History
"On August 6, 1945, a new step in technological warfare was taken when the first atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Hiroshima, Japan. The impact of the bomb alone killed at least 66,000 people.1 This was an event that would not soon be forgotten in history. The Americans, who knew the devastating effects of their new weapon, still chose to use it rather than an alternative means to peace.
In 1939 Franklin Roosevelt, the President of the United States received a very significant letter from the famous physicist, Albert Einstein.2 Contained in this letter were details concerning the importance of nuclear research with regards to gaining the upper hand in the war. Roosevelt agreed and approved $6,000 in initial funding. Many scientists began realizing the importance of nuclear fission and in 1940 The National Defense Research Committee was formed.
This group's purpose was to oversee research and provide more funding. Many of the world's best physicists set up research all across America working on different aspects of the research.3 Among these scientists, many feared that what they were creating would cause disastrous effects throughout the world.
The United States atomic research project that began as a small assignment with little funding grew to a large series of researchers experimenting with different aspects of nuclear fission. At this point Japan, Germany and America were all at race for the atomic bomb. In the U.S. progress was slowly being made. Scientists had been making new discoveries relating to the properties of atomic material. In the summer of 1942, Las Alamos, New Mexico was selected as a research site where many scientists gathered.4 Each step of progress toward the creation of this weapon was considered by many of the scientists, a step closer to destruction.
In December the military bought 54,000 acres of land around Los Alamos. This was to be used for testing and further experimentation. By 1944, the scientists believed they would reach the goal within the next year.5 These scientists knew that creating this bomb before the enemies was necessary. Most of these scientists felt that application of this weapon should only occur if other countries posed such a threat that there was no other option.
During this time period Japan had become a great military power. They conquered many islands in the Pacific including the Philippines. The Philippines was where the infamous Bataan Death March occurred. Many American and Filipino soldiers were killed in battle or executed.6 These casualties caused America's hate for the Japanese to increase. A hate that would fuel their burning rage and eventually lead to Japan's own destruction.
In mid-1945, President Roosevelt died and was replaced by Harry S. Truman. As the new President of the United States, Truman was informed about the nuclear research project that had been dubbed "The Manhattan Project."7 At this point in time it the war between America and Japan was coming to an end. Japanese surrender was considered to be inevitable, just simply a matter of time. It was not known if the atomic bomb would be ready in time. It was also argued whether the bomb would be necessary. Truman asked Secretary of War, Henry Stimson, to assemble a group of military advisors and scientists that could help him come to a decision.8
Many factors were considered in returning peace between Japan and America. Nevertheless, this decision was still very biased. After four years, the Americans had not forgotten about the strategic military bombing of U.S. Naval Base Pearl Harbor. The anger, which was still plentiful among Americans, played a major role in the immoral decision made. America had also just spent $ 2 billion on the production of the atomic bomb and although it had not been tested, scientists were confident in its success.9 This large sum of money was spent to create a means of ending the war quickly. The idea of all their hard work and time spent for nothing was not pleasing. The concept of wasting money, time and hard work in addition to the feeling of curiousity and anger lead the Americans to their consensus.
A common justification to the Hiroshima bombing was that no logical alternatives existed--this is a false interpretation. Many logical alternatives existed, unfortunately none were as appealing as the quick and deadly A-bomb.
The option of sending in troops would have certainly caused many Allied and Japanese casualties. However, the advantage to this strategy is that it minimized civilian casualties.10 Unfortunately, the amount civilian casualties were not an influential factor in the outcome.
In this particular war both countries had access to planes, submarines, infantry and ships. Taking into consideration the destructive capability of these weapons, the idea of no civilian casualties during war is absurd. War itself is an unjustified action, although some forms of war are considered unavoidable. In the event of an unavoidable conflict, civilian casualties should be avoided by all means necessary. It is never morally justified to kill innocent civilians.
A term often heard in warfare is "militarily justified." This term is in many ways paradoxical because military action itself is never justified. Considering that the term "militarily justified" is not paradoxical, there was still no reason for resorting to nuclear warfare. Using the bomb provided many benefits such as a quick surrender and minimal Allied casualties. The problem is that the benefits were obtained at the expense of something invaluable, the lives of countless civilians.
After some contemplation of how to proceed, Truman's committee of military officials and scientists came to a resolution. The committee said that the bomb was to be used without warning in an area that would clearly show its devastating effects.11 They also made it clear that the bomb should be dropped strictly on military targets. Truman decided that if the bomb was to be used then it should be used immediately.12 The only remaining decision was where the bomb was to be dropped.
In July of 1945, Truman headed towards Europe to meet with Churchill and Stalin. The President received word that the bomb had been successfully tested on July 16. Days later, Truman arrived at the Potsdam Conference where he met with the leaders of Britain and Soviet Union. The leaders decided that it would be fair to give Japan a chance to surrender first. The Potsdam Declaration was constructed by these three, basically stating that Japan must completely demobilize military, allow Allied Right of Passage and go to trial for war crimes. If the Japanese refused to surrender they would receive "prompt and utter destruction."13 This declaration was sent to Japan and the Allies waited for a response.
None of the requests contained in the Potsdam Declaration were considered unreasonable. This chance to surrender is another event used to justify the bombing. The Japanese were given a chance to surrender, but they chose not to and therefore accepted their own fate. This phrase seems to be an accurate observation. In reality only few Japanese really had any influence on the decision. The decision to continue fighting was a choice made by a handful of leaders that would affect thousands of people who were unaware and unprepared for what would happen next.
On July 28th, the Allies received a response from the Japanese. The Japanese declared that they would maintain fighting. The final task was selecting the city they desired to be eradicated. Kyoto was a city that was considered a possible target. It was discarded though, because the city was a considered a cultural and religious shrine.14 It was ironic that the U.S. showed any sign of thoughtfulness during the selection of a city bound for revengeful attack. The large array of possibilities was narrowed down to four feasible targets. These cities were Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Niigata and Kokura.
The Japanese were given a few days to change their minds and surrender. After no surrender came the American's prepared their attack. On August 6, 1945 American planes headed for the Japanese Island of Honshu. Meanwhile, in nearby Hiroshima, the inhabitants began their day like any other. These workers teachers, students, parents and children were completely unaware of their imminent fate. The Enola Gay, carrier of the A-bomb, flew over the city of Hiroshima and released a bomb with the same force as 20 million tons of TNT.15 "
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