The Atomic Bomb : a reflection essay following a class debate

Essay by aatbdrakeHigh School, 12th grade June 2004

download word file, 2 pages 5.0

In 1939, the German born scientist Albert Einstein had informed President Roosevelt about the possibility of creating a powerful bomb. The bomb was said to be able to creating a massive explosion by splitting the atom . Einstein as well as other scientists feared that Germany might develop such a bomb first. In 1942, the United States set up a secret project called the Manhattan Project, to develop the first atomic bomb. Roosevelt died in April 1945, and Vice President Harry S. Truman became President of the United States. At the Potsdam Conference, Truman learned of the successful test explosion of the atomic bomb and informed the other Allied leaders, that the atomic bomb was ready for use. The United States, Britain, and China then issued a statement threatening to destroy Japan unless it surrendered unconditionally.

On August 6, 1945, at precisely 8:16 a.m., the first atomic bomb exploded in Hiroshima, Japan, just seconds after leaving the Enola Gay.

Its blast was equivalent to that of 20,000 tons of TNT. Everything within four square miles was decimated. On August 9, 1945, the second atomic bomb exploded at approximately 11:01 a.m. in Nagasaki, Japan, after being dropped from the B-29 Bockscar. August 6th, 1945, 70,000 lives were ended in a matter of seconds. The United States had dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima. Today many argue over whether or not the US should have taken such a drastic measure. Was it really necessary that we drop such a devastating weapon? Bottom line, yes, it was. The best thing for us to do was end the war quick with the least number of American casualties possible. What if we hadn't dropped the bomb? The war would have continued, and there would have almost certainly been more deaths. The Japanese...