Should We Have Dropped The Atomic Bomb

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Pages: 5

On 6 August 1945, America’s President Harry Truman announced that an atomic bomb nicknamed ‘Little Boy’ had been dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Three days later a second atomic bomb nicknamed ‘Fat Man’ was detonated on the city of Nagasaki. Over 200,000 Japanese civilians perished as the bombs landed and in the months and years that followed, burns and radiation sickness took a significant toll on the citizens of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. From an American point of view, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II was necessary to end the war. Publicly, it was stated that the bombing of Japan was to prevent loss of life through invasion by Allied troops and politically, it was believed that use of this new weapon would send a warning to the Russians from the Americans.

When American scientists found out that nuclear weapon research was being conducted in Nazi Germany during World War II, the US government decided to provide unlimited funding to create their own nuclear weapon before Germany could. This top secret military program which started in 1942 was named the Manhattan Project.
Japan’s intention to dominate the Asia Pacific region was made clear when Pearl Harbour was attacked in 1941. It was then that
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Solider and author Paul Fussel, wrote in the article ‘Thank god for the atomic bomb’, that the bombings were necessary to save American lives. “The suicidal tactics of the Japanese convinced the Americans that Japan was unlikely to surrender” (R.G, Grant, 2005, p…) Two days after dropping the bomb on Hiroshima, US President Truman spoke on radio, vowing that he would continue the nuclear devastation unless the Japanese surrendered unconditionally. Meanwhile, the Soviet Union had also declared war on Japan in