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Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Destruction has shaped history in extreme ways, and without it , the world would be much different than it is in this modern day. Devastating and history changing destructions people remember well would be The Bombings of Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and Pearl Harbour, all of which took many military as well as civilian lives, changing people's lives forever, due to their effect on the world. Japan bombed Pearl Harbour due to it being an important area of the American Military, their hope was that taking out a big part of their military would prevent America from getting in the way. America fought back anyway and eventually turned to even bigger and more destructive bombs than Japan. A big problem with this is the bombing locations America chose; Hiroshima and Nagasaki, both were where civilians resided. To many this would be considered a War Crime against the people of Japan as they were civilians and not involved in the military, but on the other end,others would say it was an act of self defense for America. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were
In his mind Japan is already defeated, it had no allies, their fleets were dwindling and their soldiers falling like flies, making the bombs unnecessary, being used simply because they could be used. I agree with only half of this, the agreeing part being that japan was indeed losing power in the war and would eventually lose completely, however I do not agree with the idea that America bombed them out of revenge. When the bombs were launched it was no happy celebration but an agonizing wait for the thousands of innocent lives to be taken in a very violent way. The American government did not launch in the intent to make the people suffer but instead to quickly end a war that was taking a great many of their own civilian and military
Atomic bombs destroyed parts of Japan and took out the population of cities; however, the Japanese took the lives of enough people to fill the population of South Dakota; 17 times. Third, during the war, the US economy plummeted as we were still recovering from the Great Depression. We didn’t have much time since the Great Depression to the war.
1.The dropping of the bomb on Hiroshima was necessary to end the war with the least number of total casualties and in the fastest possible way. The figures regarding the exact number of American lives that would’ve been lost has been highly debated, but considering the great resolve that the Japanese army had, they would almost surely have been more than those killed in Nagasaki, and that is just on the American side. I do not value American lives more than the lives of the innocent, many of whom were victims to the attack, but it is important to remember that regardless of whether we had dropped the bomb or not, we were fighting total war. In the many battles that would’ve occurred if the war had continued, women and children may have still been victims as we advanced our troops. These battles could’ve taken as long as another year, and who can say when the Japanese would’ve finally surrendered? They were filled with pride and resilience, and many soldiers would’ve prefered to die with honor, defending their homeland, than to surrender.
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
Hence, making the use of the nuclear bomb necessary, since the entire world had already seen how cruel the Japanese were with brutal war crimes that happen throughout the war and spread terror. Also it is important to mention the attack on Pearl Harbor which at the time the United States was no involved in the war at the time. The United States needed to make Japan surrender so that nothing like that would happen again to them or the rest of the Allies. The use of the atomic bomb aided the Allies in getting one step closer to ending the war, however, the use of the bomb had a lot of after effects. Hence, “the four-ton uranium bomb wreaked unprecedented havoc
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.
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.
Desperate measures had to be taken to bring an end to World War II. The war was promised to continue, which would then result in many more deaths of American soldiers. By dropping the first and only two atomic bombs in history, America guaranteed that World War II would result in a quick conclusion. Although the bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki did cost many Japanese citizens their lives, doing so was mandatory to bring an end to World War II. Dropping the atomic bombs was an extremely difficult but necessary decision that America had to make to bring an end to the war.
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
For more than four years after the events of Pearl Harbor, Americans sacrificed their lives to the war against the country of Japan. The attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7,1941 achieved complete surprise and success. It was Pearl Harbor that unified American opinion and determination to see the war through on the Japanese who still maintained its position of being an aggressive enemy against Allied Powers. The U.S. fleet was rebuilt with astonishing speed, and its chain of defenses (Sakamoto). At the Potsdam Conference, a conference between the Allied forces to discuss war options, Truman learned of the successful test explosion of the atomic bomb and informed the other Allied leaders, that the atomic bomb was complete and ready. The United States, Britain, and China then issued a statement threatening to destroy Japan unless it surrendered
“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.
... then turned to incidenary bombing at low altitudes with devastating results. In a few months 180 square miles of 67 different cities were destroyed; 2, 510,00 Japanese homes were destroyed leaving about 30% of the population homeless. With between 268,157 to 900,000 Japanese civilians killed there were more Japanese civilians killed by American weapons than were Japanese soldier and the majority of these deaths were direct results of firebombing. The United States then dropped two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki killing 200,000 people and within days the Japanese surrendered. While the morality of the bombing of Japan is highly questionable the effectiveness is not. The bombing led directly to the surrender of the Japanese and saved the lives of the many American troops that would have been lost had the United States engaged in the invasion of the mainland.
...e atomic bomb on Japan was extremely controversial it ultimately ended in America’s favor when Japan surrendered. According to Karl Compton, “it was not one atomic bomb, or two, which brought the surrender; it was the experience of what an atomic bomb will actually do to a community, plus the dread of many more, that was effective.” Hiroshima and Nagasaki will always serve as a reminder of the tremendous effects powerful weapons can have on a country. America consciously decided to seize Japanese lives in order to save American lives. The attack effected Japan in a massive amount of negative ways but the outcome of the atomic bomb did create positive effects for America. The devastation generated by the atomic bomb will never be forgotten by citizens worldwide. “The atomic bomb was more than a weapon of terrible destruction; it was a psychological weapon.” (Stimson)
Introduction The development and usage of the first atomic bombs has caused a change in the military, political, and public functionality of the world today. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki revolutionized warfare by killing large masses of civilian population with a single strike. The bombs’ effects from the blast, extreme heat, and radiation left an estimated 140,000 people dead. The bombs created a temporary resolution that led to another conflict.
The long lasting effects of the atomic bomb dropped on both Hiroshima and Nagasaki were justified by the United States. The United States had no other choice, or the war would just go on, which would be unfavorable for both the United States and Japan.