Atomic Bomb Essay

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After the first few days of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Americans, without knowledge of the aftermath of these cities, began cheering and celebrating as the bombings marked the end of World War II. Also, this event showed that Americans would be the ones who would lead the world into the nuclear age. In a Gallup Poll taken from August 10-15, 1945, Americans were asked whether or not they approved or disapproved of the use of atomic bombs on Japanese cities, 85 percent approved, ten percent disapproved and five had no opinion.30 then when asked if the development of the atomic bomb was a good or bad thing, 69 percent said it was a good thing, 17 percent said it was bad, and 14 percent had no opinion (Steele). However, as time passed and more information about the bombings was given, Americans began to have mixed feelings and different thoughts about how this should have been handled. Scholars at that time found that Americans began feeling a sense of terror since they wondered what more could be done with nuclear weapons. They believed that even though the war was over, these kinds of weapons could come back to hurt them and that no one can really know what can happen to them or the rest of the world after creating the atomic bomb. Americans felt that the weapons that had been used to end war with Japan could be the beginning of the end and that no one was safe anymore. Hanson W. Baldwin, a writer for The New York Times once wrote, "much of our bombing through this war-like the enemy's--has been directed against cities, and hence against civilians. . . Americans have become a synonym for destruction. And now we have been the first to introduce a new weapon of unknowable effects which may bring us victory quickly b... ... middle of paper ... ...ormation about the radiation was censored by General MacArthur and was never allowed to be published (Goodman). The government went to many extraordinary measures to prevent images, Hiroshima information, and causes of the atomic bomb from being shown to the public. While this may have worked in the earlier days after the bombings, Americans wanted to know the truth, and many writers and researchers would do anything to get their information published. Information about Hiroshima and Nagasaki were gradually published, of course with the consent of the government. America was greatly affected by the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. American reactions varied due to many factors. While many reactions to this end to the war were positive, some Americans questioned how this situation was handled and wondered if other things could have been done to end World War II.

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