The Dropping Of The Atomic Bomb Essay

, Research Paper

The dropping of the A-bomb was a direct result of world conflict, at the fault of everyone involved. The blame has been placed on many people, from Oppenheimer making the bomb to the pilots dropping it. However, the blame of the disastrous A-bomb cannot be placed solely on one person. There were many people who were involved in the dropping of the bomb and the making of the bomb.

The Manhattan Project was the code name for the US effort during World War II to produce the atomic bomb. Sparked by refugee physicists in the United States, the program was slowly organized after nuclear fission was discovered by German scientists in 1938, and many US scientists expressed the fear that Hitler would attempt to build a fission bomb. In 1942 General

Leslie Groves was chosen to lead the project, and he immediately purchased a site at Oak Ridge, Tenn., for facilities to separate the necessary uranium-235 from the much more common uranium-238. Physicists from 1939 onward learned that each fission releases a few neutrons. A chain reaction, therefore, was theoretically possible, if not too many neutrons escaped from the mass or were captured by impurities. To create this chain reaction and turn it into a usable weapon was the ultimate goal of the Manhattan Project.

World War Two came to a brutal and deadly halt with the use of the atomic bomb. However, there were other more peaceful ways to end a disastrous war. During the time of the war, ancient traditions still existed in Japan that prevented any peaceful agreements proposed by the Allies. Therefore, when the Allies issued a warning to Japan, trying to make peace before the bomb would be dropped, the Japanese would not surrender because it meant the loss of their emperor. The emperor was traditionally honored by all Japanese with the utmost respect. Considering these traditions, Truman’s warning had little impact on Japan’s decision to surrender. If the United States had included the simple promise of keeping the emperor, a Japanese surrender would be most likely guaranteed. Also, this would not have lessened the power or influence of the United States on the world because the emperor would become a figurehead.

Another flaw of the United States warning issued to Japan was in their failure to acknowledge Russia’s eagerness to invade. By the end of the war, Russia had rebuilt their army and were looking to gain concessions. If Japan had been aware of Russia’s plan to invade, they would have seen that defeat was inevitable. With a weakened navy and air force, Japan would not have been able to withstand a two front war, between the United States and Russia.

Overall, a deadly end to the war could have been avoided by simply including terms into the warning to japan: a promise of keeping the emperor and a warning about the invasion by Russia. There were other solutions that could have been used to bring Japan to defeat, and they might have been less devastating.