The Atomic Bombing on Hiroshima and Nagasaki

The Atomic Bombing on Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Once Harry Truman learned of the success of the Manhattan Project, he knew he was faced with a decision of unparalleled gravity. The ability to end the war with Japan was in the palm of his hands; however, it would involve unleashing the most powerful weapon known to man. America had the atomic bomb; now what? The United States eventually became the first and only country to use atomic artillery during wartime when we dropped the bomb on Japanese city, Hiroshima and then again on Nagasaki The droppings of these atomic bombs on August 6th and August 9th in 1945, which brought World War II to a swift conclusion, but also signaled the start of the atomic age, transformed human civilization. The events and the aftermath fundamentally changed history.

American soldiers and civilians were weary from four years of war, yet the Japanese military was refusing to give up their fight, for they were trained to fight to the death until a higher power told them otherwise. American forces occupied Okinawa and Iwo Jima and were intensely fire bombing Japanese cities. “Unfortunately, Japan had an army of two million strong stationed in the home islands guarding against invasion” (Miscamble 4). For Truman, the choice whether or not to use the atomic bomb was without a doubt the most difficult decision of his life. Many advisors warned him that invading Japan would result in much American causality, so he ordered that the new weapon be used to bring the war to a speedy end. On August 6th, 1945, “the American bomber called the Enola Gay dropped a five-ton atomic bomb” over the Japanese city of Hiroshima (Stimson 2). “A blast equivalent to the power of 15,000 tons of TNT reduced four square miles of the city to ruins and immediately killed 80,000 people” (Stimson 2). Tens of thousands more died in the following weeks from wounds, burns, and radiation poisoning. Three days later, another bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki, “killing nearly 40,000 more people” (Stimson 3). A few days later, Japan finally announced its surrender.

Critics have stated that Truman's decision was a barbaric act that brought negative long-term consequences to the United States. They say this enacted a new age of nuclear terror that led to a dangerous arms race. Some military analysts insist that Japan was on its knees and the bombings were simply unnecessary. “The American government was accused of racism on the grounds that such a device would never have been used against white civilians” (Miscamble 15). Some military analysts insist that Japan was on its knees and the bombings were simply unnecessary. The American government was accused of racism on the grounds that such a device