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The Devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki On August 6, 1945 the first of two atomic bombs were dropped on Japan by the United States in order to finish World War II. The first one landed over the heavily populated city of Hiroshima. The second bomb was dropped, not only three days later, on August 9, 1945 on another Japanese city called Nagasaki. Both atomic bombs made terrible impacts on the cities they were dropped on. Hiroshima and Nagasaki were destroyed beyond belief leaving a trail of dust where once families lived a normal life. The U.S. should not have dropped the Atomic Bomb on Japan because it affected the climate and world’s mindset, targeted two sites that were not military bases, and killed a profuse amount of innocent citizens. …show more content…
When the “Little Boy” was dropped on Hiroshima in less than a second it the fireball had consumed 900 feet of land. The damage only got worse from there on. As time ticked by two-thirds of Hiroshima’s buildings were destroyed and a black rain fell down on places untouched by the bomb. Black rain is dirt, dust, soot and highly radioactive particles that were sucked into the air at the time of the fireball. At this point America knew what is was doing yet they continued to wreck Japan. When the second bomb, “Fat Man”, was dropped on Nagasaki the terror was just the same. In seconds 40 percent of Nagasaki was in ruins. Not only did it blow apart everything in sight, but it also haunted the crops and lives for years after the bomb. “Two years after the bombing plants growing at ground zero presaged the frightening …show more content…
When the bomb on Pearl Harbor was dropped it hit a military base. When the bombs on Japan were dropped they hit factories and hospitals. In Hiroshima the bomb had landed over Shima Surgical Hospital and the second bomb landed on a race track in Nagasaki. America knew that there was no military bases where they were dropping the atomic bombs. Yet they went ahead with the plan anyways. The aim was to take out as many people as possible. Former President Harry Truman did not care if there were soldiers in Hiroshima or Nagasaki. All he was worried about was inflicting pain and destruction on these citizen filled cities. Hiroshima was picked because it was seen as a “military target” only because it had many factories which could produce for the war. Another reason was because the population was so huge. The Americans wanted something to make a statement wiping a city clean would definitely make one. “So, they decided this bomb would not just kill — it would do something biblical: One bomb, from one plane, would wipe a city off the map. It would be horrible. But they wanted it to be horrible, to end the war and to try to stop the future use of nuclear bombs.” (Why Did The U.S. Choose Hiroshima?). Nagasaki was not even supposed to be the intended second bombing. The U.S. had sought to drop the atomics over Kokura. But do to weather conditions the bomb was forced to be dropped
Japan will never forgotten the day of August 6 and 9 in 1945; we became the only victim by the atomic bombs in the world. When the atomic was dropped at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, there was World War II. The decision of dropping the atomic bombs was affected by different backgrounds such as the Manhattan Project, and the Pacific War. At Hiroshima City, the population of Hiroshima was 350,000 when the atomic bomb dropped. Also, the population of Nagasaki was around 250,000 ("Overview."). However, there was no accurate number of death because all of documents were burned by the atomic bombs. On the other hand, the atomic bombs had extremely strong power and huge numbers of Japanese who lived in Hiroshima
On August 6, 1945, the U.S. dropped the world’s first atomic bomb over Hiroshima. Three days later, a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. On August 15th, the Japan announced unconditional surrender in World War II. To this day historians still discuss why the U.S. decided to use the atomic bombs. Orthodox historians argue that the decision to drop the bombs was a military one designed purely to defeat the Japanese.
The dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan were ethical decisions made by President Harry Truman and the United States government. By the time of the atom bomb was ready, the U.S. had been engaged in military conflict for over four years and lost over 400,000 soldiers. Truman claimed, "We would have the opportunity to bring the world into a pattern in which the peace of the world and our civilization can be saved" (Winkler 18). The bomb was aimed at ending the war immediately and avoiding prolonged battle in the Pacific Theater and the inevitable invasion of Japan. President Truman hoped that by showing the Japanese the devastating weapon the U.S. possessed, that the war could be brought ...
In the article “My Son, You Must Remember: Hiroshima and Nagasaki in William Styron’s Lie Down in Darkness” by Virginia Nickels, she reflects on William Styron who was a Marine officer during World War II. Remembering his fear approaching the Japanese invasion and recalling that 17,000 of American soldiers have already died. Nickels uses the book Lie Down in Darkness to show how not only the Japanese felt about the bombing on Hiroshima but also how the Americans felt. This show a very large difference because some Americans at the time didn’t even know that this atomic bomb had been built while others perceived the atomic bomb as the most versatile tool of the 20th century. For example, “Winkler cites one farmer’s letter inquiring as to where he could purchase a small atomic bomb to remove tree stumps from his fields, as a dynamite proved unsatisfactory” (Nickels 8). This is showing how some Americans are taking the bomb as almost a joke. Whereas, on the other hand, “particularly Berger’s identification of the inherent evil in mankind and Harry’s regret over the loss of Japanese lives”(Nickels 6). This is showing how some Americans post war did feel a sense of guilt for all the lives lost and how their attacks no longer held to their original innocence. Due to such a difference in feelings
On December 7, 1941 Japan launched a surprise attack on a U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii with the possibility of forcing the U.S. to join World War II. About 2,400 Americans were dead, 21 ships had been sunk, and 188 aircraft were destroyed. On August 6 and 9 of 1945, the U.S. retaliated and dropped two atomic bombs called Fat Man and Little Boy on the Japanese cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. The U.S. was not justified in dropping the atomic bombs on Japan because of the locations that were bombed, the terms of the Potsdam Declaration, and the lack of previous bomb testing. Firstly, the bombings were unjustified because of the locations where the bombs were dropped.
“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.
The decision to drop the atomic bomb was contemplated by officials in the American government for a prolonged period of time. Ultimately the conclusion was that dropping the bombs would be beneficial to America. The American government rationalized dropping the bombs by stating that it would terminate the war with Japan and save a plethora of American lives. America did issue an ultimatum declaring that Japan should cease to resist and in return conditions would be provided for Japan to finish the war with honor. This ultimatum was ignored and the alternative was absolute destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. (Dollinger) Most officials believed that taking this last step would force Japan’s surrender and shorten the war which would result in a decrease of American casualties. (Barnes) Winston Churchill approximated that one million American lives were preserved by utilizing the atomic bomb.
On August 6, 1945, the first bomb was dropped on the city of Hiroshima. Three days later, on August 9, the second bomb hit Nagasaki. Whether the United States made a moral and ethical decision is still an ongoing debate. President Truman was faced with a difficult choice. The U.S. chose to adopt a stance that seemed to limit the amount of casualties in the war, by significantly shortening it with the use of atomic weapons.
It is agreed by many parts of our society that one of the main atrocities done by the human being took place on August 6th and 9th, 1945 in the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. Over 170,000 innocent Japanese individuals died due to the dropping of two atomic bombs created in the United States. This transcendent historical event suddenly ended the bloody Second World War and gave the start to a new one, the cold war , which in fact led to an atomic weapons race between the Soviet Union and the United Sates of North America. It is constantly argued if the effect that the mentioned ending of the war had was positive or not to its resolution, and if the entire world got any benefits from it, but the action of dropping the nuclear weapons on the Japanese cities by the American government was completely unjustified, unnecessary, and unfair.
Though, the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor was inhumane, which many would use in defense of dropping the atomic bombs. The atomic bombs exponentially had a greater short-term and long-term effect compared to the attack on Pearl Harbor. When the atomic bombs were dropped they immediately vaporized, killed or burned civilians close enough to the bomb. Buildings and homes were destroyed, and thousands were buried within the scattered debris. Long-term, radiation haunts the survivors of the atomic bombs. It brought sicknesses, an increase in the rates of cancer, and the offspring of survivors had birth defects that continue to pass down each generation. Those survivors who could not cope with the trauma committed suicide. Hundreds of thousands of civilians including women, children and the elderly suffered from the atomic bombs. The atomic bomb continued to kill even after World War II was over. In total, the two atomic bombs killed a total of 240,000+ civilians. The USA knew how powerful the atomic bombs were and even continued to drop the second bomb on Nagasaki although they seen the effects of the first bomb on Hiroshima. The atomic bombs left Japan and their citizens crippled and in despair, and should not have been
In 1945 on August 6 and 9 the United States army air force under the orders of President Truman dropped two atomic bombs one on the city of Hiroshima and the other on the city of Nagasaki killing roughly two hundred twenty-six thousand people. The dropping of the atomic bomb was a very controversial event in the United States from the events that lead up to the dropping, the complex decision to dropping the bomb on an actual city, and how the dropping of the bomb helped shaped the way nations fight wars, and how they determine the damage that could be done if they were to use a weapon of mass destruction on civilians.
On August 6, 1945 to August 9, 1945, during World War II, an American bomber dropped the world's first two deployed atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima and Nagasaki which resulted in an explosion that wiped out 90 percent of the city. The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was known for the following two things: the mass murder of a million innocent lives, and the end of World War II. After analyzing the sources provided, it is evident that the use for atomic bombs was equally argued for and against because on one side, many believe that a purely technical demonstration of the atomic bombs would have also caused the war to cease, and on the other, countless do not and view direct military use the most efficient. On side
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.
“Little Boy,” the bomb dropped on Hiroshima killed 70,000 people with an additional 66,000 injured (30-39). “Fat Man,” the bomb dropped on Nagasaki, also carried its “share of America’s duty” by killing 40,000 people and injuring another 25,000 (30-39). The bombs also killed an estimated 230,000 more people from the after effects of the two explosions (30). The two bombings had opened the world’s eyes to the destructive power that could be unleashed by man. The bombs had raised hell on earth for those few minutes and produced a tremendous amount of casualties.
Consequently, when the Japanese refused to budge, the United States dropped two atomic bombs, the Little Boy and the Fat Man, on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. As a result, the Japanese people faced their ultimate plight. The Japanese’s stubborn ways and refusal to cooperate were why the United States was forced to drop the two atomic bombs onto the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. But there were also many downsides to the United States’ decision to drop the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Using the atomic bomb was illegal anywhere on the earth, so the United States using it was not legitimate.