Atomic Bomb Paper

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Jeremy Samuel
Honors

World History
September

17, 2013

Atomic Bomb Paper

Thesis: The factors leading up to the dropping of the atomic bomb was to end the war quickly, prevent Russian expansion into Asia, and to induce surrender upon Japan.

In a quick feat, to try to end the war quicker the Manhattan Project is introduced by the
United States. Many scientists then begin work on nuclear research and later turn into the building of an atomic bomb. The first of two atomic bombs were dropped on August 6, 1945 on
Hiroshima nicknamed “Little Boy” created mass destruction. The factors, leading up to the dropping of the atomic bomb among the many was; to end the war quickly, prevent Russian expansion into Asia, and to induce surrender upon Japan. These atomic bombs although very controversial were needed and President Truman’s order of dropping the bomb was completely justified. The issue of ending the war was a major factor of dropping the atomic bomb.
The ending of the war depended on the atomic bomb and it did end the war much quicker than most people anticipated. Since we used the bomb, we didn’t need to use a land invasion. But if we did use a land invasion, the resource costs would be immense this is because we would need to supply the troops with loads of ammunition, guns, tanks, and trucks. When they were planning the invasion they needed to factor out when to invade. For the reason that if they delayed much after the beginning of November the end of the war would be inevitably delayed back for up to six months. (White House Minutes 6/18/45) Also, if there is a land invasion the
Japanese might fight to the bitter end. A statistic showed that for every 1 American soldier that was killed 22 Japanese were killed. This wasn’t because they were bad fighters, it was cause they were trained to never surrender and fight to their death and honor their country and ultimately their living god: The Emperor. (White House Minutes 6/18/45) Now that we didn’t use a land invasion is because many people in Japan would suffer and the Americans would suffer big time: a supposed 500,000 - 1,000,000 men and resources would be lost. Even though this was true,
General Lincoln thought otherwise, “it is obvious that peace would save lives and resources, but the estimated loss of 500,000 lives due to carrying the war to conclusion under our present plan of campaign is considered to be entirely too high”. (Memorandum for General Hull 6/4/45)
Another issue of the land invasions that the Japanese might be able to get better surrender terms.
Marquis Koichi Kido’s plan was to ask the Soviet Union which maintains neutrality with Japan, to mediate between Japan and the allies. Also, Japan’s minimum peace terms were “security of the Imperial family and vindication of the national policy”, referring to the continuance of the
Emperor system, which Japan believed to be of divine origin. Considering that as long as their
Emperor system can go on and their Imperial Family is safe they are okay with the surrender.
(Marquis Koichi Kido date not stated) There was much disagreement between the scientists about dropping the atomic bomb for instance V. Bush and J.B. Conant think that “by next
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summer this will become a group matter of great military importance, basic knowledge of this matter is widespread and it would be foolhardy to attempt to maintain a security by preserving secrecy”. These men think that the bomb would be very important to the military by the next summer and no one really knows much about the bomb and it would be “foolish” to keep it secret. (Memorandum to the Secretary of War 9/30/44) J.P. Oppenheimer is the lead scientist for the Manhattan

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The atomic bomb destroyed large cities in one blast according to document a, “Background Information”. “This type of bomb could destroy large cities in a single blast and would change warfare forever.” Based on the document it can be concluded that scientists knew that the bomb will create enormous dangers before it was dropped. According to document a, “Background Information” a lot of people were killed. “The explosion was huge, the city was destroyed, and tens of thousands of people were killed…

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decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan was the right decision. Japan did not surrender and continued attacking us. Document D proposes that by using the bomb, the war could be ended quickly and save thousands of American lives. Document K also says that the Japanese flew suicide missions and kamikazes to do as much damage as possible to U.S. ships. They had sunk 34 American ships, including aircraft carriers, and damaged 285 other American ships. Relating to the nuclear bomb of Hiroshima, it was…

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their lives in this war; and the Japanese did not show any interest in surrendering. The Allies had a number of ideas on how to end the world war. However, when the atomic bomb became available, it appeared to be the most promising way to end the war as soon as possible and without the drawbacks of the alternatives. The use of the atomic bomb was a justified idea because it stopped Japan from continuing to fight the United States and its Allies. Ushistory.org describes how President Truman believed that…

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a woman whose eyeballs were sticking out. " The World War II that occurred in Europe was nearly over and the United States was focused on Japan. This fighting led to the Manhattan Project being created, the aim of this project was to create an atomic bomb, it was successful in completing this goal. At this rate, the United States was winning the war against Japan, this was because "an Allied naval blockade had already put a stranglehold on Japan" and Americans firebombed parts of 67 Japanese cities…

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The first time nuclear weapons were used in war involved devastating affects on the country of Japan. The two atomic bombs known as the Little Boy and The Fat Man took the lives of many. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was one of the largest devastations in Japanese history and still has a negative toll on Japan today. Lives were destroyed, families torn apart and the city was left in ruins. People who were not killed in the blast tragically suffered from nuclear radiation. These nuclear weapons…

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On July 16th, 1945, the world completely changed forever. J. Robert Oppenheimer set off the world’s first atomic bomb. This invention would transform the world as it was known in 1945. This terrifying device will bring devastation, fear, and loss to all. This paper delves into the scientists behind the discovery of nuclear reactions, the development of the Manhattan project, and the unprecedented bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Many scientists contributed to the process of ultimately figuring…

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