Was the Atomic Bomb Necessary?

       Death, destruction and devastation this is what the US decided to burden fellow human beings. The US was not justified in dropping the two atomic bombs on Japan. They killed a massive amount of innocent people and effected many more. So many people died from the attack and they didn’t even get a chance to run or get to safety. They also lost all credibility on saying that they did not mean to cause all that destruction when they dropped the second bomb. They now cannot say that they didn’t mean for that to happen or that they didn’t expect that much death because they knew exactly what they were going to do to that territory. They also opened the conversation for more atomic warfare in future wars, so now it’s okay for countries that are in war with each other to drop bombs on one and other harming thousands of innocent civilians. All this is unnecessary and could have been avoided if the US had not dropped the atomic bomb.

 

             When the US dropped the bomb on Japan, President Roosevelt knew that there would be wide spread death and destruction of homes and buildings. They knew that millions would be killed, thousands of innocents would die. At 8:16 am on August 6, 1945 the US dropped the atomic bomb given the name of “Little boy” on Hiroshima. Some people where still sleeping when this bomb hit. There were many people out on the street during this time, “According to John Hersey’s classic work Hiroshima, the Hiroshima city government had put hundreds of schoolgirls to work clearing fire lanes in the event of incendiary bomb attacks. They were out in the open when the Enola Gay dropped its load.” (History.com). Thousands of innocent children and women and men were killed during the bombing. So many people that didn’t even want to fight in the war, that were not involved with anything died. Around 330,000 people, normal ordinary people lived in Hiroshima and around 250,000 people lived in Nagasaki (Children). The atomic bomb called ‘Little Boy’ That landed on Hiroshima: “killed 80,000 people instantly. Tens of thousands more would later die from radiation exposure.” (Editors). 

 

80,000 people instantly dead, that is what President Roosevelt and the leaders of the United States did to those people in Hiroshima. ‘Roughly 35,000 people were injured after the bombing. That means that almost half of the population were hurt by this bombing, not to mention the radiation that killed many and left others sick after the bombing which, would total in causing approximately 60,000 deaths. In Nagasaki 40,000 died on collision when the atomic bomb named ‘Fat boy’ dropped on Nagasaki’ (Hoistory.com). Dropping the bomb impacted so many people’s life’s and has scarred so many memories and families, so many people could not find their families because the bombing burned their bodies. So many had to live not knowing if they would make it another day longer in the days after the bombing because of limited food and water. These things will never be forgotten and will stain Americas past for eternity.

 

             Dropping the atomic bomb scarred many people lives and kill many more, but something it also did was burden the United States. If the leaders of America only had decided to just drop the first bomb, then they would have been able to say that they did not know that it would cause that much destruction and that they didn’t know about the impact. Since they did drop the second one, they lose all rights to say that they did not realize the power or the mass destruction and devastation that is caused. The leaders of America and President Roosevelt understood the full capability of the atomic bomb, they knew of the death tolls and the destruction it caused. 

 

Leo Szilard, a scientist who helped develop the atomic bomb, realized how destructive it could be and devoted his time to petitioning it (Leo). He tried to get people to sign the petition, especially his fellow scientists that had also become worried about the making and usage of an atomic bomb. He soon joined with two other fellow scientists working on the Manhattan project on what was the Franck Report (Leo). This petition demanded a test run before they were to bomb Japan with it and kill thousands (Leo). They tried to get the government to stop and realize the full power and eradication of the bomb. It was rejected by the Interim Committee’s Scientific Panel (Leo). These scientists knew that cataclysmic damage that the bomb would cause. They tried to prevent it but the people in charge did not want to think about that know, there only focus was on ending the war with the fewest American casualties. Having this be there main priority made them lose their moral compass. Now Americas is forever scared with this massacre in its history.

 

             America has done a lot of bad thing, it past is scared and torn. Yes, there are good things American has accomplished, but is it enough to cover the horrible things it has done? One of those things is open the conversation for atomic war. I World War ll American dropped two atomic bombs on Japan. They did this to try to prevent American deaths and to stop the war from dragging out. President Roosevelt knew all the consequences that would be caused by the atomic bomb. The leaders of America new that they would have the death of thousands on their hands if they did decide to drop the bomb. Even though the usage of atomic bombs have not been used in a while they still frighten the world, “but those weapons remain a dire threat” (Walsh).

 

No country has used atomic weapons for defense or to start war yet, but the possibility of them doing that is still out there. Ever since America dropped the atomic bomb on Japan, atomic bombs are something countries can make or build, “By one estimate, the number of operational nuclear warheads has been reduced from 64,500 in 1986 to about 10,000 today.” (Walsh). This still leaves a lot of atomic bomb in the world. That means that almost 10,000 bombs that could destroy thousands of people are still in the world, thanks to America. People started to fear atomic bombs, and bombs of that magnitude. Movie were made that had been influence by the creation of the atomic bomb, “the Incredible Hulk, a scientist accidentally exposed to gamma rays during a bomb test and Spider-man, bitten by a radioactive spider (both 1962).” (Ahmed). Now the whole world was on the conversation of bombs and how they could kill of a whole population. This would leave the question on every one’s mind, when and where will the next one drop? The decision to drop the bombs made by President Truman will now haunt everyone.

 

             Americas history is full of great things, but when we did something wrong or chose to look the other way at a situation it has always ended horrendously, the dropping of the atomic bomb was one of those situations. There is no justification for killing thousands of people and destroying homes and communities.  When America dropped the atomic bomb, it caused massive devastation and death, killing thousands upon thousands of people. The U.S. also lost all credibility of saying that they did not know of that the bomb would cause mass destruction or the lives that it would take when it dropped the second atomic bomb. It also opened the conversation for other countries and war and how they can now use atomic weapons and that a=it’s okay to kill thousands of people. Now it is considered morally okay if a country drops an atomic bomb on some country if they are in war. The next time we have a war everyone will be on the edge of their seats, just waiting to hear if there will be a bombing or something worse.

Work Cited

1. Ahmed, Samira. “Culture - How The Bomb Changed Everything.” BBC News, BBC, 2 July 2015, www.bbc.com/culture/story/20150702-how-the-bomb-changed-everything.
2. “Children of the Atomic Bomb.” Hiroshima and Nagasaki Death Toll, 10 Oct. 2007, 19:55, www.aasc.ucla.edu/cab/200708230009.html.
3. Editors, History.com. “Atomic Bomb History.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 6 Sept. 2017, www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/atomic-bomb-history.
4. History.com Editors. “Atomic Bomb Is Dropped on Hiroshima.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 22 Oct. 2009, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/atomic-bomb-is-dropped-on-hiroshima.
5. “Leo Szilard's Fight to Stop the Bomb.” Atomic Heritage Foundation, 15 July 2016, www.atomicheritage.org/history/leo-szilards-fight-stop-bomb.
6. Walsh, Kenneth T. “70 Years Later, The Bomb Still Casts Fear.” U.S. News & World Report, U.S. News & World Report, www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/08/05/70-years-later-the-bomb-still-casts-fear.

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