Atomic bombs in japan

hailey
Significance
 Significance
The first ever atomic bomb was dropped by the United States on Hiroshima August 6th 1945,
estimated killing 60-80 thousand people and many other people died after from radiation. It
destroyed and damaged 70% of all buildings in Hiroshima. The US President warned that if the
Japanese still wouldn't surrender they would attack a different area with the same results. On
August 9th they dropped another bomb in Nagasaki with the same destruction as Hiroshima,
because of that the Emperor ordered japan to surrender. And put it on broadcasting to prove that it
was the emperor's free will that said that. Loyalty to the Emperor was absolute for japanese military
but so was refusing to surrender.
Causes and consequence
 Causes
There are many reasons as to why the United States dropped the bombs in Japan. The
manhattan project was a code name for the americans secretly developing and engineering
nuclear weapons before germany could. Truman who was the president at the time ordered
the bombing on Hiroshima to shorten the war. His commanders predicted a higher death rate
without them bombing japan. After the first bomb hit hiroshima the Emporer still wouldnt
surrender to the americans. So they dropped another bomb in Nagasaki called the “fat man”
and the first one was called “little boy”
 Consequences

When the bomb dropped the People near died immediatly and left “shadows on the walls.”
many were killed and injured. Buildings caught on fire. People had to rebuild their homes.
radiation killed lots of the people who survived and since then there has been an
increased rate of diseases like cancer, chronic illnesses and other long term effects. Other
countrys started making atomic bombs though none have been used other than the 2
dropped in japan becuase of the destruction and loss.
Change and continuity
 Change and continuity
Lots of things changed for both america and japan as well as the world. For instance other
countrys have made atomic bombs though none have been used yet. There were a lot of changes
environmentally for japan. There was water contamination which made it bad to drink, soil that
made it infertile and the air that made people sick and raised the chances of getting cancer. The
appearance of the whole city changed due to the fact most of it was destroyed and impacted by
the bomb. For the americans they now knew that their atomic bombs were successful.
perspective
 perspective
They both have different perspectives on the bombings. The president at the time thought dropping the
bombs would shorten the war and save lives of both american and japan soldiers. The survivors from
hiroshima and nagasaki were extremely traumatized. Many people lost their family and friends to this bomb
and dont think it was worth all the destruction it caused. in 1991 they did a survey to see what they thought
and 63% of americans thought that they did the right thing by dropping the bombs. Not everyone agrees
with the bombs from both japan and america.
Ethical judgement
 Ethical judgement
Based on all the information i have found i think that they were both in the wrong. Because the
emperor was so stubborn and would not surrender they dropped and bomb and yet he still
wouldn’t until a second bomb destoryed even more. If he just surrendered none of the
bombings would have never happened. The americans did have good reasons to drop the
bomb and good timing with it too. If they waited too long for a response to the japanese
surrendering they could have retaliated and bombed them right back. I understand the concept
for both sides but i think america should have done something less catastrophic.