The Aftermath of World War II Some people argue that faith and reason are two completely unrelated concepts. This statement could not be further from the truth. Both faith and reason separate man from animal. Man possesses the ability to think his way through obstacles. When a situation appears too great for logic, faith brings man to the next level. During World War II faith and reason worked side by side. Politicians and military leaders employed reason to break down and destroy the enemy. The soldiers on the front lines and the civilians back home tapped into their faith to see them through the turmoil around them. Following World War II faith and reason continued their importance. In order to end the war, the United States created and unleashed the first atomic bomb. On August 6, 1945, President Truman gave the order to drop the bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Since this initial decision, there has been a great deal of debate about the ethics of nuclear weapons. Some of the most frightening effects of nuclear war are the long-range effects. Radioactive exposure effects both people and their environment. World War II gave birth to the most destructive weapon known to man, and faith and reason continue to play an important role in its further use. In order to comprehend the significance of the bomb, first one must examine its roots. On December 8, 1938, two German scientists discovered nuclear fission. This is the process by which atomic power is created. Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann split an atomic for the very first time. They reported their findings to a former colleague, Lise Meitner. Meitner, at that time was living in Sweden in order to seek refuge from Nazism. His cousin, Otto F... ... middle of paper ... ...ing the environment poisoned for hundreds and even thousands of years. Fortunately, no other instances of nuclear war have occurred. The world must retain the reason not to unleash another nuclear holocaust. The world must have faith in the institution of peace. - Chinnock, Frank, W. Nagasaki: The Forgotten Bomb New York, Cleveland, 1969 - Dannan, Gene. "Atomic Bomb: Decision." http://www.peak.org/~danneng/decision/decision.html (May 29, 1995) - Goldstein,, Donald, M.,Katherine V. Dillon, J. Michael Wenger. Rain of Ruin Washington, London, 1995 - Sublette, Carry. "MILNET-Nuclear Weapons." MILNET. http://www.milnet.com/milnet/nukeweap/Nfaq5.html (May 15, 1997). - Wheeler, Keith. Fall of Japan, The "PERSHING Weapons System and Its Elimination, The." - http://michp753.redstone.army.mil/history/systems/pershing
The U.S. decided to develop the atomic bomb based on the fear they had for the safety of the nation. In August 1939 nuclear physicists sent manuscripts to Albert Einstein in fear the Germany might use the new knowledge of fission on the uranium nucleus as way to construct weapons. In response, on August 2, 1939, Einstein sent a letter to President Roosevelt concerning the pressing matter to use uranium to create such weapons before Germany (Doc A-1). To support the development of the atomic bomb, President Roosevelt approved the production of the bomb following the receipt that the bomb is feasible on January 19, 1942. From this day to December of 1942, many laboratories and ...
In unit three of Nation of Nations, there were many social/cultural and political issues that affected the Jews in Germany and the Japanese in America. The social/cultural groups were roused due to the conflicts arising over ethnic backgrounds, race, and class differences. The Jews and Japanese faced discrimination in both countries whether they were born there or not. (Davidson, 2008)
This text provides a historical account of the development of the atomic bomb and nuclear fission. It provides insight into the function and effectiveness of the Manhattan Project, as well as the destruction of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This book illustrates human determination, the ability to perform during times of crisis, and again brings up the question of morality and human
In May of 1945, with Germany’s surrender, the Allied forces achieved victory in Europe. However, World War II was not over, and fighting continued against the Japanese in the Pacific. To finally end the war, United States president at the time, Harry Truman, made the decision to drop the newly invented Atomic Bomb on two navel bases in Japan: Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Although this did lead to the end of the Second World War, President Truman’s decision has faced much controversy in subsequent years, mainly surrounding the morality of his actions. I believe that given the Japanese mindset and the fundamental nature of war, that the dropping of the atomic bomb was justified.
The dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan were ethical decisions made by President Harry Truman and the United States government. By the time of the atom bomb was ready, the U.S. had been engaged in military conflict for over four years and lost over 400,000 soldiers. Truman claimed, "We would have the opportunity to bring the world into a pattern in which the peace of the world and our civilization can be saved" (Winkler 18). The bomb was aimed at ending the war immediately and avoiding prolonged battle in the Pacific Theater and the inevitable invasion of Japan. President Truman hoped that by showing the Japanese the devastating weapon the U.S. possessed, that the war could be brought ...
“Early in 1939, The worlds scientific community discovered that German physicists had learned the secrets of splitting the uranium atom and word spread quickly and several countries began to duplicate the experiment.” Albert Einstein warned President Roosevelt that Germany may have already built an atomic bomb. Roosevelt did not see an urgency for such a project, but agreed to proceed slowly. In 1941, British scientists pushed America to develop an atomic weapon. America’s effort was slow until 1942 when Colonel Leslie Groves took over. He quickly chose personnel, production sites and set schedules to invent the atomic
By WWII, physicists in the USSR knew that nuclear fission had international significance and could be used to create an extremely powerful bomb
In the early 1900’s, scientists learned that they had the ability to produce nuclear energy (Anderson 4). Though, throughout the early 1900’s how to produce this energy was still puzzling to most scientists. Leo Szilard, a Jewish man fleeing from Germany in 1933 figured out that colliding a neutron with a nucleus would start the chain reaction needed to produce massive amounts of energy. Then, this energy could be channeled into a weapon that could wipe out an entire city. Szilard was afraid that his new nuclear research might get into the wrong hands. Eventually, he turned to another German scientist that was known around the world, Albert Einstein. Einstein agreed that this research in the grasp of Germany could mean the end of days. Finally, they decided it was best to give it to a strong ally power, the United States (Anderson 12-17).
Wars are good business. They create an immediate demand for a wide variety of materials needed by the government in order to fight the war. They create work opportunities for people that might not ordinarily be considered part of the normal work force. And, while not necessarily good for the soldiers engaged in the fighting, wars are always good for the businesses that provide the materials used in a war. The Second World War was very good for business.
Throughout half the century of the 19’s hundreds a period of new advancements in the creations of a bomb had arisen. On August 8th, 1939 President Roosevelt received a letter from Albert Einstein which ended up being the fundamental support in the creation of the Atomic Bomb. There are two types of atomic bombs fusion and fission, the first atomic bomb was created in 1939 by the Manhattan Project, three weeks later after its first test, it was used in an actual war. It’s capable of wiping out a whole entire city and killing instantly anyone in its way. Now we have better more precise bomb know as hydrogen bombs, these bomb use the energy released when the nuclei of a hydrogen come together or fuse, unlike a fission bomb which gets its energy from when the nuclei of a heavy element such as plutonium or uranium splitting apart creating a chain reaction leading to a large explosion.
In 1939 rumor came to the U.S. that Germans had split the atom. The threat of the Nazis developing a nuclear weapon prompted President Roosevelt to establish The Manhattan Project. Oppenheimer set up a research lab in Los Alamos, New Mexico and brought the best minds in physics to work on the problem of creating a nuclear weapon. Although most the research and development was done in Los Alamos, there were over 30 other research locations throughout the project. After watching the first nuclear bomb test Oppenheimer was quoted as saying simply “It works.”.
In 1939, the world’s scientists discovered that German physicists had learned the secrets of splitting a uranium atom. It was feared that the Nazi scientists would use that energy to product a bomb capable of total devastation.
The world’s conflict over nuclear weapons all began with President Truman’s decision to drop the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. World War II was coming to a close but Japan would not surrender. So, on August 6, 1945, the bomb Little Boy was dropped on Hiroshima. It was triggered by a gun mechanism where a small piece of uranium-235 was fired down a barrel into a larger piece. This caused an explosion of 15 kilotons, or 15,000 tons of TNT, killing 90,000 to 166,000 people. Surprisingly, Japan did not surrender, so on August 9, 1945, the bomb Fat Man was dropped on Nagasaki. It was triggered when shock waves from high explosives set off the plutonium-239 core. It caused an explosion of 20 kilotons, or 20,000 tons of TNT, and killed 60,000 to 80,000 people. This second attack really sent the message to Japan, and they finally surrendered on August 15, 1945. World War II was finally over, but the Cold War began with the reveal of the United States’ nuclear power. It is believed that dropping the bombs saved both Japanese and American lives by ending the w...
The devastation brought about by the atomic bomb has caused fear among all the people that have realized the potential destructive power of its invention. The atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945 completely obliterated both cities (Lanouette 30). “Little Boy,” the bomb dropped on Hiroshima killed 70,000 people with an additional 66,000 injured (30-39). “Fat Man,” the bomb dropped on Nagasaki also carried its “share of America’s duty” by killing 40,000 people and injuring another 25,000 (30-39). The bombs also killed an estimated 230,000 more people from the after effects of the two explosions (30). The two bombings had opened the world’s eyes to the destructive power that could be unleashed by man.
World War II had a large effect on America, on how we were regarded in the world, on how our culture would grow and develop, and on how our citizens would develop and settle the land on their return. It brought people together for a while that were later torn apart, and changed the way Americans looked at higher education. Perhaps most importantly, it brought America to the world and served it up to them as something that could grow and become part of their culture, call it the Coca-Colonization of the world (Marling).