The Use of the Nuclear Bomb to end World War II
analytical Essay
525 words
The Use of the Nuclear Bomb to end World War II
Technology is a great thing, it aids man in the exploration of the universe, and himself. But there are times when technology can be the greatest downfall of man. One such time was when the creation of the nuclear bomb. Which was to be used in the War in efforts to end it.
In 1939, a group of scientists, including Albert Einstein, wrote a letter to President Roosevelt to warn of the Nazi's effort to purify Uranium-235, which would be used in the creation of a bomb of mass-destruction. This prompted the president to create the Manhattan Project, the code-name for a top-secret project which would put the world's most brilliant scientists together to create a bomb. In 1942 General Leslie Grove was chosen to lead the project. He purchased a site at Oak Ridge, Tenn. For facilities to work on extracting Uranium 235. For the next 3 years nearly 200,000 people, working in 40 factories, worked 6 days a week, usually for 18 hour days in order to finish the project.
In 1945, President Truman had received some unsettling news, the bombs had been finished. 3 bombs had been produced, and it was time to test them to see if they had been successful in creating a nuclear weapon. The government had chosen a site in New Mexico called the "Trinity Testing Site" in Alamogordo. On July 16th, They conducted the first Nuclear Bomb testing.
They had proved that the bombs were usable, now the had to decide whether or not to drop the bomb. The scientists who created the bomb, started to realize that the had created something that would change the world as they knew it. The began to urge the president not to drop the bomb in Japan, but instead to show Japanese officials what would happen if the bomb was to be dropped on their country. Truman was against this because he had no idea if the other two bombs would work if the were to be dropped. So, Truman had to chose whether to drop the bomb, or show the effects of it. Truman knew that a full-scale invasion of Japan, in order to end the war, was to dangerous because of the possibility for severe American casualties. Truman had weighed the issues and decided to drop the 1st bomb on Hiroshima, Japan.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that technology aids man in the exploration of the universe, but it can be the greatest downfall of man.
- Describes how president truman received news that 3 bombs had been produced, and it was time to test them to see if they had succeeded in creating a nuclear weapon.
- Explains that the scientists who created the bomb, began to realize that they had created something that would change the world as they knew it. truman decided to drop the 1st bomb on hiroshima, japan.
- Describes how hiroshima's 1st casualties of the nuclear age were becoming statistics after a plane named the enola gay flew over the city on august 6th 1945.
- Analyzes how the pilot of the enola gay, lt. col. paul tibbets, turned back to look at hiroshima. the co-pilot, robert lewis, said he could taste atomic fission; it tasted like lead.
- Explains that the massive effects of the bomb were not enough for the emperor of japan to sign a peace treaty. truman ordered the second bomb, named fat man, to be dropped on nagasaki, japan.
Related
- explanatory
- analytical
- The Nuclear Bomb: The Controversial Devision in World War IIexplanatory essayThe 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.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that president truman's decision to use the nuclear bomb ended world war ii quickly and created mass destruction and devastated the two cities targeted.
- Explains that the united states was planning an invasion after capturing two major islands- iwo jima and okinawa. the first atomic bomb was tested in new mexico.
- Describes how the first atomic bomb ever used in combat was dropped from an american b-29 superfortess, known as the enola gay, at 8:15 local time.
- Opines that the united states had every right to drop the bomb on japan. if there was an invasion instead of bombing, over 500 thousand u.s. lives would be lost, and over a million japanese people would have been killed.
- Explains that president harry s. truman authorized the use of the atomic bomb because if japan surrendered to the soviet union, it would have changed japan into a communist country.
898 wordsRead More - The Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasakiexplanatory essayBombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki On December 7, 1941 an incursion occurred on U.S territory. Japan dispatched six of their aircraft carriers, Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, Hiryu, Shokaku, and Zuikaku. The planes flew over a naval base at Pearl Harbor which is in close proximity to Honolulu, Hawaii and attacked the naval base. Over two-thousand three hundred soldiers and sailors were killed and nearly one-thousand were wounded.
In this essay, the author
- Describes the japanese incursion into u.s territory in 1941, when six aircraft carriers flew over a naval base at pearl harbor.
- Explains that president roosevelt approved a strong research into an atom bomb, and the nuclear weapon became important to the u.s.
- Compares how the u.s spent most of their research on the nuclear bomb, hoping to retaliate for revenge.
- Explains that the manhattan project was initiated when the u.s. was a newbie in world war ii. the most critical laboratory was in los alamos, new mexico.
- Explains that scientists had successfully designed two types of atom bombs, but were not sure whether or not the bomb worked. trinity was the first experiment explosion of an atomic weapon in the world.
- Explains that the area needed to test the bomb had to be leveled and secluded many miles away from any abode because they didn't want anyone injured. bainbridge was able to locate one.
- Describes how the explosion was a tremendous burst of light that filled the morning sky, brighter than any before seen by human beings.
- Describes how the first mushroom cloud lighted every peak, crevasse, and ridge of the nearby mountain range with a clarity and beauty that cannot be described. fermi reached the compania hill as soon as the blast reached there.
- Explains that celebrations began after the explosion, but not for long. the experiment that fermi had conducted had undervalued the robustness of the bomb.
- Explains that the uranium bomb "little boy" was ready for use by august 1, 1945, while the plutonium, "fat man," was completed. the oak ridge and hanford plants began delivering the material to los alamos during the spring of 1945.
- Explains that before the test, president franklin delano roosevelt had died on april 12, 1945. the manhattan project was immediately led by the new president and former vice president for roosevelt, harry s. truman.
- Explains that germany capitulated to the u.s and its allies on may 7, 1945, which ended the war in europe. under truman's presidency, the united states was winning against japan.
- Explains that scientists who had put their intelligence to the manhattan project expressed their concern about the bomb dropping on hiroshima and nagasaki. they could not believe that the weapon of mass destruction was finally about to be used.
- Narrates how the bomb "little boy" was loaded onto a boeing b-29 superfortress called the enola gay. the bock's car crew was led by colonel paul tibbets.
- Explains that the enola gay's crew learned that their target was hiroshima because the weather was clearer than other cities. seventy thousand people were killed when the first atom bomb detonated.
- Describes how the "fat man" was dropped on nagasaki on august 9, 1945, three days after hiroshima.
- Describes how japan surrendered to the allies on august 14, 1945, and signed the "instrument of surrender for emperor hirohito of japan."
- Explains that the allied forces' main task was to rescue the prisoners of war. about 100,000 soldiers were imprisoned by japan during the war but, most of them had died.
- Describes the side effects of radiation poisoning on survivors of the explosion, including vomiting, diarrhea, hair loss, leukemia, and the loss of many white blood cells.
- Explains that hiroshima and nagasaki had to aid the survivors because they didn't get any special assistance from both the japanese and american government.
- Describes how japan became the vanguard of the contemporary manufacturing industry a decade after world war ii.
- Opines that the u.s. has become the new master of brutality, infamy, and atrocity.
- Explains that the city of hiroshima is like an ordinary city with a population of one million people. storytellers, known as kataribe, visit different schools to teach children about what happened to their not so long ago.
1722 wordsRead More - Was The Dropping Of The Atomic Bomb Justified?analytical essayWhen the United States caught word that Germany was close to creating the atomic bomb, J. Robert Oppenheimer and other scientists wanted to create it first, for the U.S. After three years of research, the first small atomic device was exploded on July 16, 1945 in the lab at Los Alamos. Having proved their concept worked, a larger scale bomb was built. Less than a month later, atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan (Rosenberg).
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how robert lifton studied the effects of the atomic bomb on the survivors. he identifies five psychological themes of survivors, including overwhelming images of grotesque forms of death, guilt for living through the tragedy, psychic numbing, and the struggle for meaning.
- Narrates how yasushi haraki, a second grader during the bombing, remembers the flash of light and darkness, the ceiling went tumbling down, and his foot was hurt. they returned to hiroshima to find his mother.
- Asks, "was the atomic bombing of japan justifiable?" the pacific war 1941-43.
- Explains that the united states dropped the first atomic bomb on the japanese city of hiroshima, which was an extremely controversial military strategy.
- Explains that the effects of the injuries can be divided into four stages according to the summary report of investigation of atomic bomb casualties.
- Narrates how a young girl named takako okimoto was affected by the bombings. she lost her parents and all her siblings, and the united states government wanted to end the war quickly.
2763 wordsRead More - The Atomic Bombanalytical essayIt was April of 1945 and Harry Truman had been sworn into office following the death of a beloved president, Franklin Roosevelt. President Roosevelt left Truman with the hardest and still most controversial decision of all time, whether or not to drop the atomic bomb on Japan. This decision would determine whether or not the outcome of World War II would be quick or prolonged. The Manhattan project for developing the bomb began with the fear of Germany inventing a type of nuclear weapon. The Allies had just defeated Germany and now, the United States focus was ending war with Japan. America had been in war for four years accumulating 1 million casualties in the process. The United States wanted Japan to surrender unconditionally, as the Germans had done, to the Potsdam Declaration. Japan refused; talk of a land invasion on Japan transpired. A land invasion would result in heavy casualties against on either side. The United States would be facing a different type of enemy as well. The only choice was to drop the atomic bomb on Japan. While some may argue moral and ethical beliefs, they cease to think about who the real victim was and how many lives it saved on either side.
In this essay, the author
- Describes harry truman's decision to drop the atomic bomb on japan, which would determine whether or not world war ii would be quick or prolonged.
- Analyzes how japan's attack on the united states at pearl harbor in 1941 was an awakening to the vicious enemy americans would have to face.
- Opines that president truman did the right thing by dropping the atomic bomb on japan.
- Opines that the only way to stop an enemy like the japanese was to drop the atomic bomb on japan.
- Argues that the japanese were willing to risk millions of casualties in fighting rather than surrender to the united states potsdam declaration.
1113 wordsRead More - The Results of the Creation of the Atomic Bombexplanatory essayBefore the Manhattan Project was even created, President Truman tested to see if the bombs would actually work. Truman funded his testing research from own money to make sure it would be successful. At the end of his three year research, a smaller version of the bomb was created for testing in July of 1945 (Teller 4). The testing booth was 20 thousand feet away from the bomb. The bomb weighed two tons and was put on a seventy foot tall tower made with 220 tons of steel. The experimenters were well dressed and protected, but could still feel the effects of the test bomb. The light was brighter than anything ever seen before and was hotter than the surface of the sun. The bombs explosion created a mushroom like cloud that rose over forty thousand feet high. The bomb completely evaporated the stand made of steel that it was resting on, along with the testing buildings and all that was within its reach.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the atomic bomb was created during world war ii, while america was at war with japan.
- Explains that atomic bombs create an explosion of heat and visible ultraviolet and inferred rays that flattens anything in its way of 30,000 feet, while going 360 feet per second.
- Describes how president truman funded his testing research to see if the bombs would actually work. the bomb weighed two tons and was put on a seventy-foot tall tower made with 220 tons of steel.
- Explains that the bombing of hiroshima and nagasaki was a great advance in technology, and the "nuclear winter theory" in 1983.
- Explains that after seeing the devastating effects of the bomb, many scientists didn't want anything to do with it and felt that there were easier ways of dealing with war.
- Explains that many thought about fighting back in the sky, because air power would be more effective because the japanese were focused on the ground, while their air defense was weak.
- Explains that the atomic bomb dropped on hiroshima had a catastrophic and destructive effect on the city, but scientists didn't think about the long term aftermath that followed it.
- Explains that the japanese were in a stalemate over the decision of peace and ending the war. the military refused to back down, due to not willing to accept defeat and dishonor.
- Explains that the u.s. wanted the emperor removed from his godly position as ruler of japan. the japanese refused the truce as failures of their country.
- Concludes that truman's decision to drop the bombs in japan wasn't the best plan, but he only cared about getting out of the war with japan anyway possible.
975 wordsRead More - Dropping of the Atomic Bombsanalytical essayEffectiveness of the US Foreign Policy (Atomic Bomb) The United States foreign policy of dropping the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was found to be fairly effective after all was said and done. The decision of dropping the bomb was a major choice by President Truman. After asking the Japanese repeatedly to surrender the decision was made that they would go forth with the bombs, keeping in mind that Japan had killed nearly 2,000 of the American soldiers in the bombing of Pearl Harbor and many more lives were lost during the Bataan Death March. The government observed that about 250,000 Americans would lose their lives (White Light, Black Rain) in a land attack on Japan, whereas very few would be lost with an air attack; the main goal was to simply end the war without losing many lives.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes the effectiveness of the us foreign policy of dropping the atomic bomb on hiroshima and nagasaki.
- Explains how the united states used the method of "island hopping" where the military would go from island to island conquering the japanese troops rather than going straight to the main attack.
- Explains that japan's emperor was believed to be a god, and one could not disobey their god. the japanese were convinced from birth that surrendering showed weakness and if they surrendered they were not worthy of living.
- Analyzes how the enola gay crew released a conference in which some stated that they’ve never had any sort of nightmares and have absolutely no regret for dropping the bomb.
- Explains that the americans were the first nation to use nuclear weapons in war, and this discovery provided a whole new era of nuclear warfare.
- Opines that truman's decision to drop bombs was the best choice for the people and as an aid to end the war.
- Cites armstrong, stephen, 5 steps to a 5 ap us history, 2015. n.p.: mcgraw-hill, 2014.
809 wordsRead More - The Decision To Drop The Atomic Bombexplanatory essayPresident Truman's decision to drop the atomic bomb on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the direct cause for the end of World War II in the Pacific. The United States felt it was necessary to drop the atomic bombs on these two cities or it would suffer more casualties. Not only could the lives of many soldiers have been taken, but possibly the lives of many innocent Americans. The United States will always try to avoid the loss of American civilians at all costs, even if that means taking lives of another countries innocent civilians.
In this essay, the author
- Opines that president truman's decision to drop the atomic bomb on hiroshima and nagasaki was the direct cause for the end of world war ii in the pacific.
- Explains that president harry truman was a huge proponent of the atomic bomb on hiroshima and nagasaki on august 6 and 9 of 1945.
- Explains that james byrnes, secretary of state, was truman's right hand man. he didn't want the russians to get involved in the war in asia.
- Opines that william leahy, chief of staffs to the president, saw the bombings as barbaric and unnecessary as he believed the war against the japanese was already won.
- Explains that general douglas macarthur believed that the dropping of the atomic bombs was militarily unjustified. it was a wise decision in diplomatic and political terms, but not in ethical terms.
- Explains how the use of the atomic bomb put an end to the japanese military dictatorship and put in place a constitutional monarchy, similar to britain's.
- Opines that it is difficult to make a case for the ethics in the use of the atomic bombing of japan.
- Explains that the use of the atomic bomb on japan was an awful way to bring about the end of world war ii in the pacific, but it was not a terrorist attack.
- Opines that it is hard to justify the acts by the united states against japan. people like tamiko tomonaga and sachie tashima did not deserve to carry dead bodies and have their belongings destroyed.
- Opines that the use of atomic bombs is justified because of what took place at pearl harbor and the threat of the war being moved to american soil. truman did what he believed
- Explains that there hasn't been a downward spiral with weapon usage since the two bombings so the united states has not caused an even more violent earth.
884 wordsRead More - Atomic Bomb In World War 2explanatory essayAtomic Bomb in World War 2 During World War II the United States government launched a $2 billion project. This project, known as the Manhattan Project, was an effort to produce an atomic bomb. This project was taken on by a group atomic scientists from all over the world.
In this essay, the author
- Explains how people, animals, and structures disintegrated, causing them to die, even years later.
- Opines that a bomb that could fit in their hand would be just as devastating as the bomb dropped on hiroshima.
- Explains the destructiveness of today's weapons, which is one reason why the united states created the bomb over 50 years ago.
- Explains that the first atomic bomb was not tested. it was dropped on hiroshima, japan on august 6, 1945 killing over 80,000 people and almost completely leveling the entire city.
385 wordsRead More - The Atomic Bomb And The Manhatten Projectanalytical essayThe atomic warfare capabilities of the United States were brought about in a letter from Mr. Albert Einstein to Franklin D. Roosevelt, our current president at the time. “It may be possible to set up a nuclear chain reaction in a large mass of uranium, by which vast amounts of power and large quantities of new radium-like elements would be generated…. It is conceivable, though much less certain, that extremely powerful bombs of a new type may thus be constructed.” His letter was the inspiration for the atomic bomb. Although it took a while for Roosevelt to realize what we had stumbled upon, his close friend Alexander Sachs helped him realize the possibilities. Two years later in November Roosevelt appointed a committee to advise him on nuclear fission and the capabilities of the concept in war. At the head of this committee was Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson. About a month later, an event happened that would change the history books forever. The Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii at about 7:50 in the mourning. This brought America into the war and the Manhattan Project was on its way. The Manhattan Project included the designing and construction of the atomic bomb, and the execution of dropping the bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. There were three major research and production sites for the project. The first was Los Alamos, near Alamogordo, New Mexico. This is where the actual weapon would be designed. The head of this site was Julius Robert Oppenheimer; this caused a small uproar because of past involvement in pro communist’s activities. The second site for the Manhattan Project was in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. At this site, scientist and laborers were separating U-235 from U-238. Here the Hiroshima bomb was built in huge buildings and the locals could only imagine...
In this essay, the author
- Describes how the japanese planes bombed pearl harbor on december 7, 1942, and damaged eight battle ships and thirteen other naval ships. the atomic bomb was created and used for many reasons.
- Explains that albert einstein's letter to franklin d. roosevelt inspired the atomic bomb. the japanese bombed pearl harbor, and the manhattan project was on its way.
- Explains that the manhattan project was supervised by enrico fermi, who had an intelligent group of scientists working with him. the military part of this project was called the "operation silver plate".
- Explains that the 509th squadron was one of the best units ever to have been put into war. they had to drop the bomb from about 30,000 feet and had a 200-foot margin of error.
- Describes how truman approves the invading plans for japan, and stimson and the 509th conduct the long awaited test of the atomic bomb at the potsdam conference.
- Explains that the first trial run was not very successful. the 509th unit did extremely well and was almost ready for the actual mission.
- Analyzes how the atomic bomb helped japan win a world war and became super-power of the world.
1776 wordsRead More - The Effects of Nuclear Weaponsexplanatory essayThe idea for a Nuclear Bomb came into the picture, during World War II. The code name for the project to create it was the Manhattan Project. It was named for the Manhattan Engineer District of the US Army Corps of Engineers, because much of the early research was done in New York City. In 1942 General Leslie Groves was chosen to lead the project, and he immediately purchased a site at Oak Ridge, Tennessee for facilities to separate the necessary ur...
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the united states has the power to blow up the entire world without even using half of their nuclear bombs.
- Explains that the manhattan project was named for the us army corps of engineers' manhattan engineer district. general leslie groves was chosen to lead the project and appointed theoretical physicist j. robert oppenheimer as director of the weapons laboratory.
- Explains that the united states had lost thousands of men and wanted to end the war as soon as possible. after the losses at iwo jima, and okinawa, it looked like japan would surrender, but they kept fighting.
- Describes operation greenhouse as a test of new hydrogen bombs in the pacific.
- Narrates how vernon lee hawthorne died of pancreatic cancer when he was 30 and his family almost starved to death because they had no money.
- Opines that the government refused to believe that vernon died due to radiation too long. they said there was no proof that he got cancer from being around the h-bomb tests.
- Recounts how the american government tested another h-bomb on march 1, 1954, and the crew was forced to stay outside for three days until it was ok for them to go out.
- Explains how the united states harmed the health of americans and other people by testing an h-bomb on a japanese fishing boat.
- Describes how dr. robert c. pendleton took his students on a field trip to measure levels of radioactivity in different environmental situations. he found radioactive iodine in all of the children, milk and vegetation 7.
- Opines that the government has to test nuclear weapons to make sure that our country can protect us from outside treaties.
- Explains that the united states has more nuclear technology than any other country, but was it worth it to threaten the health of american people to get this power?
- Describes ralph e. lapp's the voyage of the lucky dragon (new york: harper & brothers, 1958).
1847 wordsRead More