Dropping of the Atomic Bombs
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
The Decision
As World War II progressed, the United States were trying to get Japan to agree to terms of surrender. This process was tedious and time enduring as they already have spent big amounts of money, and time in battle with Japan. The president at the time was Harry Truman, and he had received new information that the Manhattan Project was successful. The Manhattan Project was secret military project to produce the first US nuclear weapons. With the power to end the war with Japan in his hands, Harry Truman faced an overpowering decision, which he later described as the hardest one of his life.
The Droppings
The United States first made an Allied demand for immediate surrender to Japan with the threat of total destruction on refusal. Japan declined the demand and this pushed President Truman to the decision to use nuclear warfare. On August 6th, 1945 a plane called the Enola Gay dropped the first atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima. Instantly over 70,000 Japanese citizens were vaporized. Two days after, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan and then on August 9th, 1945 a second atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki, killing more than 80,000 Japanese citizens.
The Aftermath
The dropping of the two atomic bombs forced a surrender out of Japan which ended World War II. The radiation from the bombs were still present after the war causing sickness and hundreds of thousands of deaths years after the war was over and leaving the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in rubble and reconstruction. Today, many people argue that using nuclear warfare on Japan was unnecessary
Bibliography
"Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2016.
"The Decision to Drop the Bomb." Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association, n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2016
"Atomic Bomb." HISTORY. N.p., 10 Mar. 2014. Web. 10 Feb. 2016.