The dropping of the first atomic bomb marked a turning point in the way nations fight one another. The destructive nature of the atomic bomb changed the course of warfare forever. “The effectiveness of nuclear deterrence is best explained by the fact that it was based on fear unlike other peace-keeping strategies of the twentieth century.” This gradual shift to a “fear based” strategy was in response to the failures of previous peace keeping strategies earlier in the century during World War I and II, including the Wilsonian ideals, the treaty of Versailles at the end of World War I, and the concept of appeasement prior to the start of World War II. One strategy that ultimately failed at the end of World War I was president Woodrow Wilson’s …show more content…
This enabled Hitler to rise to power in this country in the years after World War I and leading up to World War II. France and Britain still had the memory of World War I when Hitler started to rise to power and take over new lands. Because they did not want to enter another conflict with Germany France and Britain hoped that taking an approach of “appeasement” with Germany would prevent another World War. It was this philosophy of appeasement, which led them to sign the “Munich Agreement” in which France and Britain agreed to allow Germany to take over portions of Czechoslovakia. Those who Neville Chamberlin argued in defense of appeasement, “….if I were convinced that any nation had made up its mind to dominate the world by fear of its force, I should feel that it must be resisted”(379). He clearly felt that the threat of Nazi Germany was not as serious as it would ultimately become. “As long as war has not begun, there is always hope that it may be prevented”(379). France and Britain hoped desperately that by appeasing Germany they could prevent a total war. However, by giving Germany land and power France and Britain strengthened Germany and weakened themselves for when they would eventually have to fight
Tsuyoshi Hasegawa’s Racing the Enemy: Stalin, Truman, and the Surrender of Japan sheds new light on the decision by the United States, at the end of the Second World War, to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki Japan. Hasegawa argues that the decision to drop the atomic bombs was made in order to keep the Soviet Union from making large gains in the Pacific Theater, thus it was the first of many Cold War chess matches.
On the date of December 8, 1953, in New York, President Dwight D. Eisenhower gave his speech, Atoms for Peace. 1 This speech was addressed to the United Nations Assembly. 2 To this large audience of well-established political leaders, Eisenhower addressed the root of the most pressing fear to envelop the Cold War. This fear was of a possible atomic annihilation that would have resulted from the tensions held between the United States and the U.S.S.R. The root of this fear that was addressed was the continued advancement and storage of atomic and nuclear weapons. Eisenhower presented this speech with the hope that he might have been able to turn the United States away from a possible war with the Soviets. Shawn J. Parry-Giles of the University
The creation of the hydrogen bomb, moreover the summoning of an arms race, spawned worldwide desire for nuclear arms, and worldwide fear for those who had them; The effects of such can be seen in the economic and diplomatic benefits exhibited by those with enough stamina and vigilance to endure its costs, and in the extreme measures taken by countries, nominally the United States, to respond to the security threat posed when other countries owned the bomb. Furthermore: For those whose economy could afford it, nominally the U.S., USSR and India, economic and diplomatic benefits followed its creation; For the U.S., following the creation of the bomb by enemies were extreme defense tactics; For all the benefits and costs compelled a worldwide
Unfortunately, Germany invaded Czechoslovakia due to the fact that they had been asking for appease with Hitler as Czechoslovakia wanted Sudetenland back. This meant that Hitler broke the Munich Agreement and was lying at the Munich conference. In addition, this showed that Hitler couldn't be trusted and Chamberlain assumed that WW2 could start because Hitler already invaded Czechoslovakia and could move to any other country. Britain knew that Germany were going to invade Poland so Chamberlain threatened to defend Poland in case Hitler went through with the invasion.
Sherwin, M. (1973). The atomic bomb and the origins of the cold war. American Historical Review, 78: 1-7.
Truman’s decision to use atomic weapons has long been a controversial subject throughout the decades after he used it. Many scholars and people who surrounded the president at the time published memoirs and books about the decision to use the weapon. As years went, more works of writing and information were released which added more information to the vast knowledge we have of the decision to drop the bomb and of what the Japanese faced after the event took place. J. Samuel Walker wrote a book called Prompt & utter destruction which uses new knowledge gained about the bomb and new information the Japanese released, which Walker said, “has greatly enriched our understanding of the agonizing deliberations in Tokyo over ending the war” (ix).Walker did not take any sides in the book, however, he uses what material from the first book and new sources of information to evaluate why President Truman made his decision. The main focus of Walker’s book is to answer why President Truman used atomic bombs against Japan and open more discussion to the question “was the bomb militarily necessary or was it used primarily for political/diplomatic reasons that had more to do with impressing the Soviets than winning the war against Japan?” (xii), which Walker said the question “divided specialists” (xii).
When President Truman authorized the use of two nuclear weapons in 1945 against the Japanese in the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end World War II, the nature of international security was changed irreversibly. At that time, the United States had what was said to have a monopoly of atomic bombs. Soon thereafter, the Soviet Union began working on atomic weaponry. In 1949, it had already detonated it first atomic bomb and tensions began to heat up between the two countries. With the information that the Soviets had tested their first bomb, the United States began work on more powerful weapons1, and a fight for nuclear superiority had begun.
During the final stages of World War II the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the country of Japan. On August 6, 1945 America dropped the first nuclear weapon ever used in war, an atomic bomb by the name of “little boy.” It killed approximately eighty thousand people, not including the amount of people that died due to the radiation exposure. Then on August 9, 1945 America dropped its second atomic bomb by the name of “fatman” that killed roughly forty thousand people. The dropping of the atomic bombs lead to Emperor Hirohito announcing Japan’s surrender in the war on August 15, 1945. “Why We Dropped the Bomb” written by Gar Alperovitz discusses the use of the atomic bombs, why they were used, and how it helped America gain political power. “Thank God for the Atom Bomb” written by Paul Fussel discusses how the atomic bombs were used to save lives against the Japanese. Gar Alperovitz’s article is a more persuasive piece compared to Paul Fussel’s article, because it provides facts and examples that help us understand why America used the atom bomb and how it helped America’s political status.
In 1945, the one day at the end of World War Ⅱ, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The atomic bomb blew the lives of 15 million civilians in Hiroshima with a huge mushroom clouds such as a tombstone. Because massive air attacks were repeated at the time this casualty figure was not so great, but the reason why this case was surprising is that its heavy casualty figure was caused by only a single atomic bomb. After the United States dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki the world entered a new phase-the atomic one and imagined the future that an atomic weapon changes the world to a burning hell as such as what the first powder weapon did. From this imagine, the Treaty on
The Big Bang The opportunity to end World War II was right in front of President Truman, but could he unleash the horrible weapon against Japan? Would he be able to use the weapon that was likely to be the most destructive weapon ever used? President Truman’s goal was to end the war as swiftly as possible, and with the atomic bomb, he would be able to accomplish this goal. President Truman believed the atomic bomb would save both American and Japanese lives.
After the first few days of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Americans, without knowledge of the aftermath of these cities, began cheering and celebrating as the bombings marked the end of World War II. Also, this event showed that Americans would be the ones who would lead the world into the nuclear age. In a Gallup Poll taken from August 10-15, 1945, Americans were asked whether or not they approved or disapproved of the use of atomic bombs on Japanese cities, 85 percent approved, ten percent disapproved and five had no opinion.30 then when asked if the development of the atomic bomb was a good or bad thing, 69 percent said it was a good thing, 17 percent said it was bad, and 14 percent had no opinion (Steele).
The possible employment of nuclear weapons between the two superpowers during the Cold War was unprecedented. The power of this stalemate shattered the paradigm of warfare and demonstrated how significant this military revolution’s effects were even at the mere threat of nuclear weapons use. Regarding this standoff between t...
The United States gained supremacy by using the atomic bomb as a threat to force their enemies to surrender. After Japan led an attack on Pearl Harbor, the American forces retaliated by dropping an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, and then threatening to do the same on Nagasaki. “We have just begun to use this weapon against your homeland. If you still have any doubt, make inquiry as to what happened to Hiroshima when just one atomic bomb fell on that city” (Department). This shows how the atomic bomb was used as a means of intimidation; the use of the atomic bomb forced other countries into submission by threatening them with nuclear attack. Furthermore, the United States made it clear to its enemies that they had alternative options for reconciliation before nuclear attacks were to take place. The President of the United States explained “thirteen consequences of an honorable surrender,” and urged that Japan “accept those consequences and begin the work of building a new, better, and peace loving Japan” (Department). This demonstrates the use of an ethical appeal by the United States because it arrouses ones sense of duty to preserve peace. While war was inevitable, the U.S. hoped that the threat of nuclear destruction would force other countries into negotiating peace instead of fighting. Evidently, by using nuclear threats as a form of intimidation, the U...
During the cold war tensions were tight with the thought of nukes and the complete destruction of Earth. The primary sources in this chapter describe the decision and effects of dropping the nuclear bombs on Japan: a petition to the president from the scientific advisory panel, a press release by President Truman, a photograph of the destruction in Hiroshima, surveys on the effectiveness of the bombing and from Japanese leaders, and an eye witness account of the Hiroshima bombing from Father Johannes Siemes. These documents show the impact that the atomic bombs had, not only on Japan, but also on the U.S. when talking about the thought of using such a weapon of mass destruction and the thoughts of regret for using the nukes. The petition from the scientific advisory panel, to President Truman, was to make sure that him and Japan knew the full outcome from using this weapon and even arguing against using it. In Truman’s press release, he explains to the public the development of the bomb, how powerful it is, and the reason for its use. The picture in Hiroshima just show how destructive and devastating the blast was. The surveys provide evidence that the U.S. did not need to use the atomic bombs, based on information recovered
Throughout history, negotiation has been a powerful tool used by world leaders to avoid violence and solve conflict. When negotiation succeeds all parties can feel that that have achieved their goals and met their expectations, but when negotiations go awry countries and relationships can be damaged beyond repair. The Munich Agreement of 1938 is a primary example of this type of failure, which was one of the catalysts to the start World War II and Czechoslovakia’s loss of independence. The Czech people were greatly overlooked during this agreement process, which still in some instances affects the country today. The 1930s were a challenging time for Europe and the powers within it due to the aftermath of WWI and the worldwide economic depression. Meanwhile, Fuhrer Hitler and the Nazi party were continuing their domination of Europe and threatening to invade Czechoslovakia, which many felt would most likely incite another World War. To prevent this England, France, Italy and Germany entered into an agreement, which would allow Germany to seize control of Sudetenland and is today known as the ‘Munich Pact’. Sudetenland had a large German population and its borders were in strategically strong areas for the German military. For negotiations to be successful there are many components that one must be aware of such as personalities of all parties, end goals of each person and the history from the country. England led the process with an appeasement policy as an attempt to mollify Hitler and the Nazi party and prevent war, which this pact did not. The Munich Pact is a perfect example of how negotiation can fail when all of the pieces do not fall correctly into place.