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nuclear weapons problems and solutions essay
world war 2 and the atomic bomb essay
nuclear weapons problems and solutions essay
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During the crucial days and weeks in the summer of 1945, American officials from President Harry S. Truman on down, sought out a strategy to save as many U.S. soldiers and sailors lives as possible. As one may well imagine, these officials were willing to use almost any measure to end what had become a fight to the finish against the forces of Imperial Japan. The Germans forced America into manufacturing an atomic bomb that would change the history of the art of war. Many factors played a part in the decision making process to use this new form of mass destruction. Empathy combined with foresight allows you to forecast how others are likely to react or behave in different situations. From America’s standpoint, this crucial development helped save thousands of American lives. Despite the fact that thousands of human beings still died.
In the later part of 1939, Albert Einstein wrote a persuasive letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt about concerns that he had that would affect mankind for the rest of eternity. Einstein, and several of his colleagues explained to President Roosevelt that the Nazis of Germany were trying to purify U-235, also known as the separation of Uranium. If the Nazis succeeded, they would be able to produce a weapon of mass destruction. America wanted to make sure that they kept their world dominance by producing this type of weapon first. To ensure that this goal was carried out, the Americans and British rapidly underwent the top secret Manhattan Project, also known as Tube Alloys in Great Britain. Simply put, the Manhattan Project or Tube Alloys was committed to expedient research and production that would produce a viable atomic bomb. From the time of its conception, to the actual employment of the weapon, the total spent was well over two billion tax paying dollars. The Project involved two different styles of atomic bombs. One bomb was filled with Uranium and the other with Plutonium. The majority of concern from physicists working on the Manhattan Project was that their involvement might slaughter thousands of Japanese, including many innocent civilians. It is certainly a good thing for the world that Hitler's crowd or Stalin's did not discover this atomic bomb. It seems to be the most terrible thing ever discovered, but it can be made the most useful. “The formulas for refining Uranium and putting together a working bomb ...
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... on August 14 1945. “The use of the atomic bomb saved hundreds of thousands-perhaps several millions- of lives, both American and Japanese; that without its use the war would have continued for many months; that no one of good conscience knowing, as Secretary Stimson and the Chiefs of Staffs did, what was probably ahead and what the atomic bomb might accomplish could have made any different decision. The moral is “a weapon of war is a destructive weapon. That's the reason none of us want war and all of us are against war, but when you have the weapon that will win the war, you'd be foolish if you didn't use it...” (Truman Library).
Works Cited
Long, Doug. “Hiroshima: Was it Necessary?” 28 Jan. 2002 Doug-Long. Online. Earthlink. 17 Feb. 2002.
Barlett, E. “Flames over Tokyo.” 1991 The Non-atomic bombings of Japan. Online. Earthlink. 17 Feb. 2002.
“Foreign Policy.” 13 Jan. 01 Mtholyoke. Online. Earthlink. 17 Feb. 2002.
Boyer, Paul. “By the Bomb’s Early Light.” 1985 Reuters. Online. Earthlink. 17 Feb. 2002.
“Manhattan Project.” nd. Nada. Online. Earthlink. 17 Feb. 2002.
Ferrell, Richard. “Truman and the Bomb.” nd. Truman Library. Online. 17 Feb. 2002.
This investigation assesses President Harry Truman’s decision to drop atomic bombs on both Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It will determine whether or not his decision was justified. This investigation will scrutinize the reasons that made Harry Truman feel inclined to drop atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Preventing further casualties along with the desire to end the war are two argumentative points that will be analyzed to determine if they were strong enough to justify the dropping of the atomic bombs. Excerpts from Truman’s memoirs and a variety of different titles were consulted in order to undertake this investigation. Section C will evaluate two sources for their origins purposes values and limitations. The first is a book titled The Invasion of Japan written by John Stakes in 1955. And the second is a book titled Prompt & Utter Destruction written by J. Samuel Walker.
Upon reading “Prompt and Utter Destruction: Truman and the Use of Atomic Bombs Against Japan” by J. Samuel Walker, a reader will have a clear understanding of both sides of the controversy surrounding Truman’s decision to drop atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II. The controversy remains of whether or not atomic bombs should have been used during the war. After studying this text, it is clear that the first atomic bomb, which was dropped on the city of Hiroshima, was a necessary military tactic on ending the war. The second bomb, which was dropped on Nagasaki, however, was an unnecessary measure in ensuring a surrender from the Japanese, and was only used to seek revenge.
The purpose of developing this weapon was first and foremost winning the war as quickly as possible. In addition to securing world peace, the United States’ future as a world leader was also at stake. In 1939, President Franklin Roosevelt appointed a committee to research the possibility of using atomic energy military purposes. By the time the United States entered the war in December 1941, this research was given priority and the project was extended throughout the course of the war. Due to the extremely sensitive nature of the Manhattan Project, only a select few knew of the plan to develop the atomic bomb.
Donohue, Nathan. "Understanding the Decision to Drop the Bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki." Center for Strategic and International Studies. N.p., 10 Aug. 2012. Web. 4 Jan. 2014.
The non-fiction book Hiroshima by John Hersey is an engaging text with a powerful message in it. The book is a biographical text about lives of six people Miss Sasaki, Dr. Fujii, Mrs. Nakamura, Father Kleinsorge, Dr. Sasaki and Rev. Tanimoto in Hiroshima, Japan and how their lives completely changed at 8:15 on the 6th of August 1945 by the dropping of the first atomic bomb. The author, John Hersey, through his use of descriptive language the in book Hiroshima exposes the many horrors of a nuclear attack.
The benefits that the bomb had on our society have been invaluable. Permitting the use of the atomic bomb was an atrocious mistake.In John Hersey's book, Hiroshima, he interviews a German priest serving in Japan. This priest, Father Kleinsorge, provides a first hand account of the immorality, justification, and consequences thereof; “The crux of the matter is whether total war in its present form is justifiable even when it s...
Maddox, Robert. “The Biggest Decision: Why We Had to Drop the Atomic Bomb.” Taking Sides: Clashing View in United States History. Ed. Larry Madaras & James SoRelle. 15th ed. New York, NY. 2012. 280-288.
One of the most argued topics today, the end of World War II and the dropping of the atomic bombs still rings in the American ear. Recent studies by historians have argued that point that the United States really did not make the right choice when they chose to drop the atomic bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Also with the release of once classified documents, we can see that the United States ...
One of the most controversial decisions that have been made, in the history of the United States, was Harry Truman’s decision to drop atomic bombs on the two Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The ever so controversial topic of the dropping of the atomic bombs has successfully driven people insane. People feel strongly that this decision was atrocious and unnecessary, while others believe the polar opposite, that it was completely necessary. Some historians argue that the human cost to the Japanese population can never justify the use of such weapons. Other historians see it from an optimistic perspective, that it would not have been moral if atomic weapons had not been used to end the war as quickly as possible. President Harry S.
John Berger is a European writer, artist, and intellectual. He published “Hiroshima” which first appeared in 1981 in the journal New Society, and later in his essay collection The Sense of Sight in 1985. He argues that we should look beyond the statistics to see the reality of the events that occurred during the bombing of Hiroshima. As Berger declared, “I refrain from giving the statistics: how many hundreds of thousands of dead, how many injured, how many deformed children” (Berger 11). The...
“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
The moral and military necessity of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings has been a subject of debate for almost half a century. Most revisionists emphasize the victimization of Japan during the attacks. They often forget the military realities and the historical context while judging whether it was necessary for America to use nuclear weapons against the two Japanese cities. It is important to note that Japan was the aggressor. Japan triggered the war that led to the bombing of its two cities with its sneak attack on America’s Pearl harbour in 1941. Subsequent systematic and flagrant violation of several international agreements and norms through employment of chemical and biological warfare and mistreatment of prisoners of war and civilians aggravated the situation[ Gar Alperovitz, The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb and the Architecture of an American Myth. (NY: Knopf, 1995), 89]. A response was needed to deal with increased aggression from Japan. Allied military planners had to choose between invading Japan and using the US atomic bombs in 1945[ Ronald Tabaki, Hiroshima: Why America Dropped the Atomic Bomb. (Little, Brown, 1995), 101
There are many people who oppose the use of the atomic bombs; though there are some that believe it was a necessity in ending the war. President Truman realized the tragic significance of the atomic bomb and made his decision to use it to shorten the agony of young Americans (“Was the Atomic Bombing”). The president knew of the way the Japanese fought. They fought to the death and they were brutal to prisoners of war. They used woman and children as soldiers to surprise bomb the enemy. They made lethal weapons and were taught to sacr...
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.
In his essay "Hiroshima," John Berger examines the bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. As he flips through the pages of the book Unforgettable Fire, he begins to relay his own views on the dropping of the A-bomb. Berger suggests his belief that it was an act of terrorism on the Japanese.