Wednesday, March 10, 2010
The Atomic Bomb
Near the end of World War II, the US conducted two atomic bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, that killed over 100,000 people, and exposed many civilians to radiation. On August 15, 1945, Emperor Hirohito announced Japan's surrender to the war. At the time that Hiroshima was bombed, it was the center of some military and industrial importance. There were also some military camps that were set nearby. During the time of the bombings in Hiroshima, the population reached over 350,000, and in Nagasaki, was one of the biggest sea ports in Japan. Was there a specific reason why the United States picked Hiroshima and Nagasaki to drop the atomic bomb? For example, why was Hiroshima targeted rather then Tokyo, or another other part of Japan for that part?
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Hiroshima and Nagasaki were chosen for site of the Atomic Bomb because they were still intact regardless of the war. Japan's other major cities had been destroyed by fighting and air attacks. Hiroshima and Nagasaki were chosen because the bomb would have the most significant effect on them. Hiroshima also contained a large amount of Japanese troops and military facilities that the US was eager to eliminate.
ReplyDeleteI researched a bit and found that there was a Target Committee that decided where to drop the bomb. They had to decide where they could bomb Japan, that would send just the right message. They couldn’t attack Kyoto, because it had a high number of scholars, and they didn’t want to wipe out the majority of the people that would understand the attack. Hiroshima was chosen because it was the largest target with a large population, and was a military center. And, like Kristen said, Tokyo was already a mess from smaller air raids, and both Nagasaki and Hiroshima were pretty much untouched by the war. So, a board of people decided to bomb those two cities and mess up Japan even more, so that they surrendered.
ReplyDeleteJust like Pearl Harbor, Hiroshima was a military base that was at the time of the bombing involved in a military operation. the Americans probably bombed the city for the same reason that Japan bombed Pear Harbor, that it was unexpected because it was a smaller city and it was not just a civilian area, there were military personnel present. I think that if America were to bomb Tokyo, it would be like Japan bombing New York or Chicago.
ReplyDeleteThe Target Committee decided to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki because they were large cities where a lot of damage could be caused, but not large enough that Japan would be expecting an attack there. The hills around the cities helped to focus the bomb and create a more damage. Also, like Jackie said, they did not want to kill many of the men that would analize the attack and see what it would mean for the future.
ReplyDeleteI think that the United States wanted to bring WWII to an end and destroying two of Japan's few cities that were still in tact was the way to do it. After the first bomb was dropped, Stalin moved in and attacked Japan hoping that they would surrender, but they were still desperate and fought on. Hence bomb number two gets dropped. I think that the U.S. knew that after those bombs were dropped Japan really had no choice but to give up. At that point, I think every one was tired of the war and just wanted to bring it to an end.
ReplyDeleteIf America was just trying to send a message, i think Tokyo would have been a good spot to bomb because as previously said, most of the people had alreayd died. So if the meaning of the bomb was send a message and not intentionaly kill hundreds of thousands of people, why didnt they bomb Tokyo? Why did they need to kill as many people as they did to soley send a message?
ReplyDeleteI think that Max brings up a really good point. If they wanted to show Japan that things were pretty much done for them, then why didn't they do that by just showing them what America COULD do? They warned Japan prior to dropping the first bomb, but since Japan doubted them they could have just proved a point to send their message. At the same time, even after the second bomb was dropped Japan was still fighting so maybe the U.S. thought that was what it took to send the message. Regardless, Japan got the message.
ReplyDeleteTokyo would have been a good place to drop the bomb, except it had already been basically demolished by other acts of war. The city was in bits, and although it would still cause a large number of casualties, the effects would not have been as felt. Hiroshima and Nagasaki were relatively intact, so the full effects of the atomic bombs were felt.
ReplyDeleteThe bomb dropped on Hiroshima killed 75,000 people immediately and tens of thousands died within a year from the radiation emitted. Many of the scientists who built the bomb were against it being used because of its high destruction. Harry Truman had to decide to either bomb Japan or invade it. As Shawna said everyone was tired of the war and just wanted it to end, but did Truman make the right decision to bomb Japan or should the war have gone on longer with America invading Japan?
ReplyDeleteI think that Truman had a tough decision with 2 pretty bad options. Either the U.S. could bomb Japan, killing thousands of Japanese citizens, or they could send more American troops, who could potentially die during battle, to invade Japan. According to the facts sheet that we got last week, the U.S. had an estimated total of 405,399 deaths throughout the course of WWII. I think that Truman didn't want to raise that number any higher and hoped to keep as many U.S. troops free of harm as possible. I don't know whether it was the right decision, but I think for America it was. It avoided suffering anymore U.S. losses. At that point I don't think the U.S. was thinking about what would be best for Japan because they were our enemy, they instigated us into the war, even after Germany surrendered they were still fighting, and most Americans probably didn't care that they were being bombed. People in the U.S. didn't care that Japanese were being put into internment camps either and there was a lot of hostility toward Japan. Could bombing Japan have been avoided? I think so, but at the cost of more American lives and more money.
ReplyDeleteI think that America chose to bomb those two cities not because they were in war time production, but because they were not the largest cities. Tokyo has over 12 million people, or about 10 percent of Japan's population. It is by far the country's most populous and most densely populated area. Hiroshima and Nagasaki were populated, but not nearly as much as some of the other places in Japan. Thus the perfect spot to cause damage. With the populations at good number, those two cities being bombed showed the japanese that the US was not to be messed with. It also killed enough people to strike fear. But if America had chosen Tokyo, they would have killed millions due to the denseness and population. Killing all of those innocent people would have been too extreme when the main idea behind the bombs was not necessarily death to the Japanese, but fear and intimidation.
ReplyDeleteAmerica also did not bomb Tokyo because most of the city had already been destroyed from previous war incidents, so Hiroshima and Nagasaki would have caused more damage. America also did not want to bomb Tokyo because Tokyo contained Japan's scholars, people who would understand the attack later, and would be able to reflect and provide information for the rest of the world.
ReplyDeleteI asked my person I am interviewing what was the technology invented that stood out most to her thinking it would be TV or cell phones. But she actually said the atomic bomb. She was around when they had to hide under thier desks in preparation for an air raid and she said fear was ever present in America during those days. After the bomb was dropped, people were petrfifed that Japan would strike back. As Shawna said, atomic bombs are just so effective in sending a message of war, that the recipients of the bomb feel the effects in casualties, and the people who dropped the bomb feel the effects in fear and anticipation.
ReplyDeleteI agree that atomic bombs were dropped to send a message. The US had to strike back to Japan, as Pearl Harbor was bombed. Do you think Japan was expecting a attack from the United States, since they previously bombed Pearl Harbor? Do you think Japan was expecting the United States to retaliate later rater than sooner?
ReplyDeleteIt is likely that Japan would be expecting an American attack. They were aware the America is a powerful and proud country. Main cities in Japan were continuously being bombed by America. Japan knew that the allies were creating some sort of super bomb however, it seemed that they were willing to let this happen. The Japanese leaders knew there would be deaths on both sides if this super weapon was successful and were willing to sacrifice some lives if it would also hurt the enemy.
ReplyDeleteNot to sidetrack, but if the atomic bomb was such a valuable weapon, how come it is never used. Is it becuase it is too dangerous, or is there an actual international law banning it?
ReplyDeleteI think there's a lot of morality issues when using an atomic bomb. When America bombed Japan, a board of guys was like, "Hey, how many thousands of people do we have to kill to send a message," so it's kind of tough to think about. Then again, during WWII, I think America was the only nation to really have working nuclear weapons, so they didn't really have to worry about being attack back, like during the Cold War with Russia.
ReplyDeleteJackie makes a good point when she says that a board had to decide weather the after-effects of the bomb would be beneficial for everyone. I think that it is sad how many people had to die to get the point across to Japan. Although the numbers were decimating I think that more people would have ended up dying while waiting for both sides agreed to come to a resolution.
ReplyDeleteThe atomic bomb dropped was to send a message back to Japan, to have them understand that the United States in now involved in WWII. In today's wars, the atomic bomb is readily used, because new technology is evolving. Going with Max's point, I don't think that the United States thought, "Is the atomic bomb idea too dangerous?". The United States needed to show that they were involved within the war, and ready for anything. In the 1940's the atomic bomb was such a valuable weapon because it did what it had to do in order to win a war-send a message to get the Axis powers to surrender.
ReplyDeleteI feel as though the atomic bomb did get the message across even though it killed many people. Today if we used the bomb most of the country would be very upset. So many people fight for peace in our country today and are more outspoken then during WWII and they would be very unhappy if we dropped the atomic bomb somewhere. Also, as Gina said, technology is advancing and if we dropped the bomb on another country they could come back at us with something worse or just as bad and that would lead to a huge war and a lot of deaths.
ReplyDeleteI think the atomic bomb is not used today because it is a really destructive weapon, and unless the aim of the country is to obliterate their opponent, then they should stick to machine guns and smaller bombs. Also, a lot of people see the Atomic bomb as the most destructive thing around, when in reality if a country was aiming for mass destruction they should use the Hydrogen Bomb. Atomic bombs work by the principle of atomic fission (splitting the atomic nucleus), while hydrogen bombs work by atomic fusion (combining atomic nuclei). The hydrogen bomb is hundreds or thousands of times more powerful than the atomic bomb. The hydrogen bomb uses an atomic bomb as a trigger. So if a country really wanted damage done, they would use a Hydrogen Bomb.
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