Atom Bomb Essay Research Paper World War

Atom Bomb Essay, Research Paper

World War II was the most costly and the most deadly war towards Americans in its short existence. The plan was for the allies, the united States , France, Russia, and Britain to defeat Germany and then defeat the empire of Japan. After the defeat of Germany it was crucial for the Americans to end the war quickly because if the Soviet Union enterd the war against Japan and learned about the secrets of the atomic bomb it too could become a world power and dominate as Germany tried to do. The United States decision to drop an atomic bomb on Hiroshima was a diplomatic measure calculated to intimidate the Soviet Union in the post- Second-War era rather than a strictly military measure designed to force Japan s unconditional surrender. Japan was on its heels and could have been beaten through swift air bombing attacks as British Prime Minister Winston Churchill once said.

Many nuclear scientists in Russia and in America severely wondered if the atomic bomb was really needed to defeat Japan. The atomic bomb did unquestionably bring a quicker end to the war, which is what America wanted. This would surely intimidate the Soviet Union from trying to scheme against America in the future. America also did not want the soviet Union to enter the war with Japan and be forced to live up to its conditions that it made such as the status quo in outer Mongolia. If America did not defeat Japan soon it would be force to accept the Russians conditions and let them enter the war since they did the bulk of the fighting in Europe. As many scientists of his time, Leo Szilard believed that the atomic bomb could lead to the end of the world. He also made the common argument that Japan could have been defeated without the use of the atomic bomb because of the fall of Germany. This common idea that the atomic bomb could lead to the end of the world was brought out in the open when famed scientist Albert Einstein went to president Roosevelt and told him the Germans secrets for the atom bomb. The report of the scientific Panel to the secretary of War in 1945 shows that the scientists felt that the atomic bomb would bring an end to the war now but surely cause more damage in the long run.However, not all scientists on the panal belived the nuclear weapons were bad. Some scientists thought that if this technology can save American lives than so be it.

The military men who made the decisions in America surely out beat the brains and the scientists warnings and did drop the atomic bomb on Japan. Secretary of war, Henry Stimson, once wrote in his memoirs that the use of the atomic bomb was the only way to spare many American lives that would surely be taken by the Japanese caumacaussies. The Japanese and American armies were both similar in size with about five million men and with some help from other countries who knows what Japan would have been capable of doing. Like Stimson, Harry Truman also believed a quick end to the war would save many American lives. Dwight d. Eisenhower also believed it would be more efficient to beat Japan quickly with the atomic bomb than slowly with the use of regular bombs and military tactics. Eisenhower not only thought that it was a bad idea to have the war linger on and be put in the position of asking the soviets for help but he thought it was a horrible one. In Eisenhower’s opinion there was no way of keeping the Russians out of the war except for the use of the atomic bomb. Not all military men however, believed the atomic bomb was the way out. General H.H. Arnold believed the Japanese would have been very capable of being defeated with the use of more regular bombs and missals.

With the warnings from scientists and some Generals not to drop the Atom bomb on Japan , why would the United states government choose to do so? In the opinion of many well qualified people such as general Arnold, the Japanese could have been easily beaten since Germany was out of the war. With this in mind the only possible conclusion to why the United states would do it would be to end the war quickly and keep the red army out of the war. This would nullify the threat from the Russians in the future and would also do away with there unreasonable conditions. This was surely the reason why America dropped the atomic bomb on Japan .this or because of that black day on December 7, 1941.