [ 2 ]. “The Manhattan Project.” Pittsburgh University. 2005, Pittsburgh University, May 15 , 2012 [ 3 ] [ 4 ]. “Iwo Jima and Okinawa.” Think Quest. 2002, Oracle, May 15, 2012 < http://library.thinkquest.org/18106/iwojima.html> [ 5 ] [ 6 ]. “Truman Doctrine.” Avalon Project. 2008, Yale University, May 16, 2012 [ 7 ]