Atomic_Bomb

Atomic Bomb In 1939 the German born Albert Einstein had informed President Roosevelt about the possibility of creating a powerful bomb. It would produce an extremely powerful explosion by the splitting of an atom. Einstein and other scientists feared that Germany might develop such a bomb first. In 1942, the United States set up a secret project called the Manhattan Project to develop the first Atomic Bomb. The first test explosion of the Atomic Bomb occurred in the New Mexico desert in July 1945. Roosevelt died in April of 1945, and Vice President Truman became President. Truman met with the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and the Russian Dictator Joseph Stalin, in Potsdam, Germany, in July 1945. 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. Truman 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 unconditionally. In spite of the warning, Japan kept fighting. Japan also did more than continue fighting. Japan, knowing that an Allied invasion was inevitable, began to train its civilians to defend the Japanese homelands. On August 6,1945, at 9:20 a.m., the American military dropped the atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima out of the Enola Gay, piloted by Colonel Tibbetts. This was an extremely controversial event in the United States. Many U.S citizens did not know if the United States was justified in the dropping of the atomic bomb. Historians to this day still criticize the decision that the military made. The reason for this controversy is that it is difficult to predict what would have happened if the bomb were not dropped. In my opinion, the United States was justified in this action, and I have many reasons to support my belief. The chief reason was that it would stop the war. The United States not only believed this, but they also thought it would save many lives in the long run for U.S. troops. Another important reason many felt that the bomb should be dropped was because the U.S. didn’t want an attack on United States’ land. Secondly, World War 2 was very gruesome and very costly to the American Military. The United States lost nearly 300,000 lives in enemy territory. The United States figured that if they didn’t drop the A-Bomb, they would lose nearly 1 million more soldiers. With this estimation, I think that America made the correct decision in dropping the bomb. We had to protect ourselves, and the military believed that we needed to save as many American lives as possible. Another important factor of dropping the Bomb was that it was costing the United States a great deal of money. Even though the war was helping the economy in the U.S. somewhat. The United States Had spent up to 300 million dollars on war efforts alone, and we figured that the price of money spent on the war would go up dramatically if we continued the war and invaded Japan. Finally I believe one of the most imperative reasons that the United States dropped the Bomb on Hiroshima was that it was nervous about any other countries developing the Bomb and using it before us. I feel that the United States wanted to prove a point to Japan and these other countries. They wanted to let them know that we were in power and we had a force that was devastating and could kill in one instance. Many American soldiers believed that if the Bomb were not dropped, the Japanese would have fought to the bitter end. There was no giving up for the Japanese; they would defend their country with honor. That was a very important reason for the U.S. to drop the deadly A-Bomb. The United States knew that if the Bomb were not dropped when it was, the Japanese would fight to the finish to defend their home islands. The United States knew that the Japanese would be this way because they demonstrated their loyalty and their persistence in earlier battles in the Pacific. The United States figured that if the Bomb were not dropped, there would be a great deal of casualties on both sides if they were to invade Japan. The U.S. thought that if they just dropped the Bomb, far more lives would be saved One of the main reasons so many American soldiers lost their lives was due to the fact that the Japanese had a new tactic of killing. This tactic was called Kamikaze. This was all new to the American soldiers, particularly the navy. These Kamikazes would risk their lives for the Japanese Emperor and for his country. They would basically kill themselves by flying into enemy targets, mostly the ships of the United States. I feel that this was a clever idea that the Japanese came up with. Not only did it kill U.S. soldiers, but also it kept the Navy from invading the beaches. The decision to drop the bomb will definitely be a very divisive one for The United States forever. I feel that one can easily see the reasons that it was important to drop the Atom Bomb on Japan. World War 2 was a devastating and destructive time of life. The War lasted 6 years and could have without doubt lasted longer. Millions of lives had been lost already, and with the continuing of War if the Bomb wasn’t dropped, could have left to more casualties. I believe that the United States had to drop the Bomb so that we would save thousands, if not millions of lives. Bibliography: