Hiroshima and Nagasaki Case

Was the Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki necessary to end the war? As I did my research on this topic I found out that some found it necessary while others didn’t. During the course of this research paper I will be discussing why the atomic bomb was dropped. The effects right after the bomb was dropped for the Japanese and Americans also the after effects such as genetic effects. I will also touch on how Americans feel about the bomb more than fifty years later and what lessons were learned throughout all of this.

Hiroshima was founded in 1589, on the coast of the Seto Inland Sea, and became a major urban centre during the Meiji period. The city is located on the broad, flat delta of the Ota River, which has 7 channel outlets dividing the city into six islands which project into Hiroshima Bay. The city is almost entirely flat and only slightly above sea level; to the northwest and northeast of the city, some hills rise to 700 feet. Hiroshima was founded by Mori Motonari as his capital. About a half century later, after the Battle of Sekigahara, his grandson and the leader of the West Army Mori Terumoto lost the battle. Finally Asano was appointed the daimyo of this area and Hiroshima served as the capital of Hiroshima Han during the Edo period. After the Han was abolished the city became the capital of Hiroshima prefecture.

During the First Sino-Japanese War, Hiroshima emerged as a major supply and logistics base for the Japanese military, a role that it continued to play during World War II that is the reason Hiroshima was picked to drop the bomb on because of its ties to the military. The city was heavily damaged in World War II by the nuclear weapon Little Boy, the second such device to be detonated, and the first ever used in military action.

Hiroshima was the primary target of the first U.S. nuclear attack mission, on August 6, 1945. The bomb was dropped by B-29 name Enola Gay and was piloted by Colonel Paul Tibbits. On this fateful day an hour before the bombing the Japanese had seen the planes headed towards the southern part of Japan. The Japanese sent out an alert to many cities including Hiroshima. Since there were only three planes Japan made a decision not to intercept small formation and that was an error on their part. Enola Gay dropped the bomb called “Little Boy” over the center of Hiroshima it exploded 2,000 feet above the city. Japan did not know what had hit them until sixteen hours after the bomb had dropped when the White House made a public announcement in Washington D.C. until then they just thought this had been a regular bombing. After the bombing on Hiroshima president Truman sent out a warning stating that another attack is possible if Japan did not except the U.S. terms, how about that for a form of terrorism.

If an historian would ask the average American why the United States exploded the atomic bomb over Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the answer will almost