The Nuclear Bomb: The Controversial Devision in World War II

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The United States had been in war for almost four years. Over 416,800 American lives were taken, and four percent of the world's population was killed in World War II. America needed a way to end the war as quickly as possible with the fewest U.S. casualties. A Japanese invasion was considered, but it would put American lives at stake. With the invention of the atomic bomb, President Truman made the most debated decision: the decision to use the most deadly weapon ever invented- the nuclear bomb. It was a very controversial decision. On one hand, the nuclear warheads ended World War II as quick as possible. On the other hand, it created mass destruction and devastated the two cities targeted: Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Some say that the United States did not have the right to deploy the two atomic bombs in Japan. The two atomic bombs killed more Japanese than the amount of Americans killed in the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Others think that dropping the nuclear bombs was the right choice. It ended World War II quickly and did not put American lives at stake. The United States was locked in combat. After suffering over 416,800 casualties in total, they needed a way to end the war at the earliest possible moment. The United States was planning an invasion after capturing two major islands- Iwo Jima and Okinawa. The Battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa were some of the most fiercest and bloodiest battles of the War in the Pacific of World War II. The airfields of Iwo Jima provided a staging area for attacks on the Japanese main island. On July 16, 1945, while the Sixth Marine Division trained and prepared for the invasion of Japan, the first atomic bomb was tested in New Mexico. It was called the Trinity Test. The bomb used was an implosio... ... middle of paper ... ...n Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. Because of Nagasaki's hilly terrain, the damage was less severe than that of Hiroshima's. Despite the reduced damage, 30 percent of the city was still destroyed and 74,000 people were killed and a similar amount injured. The bomb, named "Fat Man," had the power of 22 kilotons of TNT and weighed 9,000 pounds. The USSR joined the allies and declared war on Japan. Five days after the bombing of Nagasaki, on August 14, Japan surrendered to the Allies. The United States had every right to drop the bomb on Japan. If there was an invasion instead of the bombing, over 500 thousand U.S. lives would have been lost, and over a million Japanese people would have been killed. The Japanese would have fought to the last inch of the island, and the casualties would've been astronomically higher if "Little Boy" and "Fat Man" weren't dropped on Japan.

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