...The second atomic bombing was way worse then first, the bombing was the last major act of World War 2. Two senior military figures, General Groves and Admiral Purnell, convinced that the two atomic bombs were dropped within days apart would have a heavy impact on Japan surrendering. Scientists were also very interested in seeing which bomb was better, a uranium bomb which was used in the bombing of Hiroshima or the plutonium bomb which was used in the bombing of Nagasaki. The bombing was intentionally for the city if Kokura, which was housing a army arsenal. The atomic bomb “Fat Man”, was loaded into B-29 Superfortress bomber Bockscar; commanded by Major Charles Sweeney of USAAF 393rd squadron. Unlike the bombing of Hiroshima, “Fat Man” was already armed when the bomber took off due complexity of the bomb. This meant that a big jolt might cause the to detonate if the safety plugs failed, another concern was the fuel. They had hoped that skies over Kokura would be clear for...
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...The Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Pearl Harbor was bombed on December 7, 1941. An air attack led by Commander Mitsuo Fuchida, which consisted of 183 fighters and bombers, attacked Pearl Harbor at 7:55 a.m. During the bombing many ships were destroyed, and many soldiers died. This event would bring the United States into World War II. The Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor because it was considered the height of America’s Naval supremacy. Another reason is that the Japanese knew the United States would primilary be using the navy to attack them. Since the Japanese were trying to take over China, they knew it would be a bit easier for them to do it because it would be harder for us to get to Japan and stop them if they destroyed the American Navy in Pearl Harbor. Despite how far Japan was from Pearl Harbor, it was still closer then the rest of the United States. The Japanese fleet had to sail over 4,000 miles to launch airplanes to attack Hawaii. The Japanese were able to attack Pearl Harbor because America's intelligence community failed to notice them. Some reasons why it was hard for the American intelligence community to notice the Japanese on their long naval journey, was the Japanese would only travel at night and would not use any radio communication. Any form of radio interception was impossible (Truman). The Manhattan Project started when Albert Einstein left Germany to come to the United States to escape Nazi prosecution. A month after Einstein had left Germany he...
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...The Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: History's Great Miscalculation On August 6, 1945, a new step in technological warfare was taken when the first atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Hiroshima, Japan. The impact of the bomb alone killed at least 66,000 people.1 This was an event that would not soon be forgotten in history. The Americans, who knew the devastating effects of their new weapon, still chose to use it rather than an alternative means to peace. Many people still argue whether or not it was necessary when Japanese surrender was considered to be a matter of time. Historians also dispute whether the campaign was a morally justified objective. This phrase alone brings up many interesting questions. Can killing thousands of innocent people ever be considered "justified"? Considering these circumstances, the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was not militarily or morally justified. In 1939 Franklin Roosevelt, the President of the United States received a verysignificant letter from the famous physicist, Albert Einstein.2 Contained in this letter were details concerning the importance of nuclear research with regards to gaining the upper hand in the war. Roosevelt agreed and approved $6,000 in initial funding. Many scientists began realizing the importance of nuclear fission and in 1940 The National Defense Research Committee was formed. This group's purpose was to oversee research and provide more funding. Many of the world's best physicists...
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...A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. In 1896, Henri Becquerel was investigating phosphorescence in uranium salts when he discovered a new phenomenon which came to be called radioactivity. He,with his fellow scientists began investigating the phenomenon. In the process, they isolated the element radium, which is highly radioactive. They discovered that radioactive materials produce intense, penetrating rays of three distinct sorts, which they labeled alpha, beta, and gamma after the Greek letters. Soon they were declared to be harmful when used in large amounts. All the early researchers received various radiation burns, much like sunburn, and thought little of it. Gradually it was realized that the radiation produced by radioactive decay was ionizing radiation, and that even quantities too small to burn posed a severe long-term hazard. Many of the scientists working on radioactivity died of cancer as a result of their exposure. When discovered on the eve of World War II, this insight led multiple countries to begin programs investigating the possibility of constructing an atomic bomb — a weapon which utilized fission reactions to generate far more energy than could be created with chemical explosives. The Manhattan Project, run by the United States with the help of...
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...imperative to understand the reasoning behind why the United States chose to pursue the project. In 1939, Allied scientists had fears that Nazi Germany might develop nuclear weapons (The Manhattan Project). At this point in the War, Hitler was at his most powerful. He had one of the largest followings in history and his reign was producing devastating outcomes for the Jewish population (The Manhattan Project). Once the scientific community discovered that German physicists could split a uranium atom, action needed to be taken (The Manhattan Project). Albert Einstein, who fled Nazi Germany to live in the US, felt as though President Roosevelt should be made aware of the dangers of atomic technology being in the hands of Hitler (Ushistory). A letter written by Einstein was received by Roosevelt, yet the President found no reason to immediately respond to such a situation (Ushistory). However, 1941 began the American effort to construct an atomic bomb (The Manhattan Project). Initially, Roosevelt set up the Advisory Committee on Uranium, which consisted of both civilian and military representatives (The Manhattan Project). This team studied the current state of research on uranium and gave recommendations on an appropriate role for the government to take. In June of 1940, Roosevelt set up the National Defense Research Committee (NDRC), which was...
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...Hiroshima: Why America Dropped the Bomb Ronald Takaki Back Bay Books September 1, 1996 Joseph Marty Professor J. Cosco U.S. History Since 1865 November 27, 2011 Throughout the recent years of history, there has been an intense debate justifying the use of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima as well as Nagasaki a few days after, but many others argue that it was unjust to use such a weapon of massive catastrophe on an almost defeated nation at the time during the end of World War II: Japan. Ronald Takaki, author of the book Hiroshima: Why America Dropped the Bomb was an avid writer in the terms of Asian-America equality and morals based on his own experiences. In this book, he gave many thorough details explaining plausible reasons as to why Truman decided to launch the devastating attack on an already weak Japan. Takaki has used many sources including military reports, personal letters, and self recordings to further expand on this debate based approximately on facts more than moral opinions. When America had already won the war in Europe, there was still one more target left deemed as a threat to society according to the government. That target was Japan. The commander of the Pacific forces at the time was General Douglas Macarthur and he was never consulted about the use of the atomic bomb. Macarthur was only notified two days before the official use of the atomic bomb. The general was very depressed to hear about the use of the bomb because...
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...In the August of 1945, U.S. completed an attack on Japan that left a permanent stain in their culture that will never be forgotten. Japan learned from the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that the tragedy caused by nuclear weapons must never be repeated and that humanity and nuclear weapons cannot coexist. The U.S. along with other feuding countries have missiles pointing at one another, blaming each other for their poor fortune and tragedies. They don’t think about what could possibly come to scar the minds of upcoming generations and how we view our continental neighborhoods. In Hersey’s Hiroshima, he tells the stories of six nuclear bomb survivors and what they seen on that fateful day and how they braved through the devastation that occurred. People going on about their usual daily tasks despite knowing that they could be bombed at anytime. Some moved furniture, lounged about on the veranda, took care of their children, and left to go to work like the Enola Gay wasn’t vastly approaching their homes. When you think about it you begin to question, what have these people done to have the United States destroy everything around them to the point of leveling the places they could call home? What have these children walking back home with their mother possibly done to call an air raid siren a “usual occurrence”? Hersey pointed out that despite Japanese rule the people who live there are effected the most, because they are the ones who must suffer for their governments decisions...
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...ESSAYS FOR THE FINAL EXAM 2014 1. What was the Manhattan project and how did it evolve? How was the decision made to drop the bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and how did the bombing end the war? (be specific and complete) Essay – The Manhattan project was central to the United States efforts in constructing a nuclear bomb during the Second World War. Motivated by the fear of an enemy attack from the Nazi’s, the United States was able to develop the world’s most devastating bombs, which would end up killing more than 200,000 Japanese citizens in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In this way, the Manhattan project essentially grew out of America’s efforts to defend themselves against a potential Nazi attack. Hungarian scientist Leo Szilard, after escaping to America, realized that if the Nazis acquired the works recently conducted on nuclear fission, they might be able to construct a nuclear bomb and dominate the world with its destruction. He then convinced Albert Einstein of the impending Nazi threat and Einstein took the initiative to alert the United States by writing a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In the letter sent in August 1939, right before the start of the war, Einstein advised that the United States be wary of the threat of nuclear weaponry in the hands of the enemy and that they should begin a weapons building program of their own. A very small committee was established to look into the science and development of a bomb, funded by a mere $6,000. President...
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...Nuclear Weapons In 1939, scientist Albert Einstein wrote a letter to the United States president of the time, Franklin D. Roosevelt, concerning the research of splitting a uranium atom that could lead to the development of an atomic bomb in Germany. In the letter, Einstein wrote,”It may be possible to set off a nuclear chain reaction in a large mass of uranium, by which large amounts of power and new radium like elements would be generated.” He continued,” This new development could lead to the creation of bombs, and as it seems, but less likely, the construction of an even bigger, new type of bomb.” President Roosevelt, although skeptical at first, decided to go through with the research and in 1941 the Manhattan Project was born. Four years later on August 6, the United States Dropped the first nuclear atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima wiping out 90 percent of the city, killing more than 80,000 people, and later tens of thousands more. Then again on August 9, another bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki and killing more than 40,000. 6 days later, the Emperor of Japan announced Japan’s official surrender to the United States in World War II. The effects and after effects of the the two bombs dropped shocked the entire world, even those a part of the Manhattan Project. The Japanese Emperor Hirohito described the bombs as the ”new and most cruel bomb.” This research paper will discuss the pros and cons of the use of nuclear weapons among different countries...
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...The Atomic Bomb: A Necessity or a Desire Tanmay Bhanushali Year 10 Historical Paper “Great power imposes the obligation of exercising restraint” Leo Szilard - Hungarian-born Physicist and main scientist to oppose the atomic Bombings This was spoken in an interview titled “President Truman did not Understand”. This was between a US news reporter and Leo Szilard the key figure among the scientists opposing the use of the bomb. The interview was in August 15, 1960. Why was their so fierce Opposition? In what Way did Truman Not Understand? These answers lie in the depths of the controversy about the Atomic Bomb. Introduction The atomic bomb was a topic of major controversy but the main debate was about the necessity of the atomic bomb. Many say that the atomic bomb was dropped because it would save millions of American lives. However at that period the Japanese were also at the point of surrendering. Huge amounts of incendiary bombs were used in large-scale cities against japan. Many of the scientists in the Manhattan Project were disturbed about it. The incendiary bombs reduced much morale from the Japanese army and crippled the will power. However this small cripple made Japan even angrier because these incendiary bombs were used on innocent civilians and not the Japanese army. Many think that it was necessary to use the Atomic Bombs because Japan attacked America first and not the other way around. It is a fact that when Hitler attacked...
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...History of the A-Bomb In early August 1945 atomic bombs were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These two bombs quickly yielded the surrender of Japan and the end of American involvement in World War II. By 1946 the two bombs caused the death of perhaps as many as 240,000 Japanese citizens1. The popular, or traditional, view that dominated the 1950s and 60s – put forth by President Harry Truman and Secretary of War Henry Stimson – was that the dropping of the bomb was a diplomatic maneuver aimed at intimating and gaining the upper hand in relations with Russia. Today, fifty-four years after the two bombings, with the advantage of historical hindsight and the advantage of new evidence, a third view, free of obscuring bias and passion, can be presented. First, the dropping of the bomb was born out of complex infinite military, domestic and diplomatic pressures and concerns. Second, many potentially viable alternatives to dropping the bombs were not explored by Truman and other men in power, as they probably should have been. Lastly, because these alternatives were never explored, we can only conjecture over whether or not Truman’s decision was a morally just one, and if indeed it was necessary to use atomic energy to win the war. The war in Asia had its roots in the early 1930s. Japan had expansionist aims in Eastern Asia and the Western Pacific, especially in Indochina2. In July of 1940 the United States placed an embargo on materials exported to...
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...October 1939, just after the outbreak of World War II in Europe, the President of the United States Franklin D. Roosevelt received a letter from physicist Albert Einstein and his partner Leo Szilard. This letter spoke of an unheard of power by using the forces of nuclear fission or splitting the atom. Thankfully the two scientists fled Nazi German to escape Hitler’s rule. If Adolf Hitler had have gain the power of a nuclear weapon, he most likely would have destroyed his enemies and rule the world and achieved his twisted dream. To avoid this nightmare, Einstein and Szilard urged the government of the United States to join the race for the atomic bomb. The president took them up on this offer and the next four years was devoted to secretly develop a super weapon. Code-named "The Manhattan Project," the effort eventually employed more than 200,000 workers and several thousands scientists and engineers, ironically most of European background. By the time the first bomb was tested the Nazis had already surrendered meaning that a threat of a German counter nuke was gone. The war in Japan was still at hand, so President Truman authorized the use of the bombs in order to force Japanese leadership into submission. On August 6 an atomic bomb with an explosive yield equivalent to 12.5 kilotons of the explosives TNT was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, instantly killing some 70,000 of its inhabitants, with...
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...found out information regarding one balloon bombing and their reactions surprised me. These women were compassionate, courageous, and forgiving. The Japanese women had found out that their forty years of effort had on only killed six people. They were shocked that that's all they had killed, but what surprised me were their reactions once they figured out the information on those six people. Forty years after they had started working in the factories the women were finally getting information back from the United States. John Takeshita had written them a letter revealing the profiles of these six people. It came to my surprise that despite the fact that the United States had killed and wounded over one hundred fifty thousand Japanese people in Hiroshima these women were able to put that aside and feel bad for the six Americans that were killed. I was surprised to find out that the women who were contacted by Takeshita had the courage to visit Bly not knowing if the town resented them or if the people would welcome them or even be welcome at all. Though these women didn't create the bombs alone and weren't individually responsible they still had the bravery to represent their country and face the families who died due to the bombings. While in Bly the women went and visited the sights of the deaths. At the sight of death there was a memorial made for the woman and five children. The women came bearing a thousand cranes and letters as peace offerings. It surprised me that after...
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...Modern History Conflict in the Pacific 1937-1941 Due: Thursday 28th of August, 2008 Alyce Wearne Task: Evaluate the argument that America was justified in using atomic weapons against Japan in 1945. As one of the most significant and consequential decisions in the history of the world, President Harry Truman’s allowance of atomic weapons towards the end of World War II, of which he himself understood would cause both mass devastation and indignation, is still one of the most controversial and heavily debated topics in today’s society. This was partially due to the adverse underestimation and seemingly ignorant approach the American’s had towards their latest development of mass destruction; almost oblivious to the immense aftermath of physical injury, civilian death and emotional torment it would produce for those involved. This decision, ultimately made by one man, affected not only America and Japan, but the world. Dispute over this was, and continues to be highly generated, the event causing anger and infuriation to millions across the world. This resentment did not just accumulate from the lack of awareness and slaughter of innocent life, but from the graphic images shown in newspapers, the casualties, and the torturous amount of death underwent as a result of the bomb. As a Japanese survivor documented: “The appearance of people was . . . well, they all had skin blackened by burns. . . . They had no hair because their hair was burned, and at a glance you...
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...Only two days later, a second Atomic Bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki. Due to these massive bombings estimates that more than 200,000 Japanese were killed, the majority being civilians. In the weeks following tens of thousands of people were killed due to the effects of radiation and other injuries. It did result in the surrender of Japan and end of the war in the Pacific. This blast signaled the start of the Atomic Age worldwide (Tolleson p. 5). As the war progressed, the question as to drop the Atomic Bomb became a greatly debated one for President Truman and the American government. This debate continued even after the decision to drop was made. The argument to drop it stemmed from the hope that it would save more American lives than if it was not dropped, and to show our strength to the Soviet Union (Morton p.337). However, those against...
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