The Horrific Ending to a Deadly War
“It is an atomic bomb. It is a harnessing of the basic power of the universe. The force from which the sun draws its power has been lost against those who brought war to the Far East.” What was the beginning to the end of World War II was addressed in the morning by President Harry Truman on August 6, 1945. The use of atomic bombs by the United States military in the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was the deadliest and most effective weapon ever used. The usage of that bomb is a controversial argument that many people believe was wrong for the United States to make, especially in the cities that were 80% populated with Japanese citizens. However, what else could the United States have done? Japan did it to the United States to make them declare World War II, and they did it back to them to finish a war that Japan should have surrendered a long time before the US attacked. The United States military and government made the correct decision to drop two atomic bombs on the cities of Japan to make the Japanese surrender World War II and to save United States military members from marching in on foot, however, they can learn from their mistakes on the long term effects with the atomic bomb.
To describe my reasoning for my points on why the United States made the right decision, I have split my paper into four sections to organize the events and my case. The first section of this paper will begin with a background on the main events that occurred during World War II, and what caused the United States to finally join the fight. The second section will go into descriptive detail on what occurred on August 6, 1945, in Hiroshima. The third section will go into detail on why they made the right decision to keep the United States troops safe. The final section will include a discussion on the long-term effects of the atomic bomb and why people disagree with the United States attack.
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History of World War II
When World War II is brought up, most people think of Hitler being a dictator, Nazis, and the Holocaust, and Germany trying to conquer the whole map. However, Japan initiated the start of the war in September 1931 by invading the Chinese province of Manchuria. Later in 1933, Adolf Hitler was appointed chancellor of Germany after electoral winnings by the Nazi Party. Once again, Japan invaded China on July 7, 1937. After years of conflict between the countries of Japan, China, Italy, the Soviet Union, Poland, and Germany, World War II officially began on September 1, 1939 (WWII Timeline par. 1).
The start of another world war began when Germany invaded the Polish, causing Great Britain and France to declare war on Germany to defend their ally Poland. After years of being silent since 1937, the Japanese military bombed the United States island of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. This day in American history was one of the most tragic, yet historic days in its country's history. A day later, the United States declared war on Japan and initiated World War II. Between December 11-13, Nazi Germany and their allies declared war on the United States. Germany continued to dominate the entire war, but in June of 1944 the United States, Canada, and Britain were able to open a “Second Fight” against the Germans (WWII Timeline par. 1).
Later in 1945, the United States was able to invade most of Germany and make Hitler commit suicide on April 30, 1945. After Germany and almost every country surrendered, Japan continued to try and attack. Three months into Japan trying to conquer the world, the United States dropped the atomic bomb to begin the ending of World War II. Finally, on September 2, 1945, Japan surrendered putting an official end to World War II.
The Dropping of the Atomic Bombs
On August 5, 1945, the world's first atomic bomb was brought out of the United States military base on Tinian Island in the Pacific. “The biggest weapon in history was nicknamed Little Boy and had the power of the sun, the stars” (24 Hours After Hiroshima). The ten foot long ten and half-ton cargo headed west on August 6th at 2:45 am. At 6:30 am, the bomb was ‘alive’ after the four bags of gunpowder were put into the bomb's tail 15 minutes prior. Three Japanese cities were considered for the destination of the bombing, all three were weather-dependent. The city had to be visible from the aircraft to drop the weapon, and at 8:15 am the bomb was dropped. 43 long seconds passed and the bomb erupted, causing the mushroom cloud to spread ten miles high, and three miles over the city of Hiroshima. 70,000 humans died instantly, and another 70,000 were severely injured, however, Japan continued to battle. Three days later, another bomb drops. This one in Nagasaki, caused 40,000 people to die instantly. After three long weeks of continued battle, Japan surrendered.
President Truman ordered a report to see the physical and medical damage that the bomb inflicted. Hundreds of scientists, engineers, and military personnel spent ten weeks gathering information on the effect. After studying the information, it was shown that within a radius of 800ft from ground zero, no one survived. Atomic shadows remained all over people and objects throughout the towns. Over 50% of those that passed, died because of severe burns. The bombs flattened both cities in less than ten seconds, and over 60,000 buildings were destroyed or damaged, which was 67% of the city's structure. Only one building remained standing, and it was the ‘Dome’. The building is made of copper, making it not melt as fast and today it resembles a sign of peace in Japan (24 Hours After Hiroshima).
Correct Decision Made by The United States
President Truman and the United States military made the right decision to drop the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Originally, that was the only bomb that they planned on pursuing, but then the Japanese continued to not give up leading to the second attack. The dropping of the bomb is also looked at as payback to the Japanese for what they did to Pearl Harbor, and the rest of the world before the United States joined the war. The United States' decision saved the lives of many of its military troops. “It was estimated that it would cost the lives of nearly one million American soldiers to continue the war” (History Crunch par. 4). The deaths of all the innocent people are tragic, however, bombs are a part of war and the Japanese did it to kill 2,403 people in the United States.
The use of the atomic bomb potentially saved multiple millions of lives, as it put a quick end to World War II after killing 801,000 people. If the United States had not put up a strong fight against the Japanese, the war would have continued to go on for a longer period. This would have caused there to be more troops and civilians killed, rather than the atomic bombings. The United States sent many warnings to the Japanese to surrender the war before dropping Little Boy. The warning that was given to the Japanese was called a Leaflet, and the United States was very clear with what they wanted to occur to not drop the bomb. The statement, “We have the most destructive explosion ever devised by man,” was on the leaflet that the United States provided to the Japanese. After warnings, the Japanese continued to try and conquer and fight before they were attacked in Hiroshima.
Long-Term Effects of Atomic Usage
The events that occur in any war are mostly always more devastating than positive. All wars lead to many deaths and destruction to towns that hurt many. The use of the atomic bombs by the United States was harsh, however, it was the only way to find peace and end the long war. Many of the survivors of the atomic bomb experienced long-term effects that they dealt with for the remainder of their lives. Years after 1945, survivors would struggle with leukemia, other cancer types, and health conditions caused by the radiation of the bomb.
There was almost no available care to be given in Hiroshima after the attack, as 90% of medical experts were killed in the bombing. 42 out of the 45 hospitals were unusable for the 70% of survivors to get treated in (ICAN par. 4). The limited resources to get care immediately had a long-term effect on many survivors because the conditions spread throughout the body and began to cause more harm. Pregnant women who were exposed to the bombings experienced a higher chance of miscarriage, and infants who were born didn’t survive long. Seven decades later, survivors continue to experience the effects of the bombing, and many have PTSD.
Since the end of World War II, Japan has campaigned to fight for a world free of nuclear weapons and has joined the U.N. treaty to ban them. The U.N. treaty outlawing nuclear weapons went into effect in early January 2021. Japan continued to fight against the use of these weapons to limit attacks and to keep people safe from the effects, but they didn’t sign the treaty. Over 50 countries are a part of the treaty, however, the United States and Japan are not on the list. As of now, there is no intention for the United States to sign the treaty, as well as other countries such as China and North Korea.
Conclusion
World War II was a very horrific battle, and the battle continued for many years after with damage across the world and the loss of loved ones. There are always a lot of negative outcomes when it comes to war, and I believe that since World War II most nations across the world have noticed there is no reason to fight. The United States calls to drop the atomic bomb was the correct decision to stop the bleeding in the long run, even though it caused a lot of harm to hundreds of thousands of people. There are certain points that the nation has learned from dropping nuclear weapons, but at that exact moment in 1945, they made the right choice. The decision allowed many United States troops to stay alive, and go home to their families. President Truman and the military-led the nation to another ‘win’ in war and brought the United States together as one.
Works Cited
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, https: encyclopedia.ushmm.orgcontentenarticleworld-war-ii-key-dates.
- Michal. “How Did Hitler Happen?: The National WWII Museum: New Orleans.” The National WWII Museum | New Orleans, The National World War II Museum, 22 June 2017, https:www.nationalww2museum.orgwararticleshow-did-hitler-happen.
- Robyo. “National Geographic- 24 Hours after Hiroshima - Video Dailymotion.” Dailymotion, Dailymotion, 18 Mar. 2013, https:www.dailymotion.comvideoxya8gj.
- “Reasons in Favor of the Atomic Bombing of Japan.” History Crunch - History Articles, Summaries, Biographies, Resources and More, https:www.historycrunch.comreasons-in-favor-of-the-atomic-bombing-of-japan.html#.
- “Leaflets Warning Japanese of Atomic Bomb.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, https:www.pbs.orgwgbhamericanexperiencefeaturestruman-leaflets.
- “Hiroshima and Nagasaki Bombings.” ICAN, https:www.icanw.orghiroshima_and_nagasaki_bombings.
- Chappell, Bill. “U.N. Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapons Takes Effect, without the U.S. and Other Powers.” NPR, NPR, 22 Jan. 2021, https:www.npr.org20210122959583731u-n-treaty-banning-nuclear-weapons-takes-effect-without-the-u-s-and-others.
- EVGINC, director. YouTube, YouTube, 22 Jan. 2013, https:www.youtube.comwatch?v=FN_UJJ9ObDs. Accessed 1 Nov. 2021.
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