Essay about Atomic Bomb

Submitted By mandycree
Words: 622
Pages: 3

Atomic Bomb A fateful decision that I believe to be a great example of the expression, “Crossing the Rubicon,” was the decision to drop the atomic bombs onto Hiroshima and Nagasaki. President Harry S. Truman of the United States is the man behind this decision in which changed the world forever. The decision to drop the two atomic bombs onto the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was a decision that not only had direct effects on ending the war in the Pacific during World War II, but still has lasting effects to this day. It still stands today as the only use of nuclear weapons in a war. As the war in Europe ended the Allies planned a costly Invasion of Japan to end the war in the Pacific. However, the Allies under the Manhattan Project had developed and tested atomic bombs for years and the United States was ready to put them to use instead of risk millions of American lives invading Japan. The United States called for Japan to surrender in the Potsdam Declaration or be prepared for “prompt and utter devastation”. With no response from the Japanese, Harry S. Truman gave the go ahead for the atomic bombs to be dropped. The atomic bombs were first dropped in Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 and then Nagasaki three days later on August 9th. Six days after the bombings Japan surrendered ending World War II. Within the first few months after the bombs were dropped, direct effects of the bombs killed around 166,000 people in Hiroshima and around 80,000 in Nagasaki. The ethical justifications of the decision to drop the atomic bombs are still debated today. I think the decision by Harry S. Truman to drop the atomic bomb was a fateful decision in which had some major short term impacts on the world at that time. One short term effect of the decision by Truman to drop the bombs was the ending of World War II. After the complete devastation of this act when into effect on the country’s two major cities, Japan had no other decision other than to completely surrender to the Allies. From this act, the entire world saw the complete and utter destruction that can be caused by nuclear weapons, and this played a vital role in changing the minds of the world. The bombings struck fear into the hearts of all mankind, showing what great devastation that the