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Effects of the atomic bomb on the world
Historical narrative of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Historical narrative of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
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With multiple chances from the United States to surrender in the war and rejecting each one, the Japanese set themselves up for disaster. On August 6, 1945 the course of history was changed. Two atomic bombs were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima, and three days later, August 9, 1945, on Nagasaki that ended World War II. Japan had already been a defeated nation from conventional bombs and World War II. Many innocent lives were lost, psychological scars were left on the lives of the bomb survivors, and thus many lives were changed forever. The atomic bombings caused many people to have genetic effects due to the radiation from the bombs. Revisionists have said the US used the bombs to blackmail the Soviet Union. The deployment of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was morally justified because it ended the war quickly, ultimately saved many lives, and was a beginning for many. Historians have debated evidence that the atomic bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were not morally justified. Revisionist historians or advocates of revision, say the atomic bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were unnecessary and not needed. The bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, they say, caused many innocent lives to be lost along with the lives already lost from World War II. The atomic bombings left the victims and survivors with psychological scars (Sawada). The atomic bombs could have been dropped on two of Japan’s less populated cities, but because the atomic bombs were dropped on two of the Japanese’s most populated cities, many lives were lost. The bombs then could have resulted in less casualties, if dropped on a less populated city. It is argued that the atomic bombs were more political than military ... ... middle of paper ... ...Library. Web. 19 Feb. 2014. Maddox, Robert James. “The Biggest Decision: Why we had to Drop the Atomic Bomb.” American Heritage May-June 1995: 70+. US History Collection. Web. 19 Feb. 2014. "Potsdam Declaration." Potsdam Declaration | Birth of the Constitution of Japan. National Diet Library, 2003. Web. 29 Apr. 2014. Sawada, Aiko., Bar-On, Dan., Chaitin, Julia. “Life After the Atomic Bomb.” USA Today; New York. 01 Mar. 2007:20. eLibrary. Web. 19 Feb. 2014 Sodei, Rinjiro. “Hiroshima/Nagasaki as History and Politics.” The Journal of American History 82.3 (1995):1118-123. JSTOR. Web. 24 Feb. 2014. “The Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.” Calliope. 01 May. 2011: 13. eLibrary. Web. 28 Feb. 2014. "The Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki." Hiroshima & Nagasaki Atom Bombs. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.< http://www.atomcentral.com/hiroshima-nagasaki.aspx>.
We agree that, whatever be one’s judgment of the war in principle, the surprise bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are morally indefensible. The “8 Primary Pros and Cons of Dropping the Atomic Bomb” People also say how Japan was already defeated, concluding why the bombs were unnecessary. Although, many others say that the dropping of the atomic bombs saved their lives, but the debate over the decision to drop the atomic bomb will never be resolved. The war against Japan bestowed the Allies with entirely new problems as they encountered an enemy with utterly unfamiliar tactics.
In John Hersey's book, Hiroshima, he provides a detailed account of six people and how the bombing of Hiroshima affected their lives. John Heresy felt it was important to focus his story on six individuals to create a remembrance that war affects more than just nations and countries, but actual human beings. Moreover, the book details the effect the bomb had on the city of Hiroshima. “Houses all around were burning, and the wind was now blowing hard.” (Hersey, 27).
The non-fiction book Hiroshima by John Hersey is an engaging text with a powerful message in it. The book is a biographical text about lives of six people Miss Sasaki, Dr. Fujii, Mrs. Nakamura, Father Kleinsorge, Dr. Sasaki and Rev. Tanimoto in Hiroshima, Japan and how their lives completely changed at 8:15 on the 6th of August 1945 by the dropping of the first atomic bomb. The author, John Hersey, through his use of descriptive language the in book Hiroshima exposes the many horrors of a nuclear attack.
In August of 1945, both of the only two nuclear bombs ever used in warfare were dropped on the Japanese cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. These two bombs shaped much of the world today.
One of the most argued topics today, the end of World War II and the dropping of the atomic bombs still rings in the American ear. Recent studies by historians have argued that point that the United States really did not make the right choice when they chose to drop the atomic bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Also with the release of once classified documents, we can see that the United States ...
The Atomic Age represents the most epic era and composed of diverse controversial issues in the human history. In the late 1945, President Harry Truman informed to drop two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These two bombs quickly yielded the surrender of Japan and the end the World War 2. However, the impact of it led us to debate whether this decision was actually right or so. First off, it would be hard to imagine how Japan would have been surrendered without the atomic bomb. Therefore to save many American lives, President Truman believed that it was his duty to end the war as soon as possible. But the bombs took away innocent lives and killed civilians indiscriminately. “Atomic Age America” written by Martin
Powers, Thomas. "THE BOMB : Hiroshima: Changing the Way We Think About War." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 06 Aug. 1995. Web. 10 Jan. 2014.
On August 6th, 1945, the United States of America dropped the world’s first atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima in Japan. Two days later, a second bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki. These two bombs were the most devastating weapons ever seen, and their effects on human beings and property were plainly horrifying. Approximately 110,000 people were killed; most of them were innocent civilians who just happened to have lived in the wrong place at the wrong time. Although using this weapon was an atrocity to both the Japanese, and humanity in general, the world was at war. No matter what ulterior motives may have existed, the fact remains that the bomb was a justifiably necessary measure to bring an early end to aggressive war that was instigated by Japan. Japan would never have surrendered unconditionally, as decreed in the Potsdam Ultimatum. Invasion of the Japanese home islands were out of the question because of the ferocious defense that would have been staged, and the huge number of casualties that it would entail. The bomb shocked the Japanese militarists into surrender and gave the “peace-party” the added credibility they required to bring about a quick end to the war. The use of the bomb also kept Russia out of the war, preventing problems that had occurred in post-war Germany, and later on in Korea. When all factors are taken into consideration, the use of the atomic bomb actually saved more lives, both Japanese and American than it took.
Firstly, the bombings were unjustified because of the locations where the bombs were dropped. Neither cities were military or naval bases. Hiroshima was “… on a river delta and had been a fishing settlement for centuries” (Lawton) while Nagasaki was a shipbuilding city. Furthermore, Nagasaki had been bombed five times in the twelve months previous to the assault by the U.S. (“The Bombing of Nagasaki”). Both cities were also highly populated leading to high casualty levels. Before the attacks, Hiroshima had a population of 255,000 people and Nagasaki was home to 195,000 people. When these cities were attacked, 70,000 out of those 255,000 died in Hiroshima and 42,000 out of 195,000 perished in Nagasaki. This means that the bombings whipped out 27% of Hiroshima and 22% of the Nagasaki population (Total Casualties).
When looking at the aftermath of the atomic bomb in both Nagasaki and Hiroshima the devastation it caused is evident. The majority of the population in Japan could have never imagined such a catastrophic event. On August 6, 1945 and August 9, 1945 massive amounts of lives were changed forever when an atomic bomb fell from the sky and created an explosion as bright as the sun. These two bombs were the first and only accounts of nuclear warfare. (“Atomic Bomb is…”) The impact that the two bombs left on the cities of Japan was tremendous. The bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima devastated the country through structural damage, long term medical effects, expenses, and the massive loss of life.
As World War 2, came to a close, The United States unleashed a secret atomic weapon upon the enemy nation of Japan that was quickly recognized as the most powerful wartime weapon in human history. They completely destroyed the entire Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and essentially vaporized countless innocent Japanese lives. Some historians believe that it was a foolish, brutal decision to use the atomic bomb on a weakened Japan, and that the civilians of the country did not deserve that kind of mass-annihilation. On the opposite side, other historians assert that dropping the bomb saved countless American and Japanese lives by ending the war faster than a regular invasion would have. What is undisputed is that this sad event dramatically changed the course of human history.
Miles, Rufus E. Jr. “Hiroshima: The Strange Myth of Half a Million American Lives Saved.” International Security (1985): 121-140.
The atomic bombs “Little Boy” and “Fat man” killed 150,0000 people and furthermore left 125,000 impaired. 60,000 more people had died from sustained injuries as well as radiation illness. (Sullivan)
To fully examine the factors that led to the United States to drop an atomic bomb on the city of Nagasaki, one can look at the event as a result of two major decisions. The first decision concerned the use of newly developed nuclear weapons in lieu of other military techniques to secure a timely Japanese surrender. The second decision was to use several of these weapons instead of only one. Although the Truman administration displayed little hesitation or ambivalence over the decision to use atomic weapons (Walker, 51), it is important to examine what factors contributed to these swift actions.
March 1994. “Summary of Damages and Injuries.” The Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: 3-11. The “Day After.” Cultural Information Service.