On August 6, 1945, the first atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan. Not even the most stoic person could have contained themselves at the sight of smoke billowing into the air in the now infamous mushroom shaped clouds. People were afraid, terrified, of what had happened, and bewildered by the thought that this new and unfamiliar weapon could destroy an entire city. The chaos was reminiscent of physicist Leo Szilard’s words when a nuclear chain reaction was first sustained, that “this day would go down as a black day in the history of mankind.” With the dropping of the first atomic bomb on Nagasaki, tremendous changes were put into effect and the world would never be the same. The Manhattan Project, which led to the development of the
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Out of fear for what Germany possessing a nuclear weapon could mean for the future of the world, the United States and its closest allies, especially Britain and the Soviet Union, followed a two-pronged plan: to create a comparable weapon to what Germany had planned, and to destroy German nuclear development sites to slow progress. In 1945, a successful nuclear test in New Mexico revealed that the goal of creating an atomic bomb had been achieved, and the world would never be the same. Allied leaders Truman and Churchill came to the decision, once finding out that the atomic bomb was functional, that it should be used on Japan to end the United States-Japan conflict of WWII before the Soviet Union could interfere. Truman believed that the devastation and loss of life caused by the atomic bomb would be worth it in reduced overall casualties because the Japanese would surrender, ending the war early rather than continuing to struggle for several more months before victory. In August 1945, two atomic bombs were dropped on major Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The idea of dropping a third bomb was briefly entertained but ultimately rejected, and Japan surrendered only a few days after the dropping of the …show more content…
One of the first examples of Stalin’s refusal to make concessions for fear of appearing weak was at the London meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers, where he took a hard position on post-war settlements and could not be persuaded to change his mind. Stalin also knew that he could not hold out against the United States permanently just by being adamant about his positions; he would have to level the playing field in order to match the Soviet Union’s biggest competitor in all aspects, starting, but not ending, with weaponry. On August 20, 1945, Stalin created a Special Committee on the Atomic Bomb to further accelerate Soviet efforts to build an atomic bomb. This was perceived as a threat to the United States, sparking the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, both countries racing to be the best and beat the other, starting with the nuclear arms
Out of fear for what Germany possessing a nuclear weapon could mean for the future of the world, the United States and its closest allies, especially Britain and the Soviet Union, followed a two-pronged plan: to create a comparable weapon to what Germany had planned, and to destroy German nuclear development sites to slow progress. In 1945, a successful nuclear test in New Mexico revealed that the goal of creating an atomic bomb had been achieved, and the world would never be the same. Allied leaders Truman and Churchill came to the decision, once finding out that the atomic bomb was functional, that it should be used on Japan to end the United States-Japan conflict of WWII before the Soviet Union could interfere. Truman believed that the devastation and loss of life caused by the atomic bomb would be worth it in reduced overall casualties because the Japanese would surrender, ending the war early rather than continuing to struggle for several more months before victory. In August 1945, two atomic bombs were dropped on major Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The idea of dropping a third bomb was briefly entertained but ultimately rejected, and Japan surrendered only a few days after the dropping of the …show more content…
One of the first examples of Stalin’s refusal to make concessions for fear of appearing weak was at the London meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers, where he took a hard position on post-war settlements and could not be persuaded to change his mind. Stalin also knew that he could not hold out against the United States permanently just by being adamant about his positions; he would have to level the playing field in order to match the Soviet Union’s biggest competitor in all aspects, starting, but not ending, with weaponry. On August 20, 1945, Stalin created a Special Committee on the Atomic Bomb to further accelerate Soviet efforts to build an atomic bomb. This was perceived as a threat to the United States, sparking the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, both countries racing to be the best and beat the other, starting with the nuclear arms