Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
The atomic bomb changed history
The atomic bomb parcc essay
The atomic bomb and it's impact
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
One of the largest social impacts of the atomic bomb is that the atomic bomb instills fear into people for nuclear explosion and war. Before the first atomic bomb was dropped, a typical war meant that the people feared for casualty, physical pain and lost of love ones. With the new age of atomic bomb, every coming war has a potential to become a nuclear war, and a nuclear war brings a new type of fear. This new fear is the fear for the end of the world and humankind. When there is a weapon that can level an entire city and killing 66,000 people while injuring 69,000 people (atomicarhive.com) with long term health effects, people will obviously be scared. People fear that there won’t be a future for humankind. If a nuclear war were to happen, half a country to an entire country can easily be destroyed to the point where it becomes inhabitable due to radiation. Through a Stanford University psychological study of young survivors of World War II, it has been found that almost half the subjects surveyed believe that a nuclear war will result in the complete annihilation of humank...
The atomic bomb created under the Manhattan Project set a new level of psychological panic. It influence media, government, and daily lives of those all around the world. The media was covering stories about protection from a nuclear attack and the government was right next to the reporters helping to further the creation of fear with their messages about preparation.
This sharp decrease in morale amongst the Japanese people after the dropping of the atomic bomb coincided with an increase in Japanese fear of American and Allied power in future battles. For example, according to survivors of the bombing, whenever a lone American plane was seen over a Japanese city, people would “rush into their shelters,” and “They went in and out so much that they did not have time to eat. They were so nervous they could not work.” Prior to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki most Japanese were only scared of American aircraft if there was a large group, but after the dropping of the atomic bomb any individual plane could wreak havoc on Japanese cities, as Elona Gay did to Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945. The use of the atomic bomb was able to spread fear amongst the Japanese people so much that after the droppings of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki many people fled the cities to the countryside fearing more attacks of the same magnitude from the Allied powers.
"The truth is bad enough--but nowhere near as bad as you probably think. The truth will do away with a lot of silly ideas, a lot of completely wrong notions, which millions of people now believe about the atomic bomb. These ideas could easily cause great panic. And right now the possibility of panic is one of the best weapons any enemy could use against us." (Gerstell, How to Survive an Atomic Bomb 1)
The dropping of the atomic bomb was a major turning point in United Sates history and WW2 specifically, it caused the surrender of Japan and ultimately ended the war which had been going on since 1939 two years prior to U.S. involvement. The dropping of the atomic bomb not only ended the war but lead to a fight over which nation had the most atomic weapons, a terrifying power play between countries. Through the years leading up to the dropping of the atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki the United States struggles with preventing the speed of communism and intimidating the Soviet Union. Through WW2 American casualties were also adding up fast. The use of the atomic bombs was a shock strategy the government saw as the most successful was to
The statement “Killing 150,000 people in less than a second actually allowed fewer lives to be lost.” might sound horrendous. However, that statement is the reason why the United States was able to win the Second World War. In contrast to this statement, some people might argue that it is inhumane to massacre that many people in less than a second. The dropping of the atomic bombs on August sixth and ninth of 1945 was the correct decision for American in order to effectively and efficiently end World War Two. America should have dropped the bomb because it saved American lives, there was a lack of incentives not to use the bomb, and dropping the bombs was the quickest way to end the war.
In 1945, the United States released a nuclear bomb that destroyed the city of Hiroshima. Nagasaki was also bombed. Thousands of people died and a quarter of a million more perished of radiation poisoning (“There Will Come Soft Rains (short story)”). With the development of nuclear weapons in the world the possibility of a nuclear war was a daily fear within people (“There Will Come Soft Rains (short story)”).
The atomic bomb is the subject of much controversy. Since its first detonation in 1945, the entire world has heard the aftershocks of that blast. Issues concerning Nuclear Weapons sparked the Cold War. We also have the atomic bomb to thank for our relative peace in this time due to the fear of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD). The effects of the atomic bomb might not have been the exact effects that the United States was looking for when they dropped Little Boy and Fat Man on Hiroshima and Nagasaki respectively (Grant, 1998). The original desire of the United States government when they dropped Little Boy and Fat Man on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was not, in fact, the one more commonly known: that the two nuclear devices dropped upon Hiroshima and Nagasaki were detonated with the intention of bringing an end to the war with Japan, but instead to intimidate the Soviet Union. The fact of Japan's imminent defeat, the undeniable truth that relations with Russia were deteriorating, and competition for the division of Europe prove this without question.
“The atomic bomb certainly is the most powerful of all weapons, but it is conclusively powerful and effective only in the hands of the nation which controls the sky” (Johnson 1). Throughout World War II, the war was in pieces. The Germans were almost at world domination along with their allies, the Italians and Japanese. The Japanese and United states had remained at combat with each other since the bombarding of the Pearl Harbor ("U.S. Drops Atomic Bomb on Japan "1). There was abundant controversy as to whether the United States should have used the atomic bombs or not. There were many factors as to the argument relating to the atomic bombs leading to the United States final decision. Many people had arguments for the bombing and others had arguments against the bombings but it is still not determined if the United States made the right decision.
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.
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 was certainly a reasonable view for the USA to take, since they had suffered the loss of more than thousands of lives, both military and civilian. To the top rank of the US military the death toll was worth it to prevent the “many thousands of American troops that would have been killed in invading Japan.” This was a grave
How different would the world be if America had never dropped the bomb on Japan to end World War II? If America had simply offered Japan a way to surrender by simply threatening the use of the atomic bomb, would Japan have surrendered? The world will never know, however Leo Szilard, one of the scientists that created the atomic bomb, tried to make a plea for this to happen. A month before the atomic bomb was dropped on Japan in WWII, Leo Szilard and 59 scientists stood up for what they believed in and tried to alter the thinking and decision that the President was making.
Also today is the danger that life is extinguished on earth through such a horrible weapon , not over. Many states are in possession of nuclear bombs , because that means for them power. Even dictatorships and unjust regime like China and North Korea have nuclear weapons.
World War II brought up many new technologies for warfare. Advanced on existing developments such as weaponry, ships, vehicles air crafts, navigational devices and medicine are just a few broad examples of developments in warfare during this time in United States and World history. One development, however, changed the entire way of warfare. The Atomic bomb was developed during this time out of fears that the Germans had the same technologies, or at least were working to obtain it. Once the United States had this technological capability of producing atomic weapons, the way of fighting was changed. Two bombs were dropped on Japan in August of 1945, one on the city of Hiroshima and the other on the city of Nagasaki. Afterward, the ear of atomic diplomacy came up in American international relations, which as we have seen today, has led to the development of even stronger, more deadly weaponry and bombs. The bombing of Japan also brings up the still prevalent debate of whether the bombings were justifiable or not. Historians Gar Alperovitz, Robert P. Newman and Barton Bernstein all have written essays expressing their opinions in the matter.
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).
Fear of a potential nuclear attack has been heightened by the media and its release of movies impacting on public opinion and fear of nuclear devastation. The lives lost after the detonation of the atomic bombs have become warning signs that changed global thinking and caused preventative actions. The Atomic Bomb The devastation brought about by the atomic bomb has caused fear among all the people that have realized the potential destructive power of its invention. The atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945 completely obliterated both cities (Lanouette 30).