Atomic+Bomb

[|Little Boy]The Atomic Bomb: Was it a Good Decision?

By

Alex Roberts 4/14/08 Block 6 Atom Bomb

"Then a tremendous flash of light cut across the sky. Mr. Tanimoto has a distinct recollection that it traveled from east to west, from the city toward the hills. It seemed a sheet of sun. Both he and Mr. Matsuo reacted in terror-"

On August 6, 1945, the United States dropped the first [|atomic bomb] ever in a combat situation over the city of [|Hiroshima], Japan. At first, no one stopped to think whether the use of the bombs were necessary, they were just happy that WWII was over. Years after, many critics started to question President Truman's decision. The use of the atomic bomb has long been disputed between critics. The main issue, was it a good decision? Some critics claim that the United States wanted to show the Soviet Union what we were capable of. Other critics say that it saved millions of lives. [|President Truman's]decision to use the atomic bomb as a last resort was a quick decision which has been criticized as a move that was not well thought out. Although, the use of the atomic bomb over Hiroshima and Nagasaki was a quick way out of Japan and WWII, the aftermath was deadly. The final decision to use the atomic bombs was a good decision which had many good effects on the world. When the U.S went to the pacific to fight the Japanese, they were initially going to get back at them for the attacks on [|Pearl Harbor], Hawaii. On December 7, 1941, Japanese fighter planes and submarines attacked and took down military vessels stationed in the harbor. The devastating attack on Pearl Harbor resulted in almost 2,400 deaths, and over 1,000 people were wounded. On top of human losses, the U.S lost two navy battleships, one minelayer, and two destroyer ships which were damaged beyond repair. Japan intended to ruin the U.S Navy fleet, in order to protect their imperialist movement throughout the pacific. After joining the war in the pacific in 1941, the U.S was fighting [|Nazi] Germany and Fascist Italy in Europe, and the [|imperialist] nation of Japan in the pacific. During the course of the war it became evident that the Japanese would not surrender unless forced to, which led to the U.S to use the atomic bomb. Months before using the atomic bombs, the Japanese were warned that if they did not surrender, a weapon of immense power and devastation would be used against them. Citizens were warned to get out of the country if they wanted to live, and the U.S had an operation where they dropped leaflets over the cities that might have been bombed. Although Nagasaki was never warned that way, most of Japan took the warning as an empty threat since the U.S had not shown them what the weapon could actually do. The U.S Army, which was led by President Truman, realized that the only way to get out of the war was to use the bombs. It was a go/od decision ultimately because had they not used the bombs, the war would have lasted a couple more years and cost the lives of hundreds of thousands, if not millions of American and Japanese lives. Because of the way the Japanese fight meant that either every Japanese soldier was killed, or we caused enough destruction to end the war. Using the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was a good decision which helped save many American lives.

The use of the atomic bombs in [|WWII]was a logistically smart decision in ending the war. The use of the atomic bomb which killed over 140,000 people in Hiroshima and about 80,000 people in Nagasaki was justified. Top military experts believed that if we had not dropped the atomic bombs on Japan, more than one million America lives would have been lost due to the bloody fighting of the Japanese. The Japanese who fight until death would not have surrendered and therefore the use of excessive force was necessary and justified. The use of the bombs which eventually caused Japan to surrender stopped the U.S from needing to use [|Operation Downfall], an operation which would have caused the loss of many American soldiers' lives and many more Japanese soldier and civilian losses. Operation Downfall, was the operation in which the U.S would capture the southern third of the southernmost main Japanese island of [|Kyushu], since Japan is consisted of many small islands, and later be the steps in which the U.S would capture [|Tokyo]. The problem with this plan was that the idea was very obvious to the Japanese, and the Japanese would have strong defensive holds on the whole region. Another reason why the use of the atomic bomb was logistically smart was because most importantly, it ended WWII. The end of the war, which was not going to be possible without the loss of many more American and Japanese lives was easily ended by the use of the atomic bombs, Little Boy, the bomb used on Hiroshima, and [|Fat Man], the bomb dropped over [|Nagasaki]. Although there were many civilian casualties the bombs were the smartest way to get out of Japan.

Some people look at the use of the atomic bomb as a horrific thing that killed many innocent lives, but the good factors of using the bomb outnumbered the bad. One of the best parts of using the atomic bombs was that it got our soldiers out of Japan and ended the war in the pacific. Many families had sons, brothers, husbands, cousins in the pacific and were eager to get them back sooner rather than later. The worst fear for many families was to get the letter or call home saying that their kid or relative was killed in war. The use of the atomic bomb was a way to end these families fear of losing a relative or child in the war. Another good thing about using the atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki was that it saved millions of American lives. It got us out of the pacific before Operation Downfall the plan that would cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of soldiers. Also a prolonged stay in Japan would surely mean more lives lost, and millions of dollars extra being spent on keeping our soldiers fed, healthy, and protected in the dangerous pacific. The cost of keeping this war going was not necessary and would have been a bad idea. The use of the Atomic bomb got us out of the war quickly, and saved millions of lives and dollars.

The greatest effect that the use of the atomic bomb had was that Japan surrendered, thus ending the war in the pacific and WWII. After using the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan was forced to surrender or they would sustain even heavier losses due to a full allied invasion shortly after the attacks. In using the atomic bombs, the U.S was able to greatly damage Japan and weaken its' army, while they sustained no losses. The use of the atomic bomb was a way to show Japan that they were dangerous and that if they continued to fight Japan would be destroyed. However, the use of the atomic bombs also ended WWII and stopped the loss of American lives. By the time the U.S made the decision to use the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the war in Europe was over. The end of WWII meant ending the bloody war in the pacific. In using the bombs, the U.S was able to stop spending millions of dollars, and was able to bring our troops to the safety of the U.S. The longest lasting aspect of using the bombs was that Japan was greatly weakened. The bombs, which destroyed the cities and demolished the land created billions of dollars worth of destruction. Not only was Japan severely weakened because of radiation and deaths, but the infrastructure of the buildings that remained standing were damaged completely. Japan was going to have to build its cities back up, something they would do with American help. Japan also went through a bunch of political changes. The Japanese emperor surrendered and was thrown out of the thrown, and many more political changes occurred after that, in a way to help rebuild the ruined nation. The Soviet Union wanted to come into Japan to help fight. The U.S however did not want to let the Soviet Union help because they did not want to give any credit to a country who was barely an ally. The use of the atomic bombs not only made Japan surrender; it also ended WWII and allowed our troops to finally come home.

Although the use of the atomic bomb was a great decision which saved many lives, there were many bad aspects of its use. The atomic bomb is deadly because of the splitting of atoms inside of the Uranium. Uranium, a highly radioactive element when spewed over the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, caused many horrific deaths due to radioactive poisoning. Almost 140,000 thousand of the deaths from the bombs were due to burns, radioactive poisoning, or related diseases. By 1950 it is estimated that 200,000 people died due to cancer or other long term effects. The radioactivity was more deadly than the actually explosion, because the radioactive elements took time to decompose. The actual explosion which reached an amazing 7,000 degrees Fahrenheit and was able to burn shadows into the concrete. Another horrible effect of the radiation was that people's skin was deformed, their hair was gone, and many lost limbs and other features due to the radiation. The bombs also were the first to be used in a combat situation and still have been the only bombs ever used in war. The total destruction that these bombs had inspired the [|Soviet Union], who the U.S was faltering, allies with, to create their own bombs. This event led to the giant nuclear arms race that happened in the 1950's and eventually led to starting the cold war. The cold war, which took place between the Soviet Union, and the U.S made many Americans fear an all out nuclear war, since the Soviets had missiles stationed in Cuba. Although, the war never escalated to the use of these missiles, it changed many Americans views on these deadly weapons. The use of the atomic bomb was certainly a good decision, but it was a deadly one that also had many bad aspects. During the war patriotism in America sky rocketed, due to the fact that people like to support their country in times of trouble, and woman started to get their first tastes of being an equal citizen. Before the war men in America had all of the jobs ranging from being a factory worker all the way to running the local pizza place. For women they had a boring job; stay home everyday and have the meal on the table when your husband gets home. But when the men starting getting drafted for WWII and the War in The Pacific many factories and companies needed workers. Woman were given the same jobs and told that it's your duty to work in these factories because our troops need supplies, food, weapons. But woman were hard to get at first, so they started using [|Rosie the Riveter]. Rosie the Riveter's slogan was, "We Can Do It" which represented the fact that women are just as able as the men. When WWII ended though, woman were getting ads saying it is their duty to stay at home waiting for the man to get back. Women were starting to like having the same opportunity as the men but started getting used to being a stay at home wife. After the war however patriotism went down. People no longer found a need to support the [|economy], use American products, own American cars. They had done it before because it would look bad if they didn't support the country, but now they had no one to please or show off to. WWII brought many good things to the United States, and was able to bring the best out of people. The use of the atomic bomb on August 7 and 9, 1945, was and still is a highly controversial move. This controversial move however, was an excellent decision and the U.S made a necessary move in ending WWII. President Truman's quick and timely decision has been criticized, but WWII was over, we were finally out of the War in the Pacific. The use of the atomic bombs over Hiroshima had devastating and horrific effects but the good factors of using these bombs initially out numbered the bad. Women were also finally allowed to share equality with men. The use of the atomic bombs was a very good decision with was necessary in ending the war in the pacific and to finally finish WWII. THE END BY ALEX ROBERTS

Annotated Bibliography "Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki." //History in Dispute, Vol. 3: American Social and Political Movements, 1900-1945.// Robert J. Allison, ed. St. James Press, 2000. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/HistRC/  This article’s view from History Resource Center is against the use of the atomic bomb. They are against the use, saying that it was unnecessary and was just used to halt the Russians advancement. They believe that Truman just used the bombs to end the war quickly no matter what the effects were. This site is for anyone that is interested in hearing a controversial view on the attacks.   "//The First Atomic Bomb Is Successfully Detonated//, July 16, 1945." //DISCovering World History//. Online Edition. Gale, 2003. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/HistRC/  This article from History Resource Center describes the effects of using the atomic bomb. It also explains how the bomb was made and how destructive it would be and was. This article is for anyone that is interested in the science of the attack.

"//Atomic Bomb Dropped on Hiroshima//, August 6, 1945." //DISCovering World History//. Online Edition. Gale, 2003. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/HistRC/  This article is not for the use of the atomic bomb or against it. The article explains what happened during the war and what led up to the initial attack. The article talks about the Manhattan project and the funding that went in to it. This article is for anyone who wants to know the unbiased facts.  "//United States Decides to Construct an Atomic Bomb//, 1939-1942." //DISCovering World History//. Online Edition. Gale, 2003. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale. [|http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/HistRC/  This article explains the motives to building the atomic bomb. The article explains how the U.S was pressured to do something and research how to harness such immense power. They also explain why the government was in a rush to beat Germany in the nuclear arms race. This article is for people interested in the initial decision to produce the bombs. Hersey, J. (1985). A Noiseless Flash. In //Hiroshima// (pp. 3-10) [Introduction]. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.  The book, Hiroshima is a book that everyone should read. The book gives first hand reactions to the bombings and personal accounts of what happened when the bomb was dropped. This is a very interesting book and anyone interested in reading the horrors of what happened should read this.