The Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the events prior to the explosion of the atomic bombs over Japan at the end of World War II. The paper discusses these events in political, sociological and physical terms and then describes the actual bombing of both Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Lastly, the paper discusses the American public's thoughts about the bombing and briefly looks at today's world of nuclear warfare.

From the Paper:

"In terms of peace, the United States forced Japan into more negotiations as we saw in the Potsdam Conference and brought about the end of the war. Had we not used the atomic bomb, the cost of the war, the numbers of deaths on both sides, and destruction could have been considerably worse if we tried to invade Japan. Therefore, this was the best possible solution once the U.S. warned Japan over and over again, through different means of communication what they would bring about if they did not end the war on our respectable terms. The atomic bomb was not essential to ending the war and keeping U.S. causalities to a minimum but was justifiable in terms of world peace. Many weapons of killing were brought into action during this time and few soldiers would deny that they would have to justify it. It was the mere fact that the U.S. physicists learned how to split the atom, and store the energy into a bomb. The Nazi's in Germany would use a bomb like this on us and more than likely so would the Japanese if they discovered these scientific advancements. We did not have a major motive to enter World War II until after Pearl Harbor. This heightened production in the economy, unity as a nation, mobilization and developments in science. Dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were justifiable if they were strictly military targets. Japan declared war on the U.S. after the attack on Pearl Harbor which was not a formal declaration. If we were at war with Japan, we would have been prepared and ready for an attack, that however, was not their intent as they surprised our nation."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Ronald Takaki, Hiroshima: Why America Dropped the Atomic Bomb. (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1995), 179-81.
• Michael Amrine, The Great Decision: The Secret of the Atomic Bomb. (Toronto: Longmans, Green and Company, 1959), 233.

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