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Political effects from the atomic bomb
Effects of nuclear weapons essay
Political effects from the atomic bomb
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Nuclear power was always thought to be far too great to ever be used for harm. Many United States officials came to this belief as well, but only once it was too late. At the end of World War II, it was known that Japan was looking for the easiest way to surrender with the least possible consequences toward. It was known that the dropping of the atomic bomb would kill and injure thousands of innocent lives, and destroy everything in its path. Lastly, it was known that the dropping of the atomic bomb would forever change weaponry because a new type of weapon was born. The United States was not justified in dropping the atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki because Japan was on the verge of surrender; it caused harm to thousands of innocent lives, and changed weaponry forever. The dropping of atomic bombs in both Hiroshima and Nagasaki risked close to 500,000 innocent civilian lives, all to make an unnecessary final blow to Japan who was already on its knees. At this time, Japan was looking for the easiest way to surrender to the United States in the easiest way. The atomic bomb should not have been used and even the creators of the bomb agreed as they hid the secret of the bomb from the United States people in attempt to prevent the bombs from ever being used (Did the U.S. 1). The United States should have realized that a weapon of mass destruction, like the atomic bomb, was too powerful when the people who built it in the first place discouraged its use. Also, only limited warning was given to Japan. The United States did not provide warning of a bomb, only a warning for Japan to accept unconditional surrender or risk “prompt and utter destruction.” In the first and also the only warning given to Japan, not once was the bomb ever... ... middle of paper ... ...the world's first atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. This unjustified act on behalf of the United States would become one of the darkest days in the history of the world. This day of destruction would also forever change warfare for the worse. The United States dropping of the atomic bomb introduced the world to a new class of weaponry, nuclear weapons. The first usage of the atomic bomb validated why the creators never wanted it used at all. The two bombs combined caused a total death toll of approximately 250,000 people by the end of 1950, while not including the many others survivors left suffering from radiation symptoms. The United States was never justified in dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki because it was unnecessary for victory and it cost thousands of innocent people their lives, while leaving devastation to millions more.
In discussion of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, one controversial issue has the dropping of the atomic bombs being justified. On the other hand others believe that there were other ways of getting Japan to surrender and it was not justified, the only way we could get Japan to surrender was to invade them. Our strategy was to island hop until we got to Japan. Many more lives were at steak when doing that. Not only would just Americans would die, but a lot of the Japanese would have died as well, and the death toll would have much greater. 199,000 deaths came after the dropping of the atomic bombs. However, many American lives were saved, what the Japanese did to Pearl Harbor, and the treatment of our American soldiers while
The United States was justified in dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki for many reasons. First of all, just to start out, the bombings had nothing to do with Japan, it was about the Cold War and the real reason America used these weapons was to show Russia that the US possessed them. Second, the war in the Pacific had been raging for almost four years. The two battles immediately preceding the bomb decision were Iwo Jima and Okinawa, two battles where the Japanese fought to the death and the cost in American casualties was horrific. It was predicted that the invasion of the Japanese mainland at the Island of Kyushu -- scheduled for November of 1945 -- would be even worse. The entire Japanese military and civilian population would fight to the death. American casualties -- just for that initial invasion to get a foothold on the island of Japan would have taken up to an estimated two months and would have resulted in up to 75,000 to 100,000 casualties. And that was just the beginning. Once the island of Kyushu was captured by U.S. troops, the remainder of Japan would follow. You can just imagine the cost in injuries and lives this would take. Also It is not beyond the possibility that a million or more Americans could have been killed had we landed. The Japanese had correctly guessed where we intended to land, and were ready and waiting for us. The casualties would have been high. Another reason the atomic bomb was justified is the bomb was dropped with a desire to save lives. It is a matter of math. How many Americans lost their lives fighting how many Japanese at Tarawa, Iwo Jima, Okinawa. The mathematical formula showed the closer we got to Japan the more we lost.
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 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.
President Truman's decision to drop the atomic bomb on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the direct cause for the end of World War II in the Pacific. The United States felt it was necessary to drop the atomic bombs on these two cities or it would suffer more casualties. Not only could the lives of many soldiers have been taken, but possibly the lives of many innocent Americans. The United States will always try to avoid the loss of American civilians at all costs, even if that means taking lives of another countries innocent civilians.
The real question we had was “is this an effective form of war?”. When looking at statistics, the bomb dropped in Hiroshima killed only 20,000 military personnel and around 50-80,000 civilians. This clearly affected the civilians of Japan heavily. The US believed that a nuclear weapon would have spared a lot of pain and made invading Japan an irrelevant idea because it would be a waste of resources. Others weighed in their opinion and came up with the idea of “detonating a nuclear weapon in a non-inhabited but observable area to compel Japan to surrender” which was personally a better idea since it was not inhumane.
The last reason why the use of the atomic bomb was justified was because there were no laws regulating the use of the atomic bomb during World War II. But it also discouraged future use of other atomic bombs because after the success of the Manhattan project, other nations developed their own bomb but were afraid to use it because they were concerned about the aftermath of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was morally justified because the United States had a legitimate reason at the time to use the atomic bomb, which was to save American lives. Before the United States decided to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, they were using a tactic called Island Hopping. Island Hopping involved American forces occupying islands that lead toward Japan....
The development of the atomic bomb and chemical warfare forever changed the way people saw the world. It was a landmark in time for which there was no turning back. The constant balancing of the nuclear super powers kept the whole of humankind on the brink of atomic Armageddon. Fear of nuclear winter and the uncertainty of radiation created its own form of a cultural epidemic in the United States. During these tense times in human history officials made controversial decisions such as the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Dangerous biological experiments and bombs tests were carried out in the name of the greater good and national defense. Some historians and scientists argue that the decisions and acts carried out by the U.S. during World War II and the Cold War were unethical because of the direct damage they did. The United States' decisions were moral because it can be proven their actions were aimed at achieving a greater good and those that were put in potential danger volunteered and were informed of the risk.
These reasons have a plethora of evidence supporting them, as well as evidence disproving the opposing side. The atomic bomb’s impact on the ethics surrounding war and humanity left a significant mark which is still seen today. There was no real reason to have dropped that weapon, and the fact that the United States did is disgraceful to humanity. U.S. General and later President Dwight D. Eisenhower said it best when he stated, “Japan was at that very moment seeking some ways to surrender with a minimum loss of ‘face’... it wasn’t necessary to hit them with that awful thing” (Alperovitz, 1990, p.
“My God, what have we done?” were the words that the co-pilot of Enola Gay wrote in his logbook after helping drop two bombs, one in Hiroshima and one in Nagasaki, that killed an estimated two-hundred thousand individuals. The bombings were completely unnecessary. Japan was already defeated because they lacked the necessary materials to continue a world war. The Japanese were prepared to surrender. There was no military necessity to drop the atomic bombs nor is there any factual information stating that the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were dropped to “save the lives of one million American soldiers.” The United States bombed Japan in August of 1945. The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were uncalled for and could have been avoided.
There were several reasons that the U.S. should have dropped the atomic bombs on Japan. To begin, on Dec. 7, 1941 the Japanese had surprised attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, which had destroyed many Americans ships of the Pacific fleet. Many Americans soldiers had died of the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. The U.S. didn’t want to waste all the resource used in building the atomic bombs since it was spend million of dollar on the Manhattan project. Moreover, the atomic bombs had save many of the Americans soldiers life by stopping the invasion of Japan which would have killed many more Americans. The Americans wanted all the credit to themselves since they fought with Japanese battle to battle and later on the Russian soviet union
In my opinion, the decision to use the atomic bomb was harsh and rash, but necessary to end the war and protect American lives and interests. Sometimes harsh decisions need to be made in order to serve the greater good. It was somewhat unjust to the Japanese civilians but in the end saved many military lives that would have been wasted if the war dragged on for who knows how many more years. This is why, in the end, I feel it was the best way to put the storm of World War 2 to rest.
The first reason that the United States should not have dropped the bomb is because the U.S. violated the Geneva Protocol. The Geneva Protocol banned the use of chemical weapons in war. According to Siebert, “The use of atomic bombs violated these principles: excessive force was used to defeat the enemy; the direct targets were civilians and non-military installations; and the damage caused by radiation poisoning at the blast site and in the surrounding environment was neither limited nor contained”, which proves the United States was wrong in dropping the atomic bomb. That is the first reason why the United States should not have dropped the bomb on Japan.
“...a shattering flash filled the sky. I was thrown to the ground and the world collapsed around me…. I couldn’t see anything. It was completely dark…. When I finally struggled free there was a terrible smell and I rubbed my mouth with a towel I carried around empty waist. All the skin came off my face, and then all the skin on my arms and hands fell off. The sky was black as night, and I ran homewards towards the Tsurumi River Bridge. People by the hundreds were flailing in the river…” (Quoted in Harper, Miracle of Deliverance) At the end of World War II, the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Japan on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The atomic bombs were dropped after Germany surrendered and were stated to have been used
On August 6, 1945 the United States dropped the first atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. This was an extremely controversial military strategy in the United States. Was the United States justified in the dropping of the atomic bomb? The U.S. feared the rise of communism and gave aid to any country against it. The U.S. also fought countries threatening the spread communism. One of these countries was Japan. We began a harsh and brutal war against Japan and against communism. This war was killing many soldiers and Japan was not backing down. President Truman decided to use the atomic bomb when things were getting worse. The decision to use the atomic bomb was a difficult one and many people wonder if it was the right choice.