Was America justified in dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
On August 6th, 1945, the US dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima. It was the first time a nuclear weapon had been used in combat, against civilians. Between 40,000 and 60,00 people died instantly, and many more would die in the aftermath, either due to their injuries or radiation poisoning. It also resulted in an increase in cancer and birth defects in the region. Three days later, a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, killing another 40,000. These events resulted in one of the fiercest historiographical debates that historians face today. While it is acknowledged that the impact of this bomb was devastating for the citizens of these cities, the question …show more content…
Revisionists believe that the bombs were dropped mainly because of a concept called ‘atomic diplomacy’. Atomic diplomacy is the idea that the bombs were dropped not to force Japanese surrender, but to send a message to Stalin that the US was powerful. Some revisionists take this claim further and say that Russia’s invasion of Manchuria was what prompted the Japanese to surrender, not the atomic bombs. They say that the US wanted to intimidate Russia, and show that they had been successful with creating the new …show more content…
The final list, presented at a meeting of the Target Committee at Los Alamos on May 10, 1945. The list of potential targets consisted of Kyoto, Hiroshima, Yokohama, Kokura Arsenal and Niigata. Once the target list was finalised, the United States Air Force agreed to preserve these locations during their usual bombing raids, so that maximum damage could be inflicted when the atomic bombs were used. The Target Committee was a part of the Manhattan Project, which had been designing the US atomic arsenal. A major criterion in the target selection process was the amount of psychological damage it would produce. The Target Committee believed that as well as being more effective against Japan, it would be beneficial in ‘making the initial use sufficiently spectacular for the importance of the weapon to be internationally recognized when publicity on it is released.” For this reason, Kyoto was considered as a better target because ‘Kyoto has the advantage of the people being more highly intelligent and hence better able to appreciate the significance of the weapon’ whereas Hiroshima was considered to be of value because the hills surrounding it would deflect the heat and shock waves back onto the city, maximising the damage. In addition, the Committee decided to delay any firebombing raids until the day after the atomic bombing so that the effects of the weapon could be properly
On August 6th, 1945, the US dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima. It was the first time a nuclear weapon had been used in combat, against civilians. Between 40,000 and 60,00 people died instantly, and many more would die in the aftermath, either due to their injuries or radiation poisoning. It also resulted in an increase in cancer and birth defects in the region. Three days later, a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, killing another 40,000. These events resulted in one of the fiercest historiographical debates that historians face today. While it is acknowledged that the impact of this bomb was devastating for the citizens of these cities, the question …show more content…
Revisionists believe that the bombs were dropped mainly because of a concept called ‘atomic diplomacy’. Atomic diplomacy is the idea that the bombs were dropped not to force Japanese surrender, but to send a message to Stalin that the US was powerful. Some revisionists take this claim further and say that Russia’s invasion of Manchuria was what prompted the Japanese to surrender, not the atomic bombs. They say that the US wanted to intimidate Russia, and show that they had been successful with creating the new …show more content…
The final list, presented at a meeting of the Target Committee at Los Alamos on May 10, 1945. The list of potential targets consisted of Kyoto, Hiroshima, Yokohama, Kokura Arsenal and Niigata. Once the target list was finalised, the United States Air Force agreed to preserve these locations during their usual bombing raids, so that maximum damage could be inflicted when the atomic bombs were used. The Target Committee was a part of the Manhattan Project, which had been designing the US atomic arsenal. A major criterion in the target selection process was the amount of psychological damage it would produce. The Target Committee believed that as well as being more effective against Japan, it would be beneficial in ‘making the initial use sufficiently spectacular for the importance of the weapon to be internationally recognized when publicity on it is released.” For this reason, Kyoto was considered as a better target because ‘Kyoto has the advantage of the people being more highly intelligent and hence better able to appreciate the significance of the weapon’ whereas Hiroshima was considered to be of value because the hills surrounding it would deflect the heat and shock waves back onto the city, maximising the damage. In addition, the Committee decided to delay any firebombing raids until the day after the atomic bombing so that the effects of the weapon could be properly