The Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Essays -

History must be learned and understood so past events do not happen again. The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are these types of events. By the time Truman took office, Japan was nearly defeated. There were people in the Japanese government trying to find a way to end the war. However many believed the Japanese would fight to the bitter end. This is the same thing many Americans would do if people landed on our coast to fight. Our government did not want this war to be drawn out and we were still losing soldiers due to Japanese submarines and suicidal ?kamikaze? attacks. Even though Japan might agree to a negotiate peace with conditions, after twelve years of Japan military aggression against China and over three and one-half years of war with the United States our leaders were reluctant to accept anything less than completed surrender. Many Americans had an intense hatred towards Japanese?s more than the Germans. There were many reasons for this feeling, the bombing of Pearl Harb or, the horrible acts committed by Japanese soldiers, mistreatment of American prisoners and especially for racial reasons. This could be seen even in the United States with the camp many Japanese Americans were placed in during the war. Not to say some punishment was not deserved the question continues to be if the atomic bomb was the right and ethical thing to do. This continues to be a controversial issue even today. Many historians argue that it was necessary to win the war and save lives. Others have argued that Japan would have surrendered anyway and President Truman used the bomb to intimidate the Soviet Union. This question may never be answered but it will be something that is continually discussed. If you think about it a weapon of mass destruction can only be used for one thing. It would never have the effect they want unless it is used at least once. . As the work continued towards the completion of the bomb and its delivery system, there was much debate over how to use the bomb. Some wanted to do a demonstration to convince Japan to surrender. However our government was concerned to bomb might be a dud, prisoners of war could be moved to that area, and/or they might shoot the B-29 bomber planes down. However some of the Manhattan Project scientists were not satisfied that their voices were being heard. They believed since they had built the bomb they had a right in helping determine how it would be used. In the end the scientists agreed that the bomb should be used. There were four cities in Japan chosen that would have the most psychological impact and weaken the military resistance. Kyoto was one of original cities choose then removed because it was a cherished cultural center. In the end the cities were Hiroshima, Niigata, Kokura Arsenal, and Nagasaki. There were two types of atomic bombs used in the bombing of Japan, one bomb had plutonium and one had uranium. There were also question regarding the effectiveness of the bombs since they had not been tested. Since there was not enough weapon grade uranium only the plutonium bomb was tested. It was called the Trinity test and at 5:30 a.m. on July 16, 1945 the test was successful. The final decision to drop the bomb was approved by President Truman. The order was to attack Hiroshima, Kokura, Niigate, and Nagasaki in this order after August 3rd. Japan was issued a warning to surrender or suffer prompt and utter destruction. The Potsdam Declaration made no mention of the emperor remaining as ceremonial head of state and it was rejected by Japan on July 29, 1945. During these negations soldiers were still being injured and killed in this war. On July 29th the Indianapolis was sunk by a Japanese submarine. There were also daily air raids and naval bombardment in Japan. All sides were continuing with the war during these negations. At 8:15 a.m. on August 6, 1945 a uranium bomb call ?Little Boy? was released over Hiroshima. This bomb detonated 1,900 feet above the city. The first thing noticed was a tall mushrooming cloud that hind the city. Those