Hiroshima-Nagasaki: Entering Into the Atomic Age

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On August 6, 1945, in an attempt to bring an end to World War II, the United States dropped the world’s first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, a Japanese city and military center. Most of the population stood helpless in the open as the sighting of only three aircraft quickly caused a roaring of air raid warnings. The extraordinary event destroyed nearly two-thirds of the city and immediately killed tens of thousands of people, and tens of thousands more died later from radiation exposure. Sixteen hours after the attack, United States President, Harry S. Truman, broadcasted the report of the event to radio listeners:
The world will note that the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, a military base. We won the race of discovery against the Germans. We have used it against those who attacked us without warning at Pearl Harbor, against those who have starved and beaten and executed American prisoners of war, against those who have abandoned all pretense of obeying international laws of warfare. We have used it in order to shorten the agony of war, in order to save the lives of thousands and thousands of young Americans. We shall continue to use it until we completely destroy Japan’s power to make war.

Just three days later on August 9, 1945, the United States dropped a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, a secondary target chosen due to inclement weather impairing the primary target city of Kokura. Though the terrain surrounding Nagasaki prohibited the widespread devastation as was seen on Hiroshima, the death-toll quickly rose into the tens of thousands.
Finally, on August 15, 1945, the world witnessed Japan’s unconditional surrender. In a radio address, Japan’s Emperor Hirohito announced his country’s surrender in ...

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...9, 2013. http://www.army.mil/asianpacificsoldiers/history/bataan.html
“The Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.” AtomCentral.com. Accessed November 19, 2013. http://www.atomcentral.com/hiroshima-nagasaki.aspx
“The Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.” History.com. Accessed November 19, 2013. http://www.history.com/topics/bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki
The Manhattan Engineer District. “The Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.” Trinity Atomic Web Site. Accessed November 19, 2013. http://www.cddc.vt.edu/host/atomic/hiroshim/hiro_med.html
“The Rape of Nanking 1937-1938 300,000 Deaths.” The History Place. Accessed November 19, 2013. http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/genocide/nanking.htm
“World Nuclear Stockpile Report.” ploughshares.org. Last modified November 4, 2013. http://www.ploughshares.org/world-nuclear-stockpile-report?gclid=CPOyxtKa9roCFag7OgodmEQAfA

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