Sunday, March 4, 2012

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The United States was unjustified to drop the bombs over Japan since it caused the death of thousands of innocent civilians who had nothing to do with the war. It was Japan's fault for not surrendering to the U.S. during the war, but if they knew they were going to be nuked by the bombs, then they would have surrendered in the first place. Also, this operation to drop the bombs was primarily motivated by revenge, which is another unjustified reason for ending the war. From the start, the Japanese were brutal, disgusting people who took the lives of millions of people from the lands they conquered, such as parts of China and the Philippines. When President Truman of the U.S. decided to bomb both Hiroshima and Nagasaki after the Battle of Okinawa, he stated that it would end the World War and to get revenge on the Japanese from bombing Pearl Harbor. However, the areas they decided to bomb were full of innocent people who have done nothing. What we did to these people was way worse compared to what the Japanese did to us on Pearl Harbor. Because of the bombing on both Hiroshima and Nagasaki, people suffered cancer from the radioactive fumes flowing around. What made things much worse was when on one rainy day, the rain brought the radioactive fumes from the sky, which poisoned everything each drop touched. Major birth effects were inherited from the parents to the offspring as well because of the radioactive poisoning. Now because of the severe damage the bombing has caused, the lands where those people once settled are forever too dangerous for anybody ever again. The bombing may have ended the war and saved millions of American lives trying to invade the Japanese mainland, but both Hiroshima and Nagasaki were both permanently damaged from the bombing as well as the civilians were became victims of the incident. Other naive reasons for dropping the bombs were to demonstrate to the world how powerful the U.S. was and what would happen to other countries if they were to dare to mess with them, which was how the Cold War started due to intimidation of Russia towards the U.S.

History Behind the Bombing

The U.S decided to drop the atomic bombs over Japan for many reasons. It was meant to end the World War and for revenge due to Japan bombing Pearl Harbor. While the war was still going on, Albert Einstein, a top scientist of the U.S. who was Jew that recently emigrated from Germany, sent a message to President Roosevelt. He stated in his message that a scientist over in Germany has successfully separated a nucleus from an atom. This made him concerned that Germany could be in the process of making nuclear weapons since they had the capability of being able to. He advised Roosevelt that the U.S. should be the first to make the atomic bomb. This motivated Roosevelt to pass the operation of the Manhattan Project, which involved gathering the top scientists of the country to team up and create the atomic bomb. He appointed J. Robert Oppenheimer as the head scientist despite the fact that he doesn't have as much experience and has never won a Nobel Prize. However, his knowledge of the practical aspects of constructing bomb earned his position. The group of scientists busied themselves with calculations that needed for the building of the bomb. This group contained many scientists who have won many Nobel Prizes and consisted of many physicists, chemists, and engineers. The location of the researching of creating the bomb was in Los Alamos National Laboratory over by Los Alamos, New Mexico, which was a total secret of the time. Once the bomb was constructed, they made two models, which were called "Little Boy" and the second one being "Fat Boy". The "Fat Boy" model was tested over in an unpopulated desert near Alamogordo, New Mexico exactly one month before bombing Japan. Sadly, President Roosevelt died before being able to see the defeat of Germany and suffered a stroke. His successor, Truman, was the one who authorized the bombing of Japan. During his term, the U.S. and other Allied troops were on the last few battle of fighting Japan. Once Okinawa was seized during the Battle of Okinawa by the U.S., it was confirmed that this was the last island, which needed to be seized before being able to invade the mainland since the island was only a few hundred miles away. However, Truman knew that if he'd send troops to invade the mainland, then it would take millions of lives. The Allies threatened Japan with "prompt and utter destruction" if the nation didn't surrender unconditionally, but they never replied. Truman ordered the military to drop the bomb. On August 6th, 1945, a B-29 bomber plane known as the Enola Gay dropped the "Little Boy" model of the bomb onto Hiroshima, which destroyed 76,000 buildings and about 120,000 people died instantly. This greatly petrified Japan. Three days later, the Soviet Union declares war on Japan and much later that day, the U.S. dropped the "Fat Boy" model of the bomb onto Nagasaki, which kills about 74,000 people. Stunned by the catastrophic destruction of the bombs and the fact that the Soviet Union joined the war, the Japanese emperor orders the Japanese to surrender. On the day of August 15th, 1945, V-J, which stood for victory in Japan day, marked the end of the World War, and America finally celebrated its victory.

History Channel Video on World War 2:

This is a video on the history of the World War 2 atomic bombing on Japan and some of the aftermath.

V-J Day Video: America Celebrates their Victory

This is a video, which shows the celebration of America's victory over Japan and the official end of World War 2.

The Consequences of the Bombings on Japan: This is a video about the aftermath after Hiroshima and Nagasaki were hit by the atomic bombs. It shows how it affected people after the bomb physically and mentally.

Evidence

People who were hired to make the bomb were being forced to make this master in order to end the war in a faster way. It was way too frightening and destructive to even be thrown over to these cities. Conventional bombs would have worked just fine since the destruction of the atomic bomb was way too destructive. The use of traditional would have been able to convince the Japanese government into surrendering. At the same time of the Nagasaki bombing, the Soviet Union declares war on Japan. Japan was already gravely losing the war towards U.S. since they seized every island bordering Japan including its naval bases. Even though the bomb saved millions of lives on the side of the Allies, many were forced to be drafted in the war and had to fight. If the U.S. took the alternative into invading Japan, then they could have gotten rid of the evil Japanese military, which the ones responsible for everything Japan did to the poor other countries of China and the Philippines.

There were those who considered that the atomic bomb should never have been used at all. I cannot associate myself with such ideas… I am surprised that very worthy people—but people who in most cases had no intention of proceeding to the Japanese front themselves—should adopt a position that rather than throw this bomb we should have sacrificed a million American and a quarter of a million British lives…
Winston Churchill, leader of the Opposition, in a speech to the British House of Commons, August 1945^[7]

The bomb also didn't have to be used. We could have invaded Japan's war front and ended the war in about six months. When the bomb was dropped on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we weren't killing the ones responsible for treating the people of China and the Philippines like dirt. It killed innocent people who had nothing to do with the war. The war was also turning to the favor of the Allies and if they were to invade Japan like what they did in Europe, they would of had Great Britain and the Soviet Union on their side. The pressure of having to go against three world powers all at once would have pressured Japan enough to surrender.

When the bomb was dropped, thousands of innocent civilians died instantly and were nothing but piles of charcoal due to the powerful heat waves triggered by the explosion of the bomb. The bomb may have ended the war and saved millions of lives on our front but it took the lives of other people who had nothing to do with the war such as women and children. People who did survive the bombing died much later because as they aged, they started to develop cancer because of the radiation from their burns. Because of the rash decision to drop the bomb, the areas of Hiroshima and Nagasaki had such horrible conditions from the bombing to where it made the areas unsuitable for anyone to live on ever again. To drop such a weapon on a city didn't just blow things up, it had radiation that lingered around the area for many years and if a tiny speck of it got on someone, that person is most likely to develop cancer about 20 years into their lifetime.

"The lethal possibilities of atomic warfare in the future are frightening. My own feeling was that in being the first to use it, we had adopted an ethical standard common to the barbarians of the Dark Ages. I was not taught to make war in that fashion, and wars cannot be won by destroying women and children."

- William Leahy, I Was There, pg. 441.

The dropping of the bombs were also to symbolize what would happen if other countries were to mess with us. What we did to Japan did make us seem like the barbarians of the Dark Ages. We did everything to get what we want even if it meant taking away the lives of innocent women and children. The Japanese were brutal and disgusting people but that's like if we were to call every Japanese person that, including an innocent newborn baby. The ones who treated the people of China and the Philippines like dirt were the Japanese military. Citizens of Japan can't do anything about it since the military at that time took command of the government and killed off anyone who dared to oppose them, which gave the civilians no choice but to go along with it.

"It is my opinion that the use of this barbarous weapon at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was of no material assistance in our war against Japan. The Japanese were already defeated and ready to surrender because of the effective sea blockade and the successful bombing with conventional weapons.
- William Leahy, I Was There, pg. 441.

When the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, they only took the lives of innocent women and children who had nothing to do with the war or with what the Japanese military were doing to China and the Philippines. It was also immoral to drop the bombs since it intimidated the Soviet Union because of what our power was capable of and then resulted into the Cold War. The war was already being won in the favor of the Allies and with two to three world powers altogether against one axis power, Japan would have lost for sure, especially with the sea blockade and the conventional bombing we were already using on them. If we were to bomb Japan with these regular bombs, then it would have destroyed cities like the atomic bomb. However, the radiation from the atomic bomb made it too much of a superior weapon, especially for it to be used on innocent people.

“	The atomic bomb was more than a weapon of terrible destruction; it was a psychological weapon.	”
—Former U.S. Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson, 1947

All of the aftermath of the bomb on the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki after it has been dropped didn't just everything. It destroyed everything permanently and also killed everyone within the radius of the bomb. Survivors of the bombing weren't survivors for very long either. It only took a single drop of radiation to go on one's skin in order for them to be able to develop cancer within their lifetime because of all the radiation poisoning. This also affected them mentally. It struck fear into the hearts of Japanese civilians and also kept everyone thinking in Japan if they were going to be next. The bomb also punished the wrong people like as if they were blamed for the war in Pacific and the imperialism of Asia. However, this stunned the head officials of Japan and saw how furious the U.S. was to get what they wanted, which was to end the war. The bombing made us seem evil since we didn't who got hurt even if it meant taking the lives out of women and children.

Photo and Video Gallery

This is a picture of a survivor from the bombing of Hiroshima. She has suffered severe 3rd degree burns due to the severe heat waves of the bomb. Sadly, she may develop cancer within 20 years of her lifetime and die due to the radiation in her burns.

This is a photo of birth deformities in newborn babies due to the radiation poisoning in their parents because they were infected from the atomic bombing. Every time a victim were to give birth to child, there'd be such problems like this, which also shows how rash it was to drop the bombs.

The Impact of Hiroshima: The Negative Side of Science: This video points out what science is capable of and how it's used for evil during the bombing of Japan. It also shows the aftermath of Hiroshima and Nagasaki after they were nuked.

This is a Japanese foreign film in the 1950's that resulted from the horrors of the atomic bombings. It's a film called Godzilla, a radioactive creature, which was summoned from the dropping of the bombs onto Japan.

Godzilla 1954 Trailer Video: A Negative Result of the Bombing: This is a trailer of the Godzilla 1954 Japanese foreign film. It's about a creature that was created as a result of the bombing and describes how destructive the bombing when it happened.

This is the aftermath of the bombing of Hiroshima. It shows what happened to the civilians after the incident as well as the houses and cars.

Bombing in Hiroshima and Nagasaki Video:This is another video of the bombing on the two Japanese cities, which demonstrates the destruction of the bombing and the history of it.

This is another aftermath image of the city after it has been hit by the bomb. Due to the powerful heat waves and force of the explosion, it left the city in ruins.

This is an image of the explosion of the atomic bomb when it was dropped on Hiroshima, which resembles a mushroom cloud. After it happened, the land was nothing but a graveyard.

Hir oshima Aftermath Video:This is a video on the aftermath on the bombing of Hiroshima and how what happened to the civilians after it has been struck and how they were affected by it.

Works Cited Page

Robert Oppenheimer

Anderson, Leif E.; Whitaker, Ewen A. (1982). NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature. Springfield, Virginia: National Aeronautics and Space Administration. OCLC 9424347.
Bethe, Hans (1968). The Road from Los Alamos. New York, New York: Springer Science+Business Media. ISBN 0-88318-707-8. OCLC 22661282

Manhattan Project

Bernstein, Barton J. (June 1976). "The Uneasy Alliance: Roosevelt, Churchill, and the Atomic Bomb, 1940–1945". The Western Political Quarterly (University of Utah) 29 (2): 202–230. JSTOR 448105.
Campbell, Richard H. (2005). The Silverplate Bombers: A History and Registry of the Enola Gay and Other B-29s Configured to Carry Atomic Bombs. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. ISBN 0-7864-2139-8. OCLC 58554961.

History Textbook:
Joyce Abbleby, Alan Brinkley, Alan S. Broussard, James M. McPherson, Donald A. Ritchie (Ph.Ds) National Geographic Geography and History and Moment in History (2006)

Rare Color Films Document Atomic Bomb. (2012). The History Channel website. Retrieved 10:41, March 5, 2012, from http://www.history.com/videos/rare-color-films-document-atomic-bomb

PublicDomainFootage,
<iframe frameborder="0" width="480" height="360" src="http://www.dailymotion.com/embed/video/xej5xz"></iframe><br /><a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xej5xz_vj-day-victory-in-japan-publicdomai_news" target="_blank">VJ Day Victory in Japan PublicDomainFootage.com</a> <i>by <a ,22-08-2010http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xej5xz_vj-day-victory-in-japan-publicdomai_news

http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=235452&title=Hiroshima_Aftermath

Who Done it Page

Thesis Statement and Abstract: This project was entirely solo and done by me. I got ideas for my thesis by visiting websites and reading my textbook and notes. I also received help from my parents in order to make the blog.

History Behind the Bombing: This I did myself without plagerizing. In order to check if I was accurate or not, I looked in my textbook and visited wikipedia a few times, especially for quantitative data.

Evidence: I also did this myself, which took a while looking for the right sources to be supporting for my thesis.

Photo and Video Gallery: Once again, I did this solo since I'm my own group as my parents offered me help throughout my project. I received help finding videos and I had an easy time finding pictures.

Works Cited Page: It was an extremely difficult time for me, but I managed to do it by myself once again. I also received help from my mom since my dad was off to work.