Abstract

     On August 6, 1945 the first atomic bomb was dropped by the United States onto Hiroshima, home to Japan's southern defense command headquaters. Then only three days later the United States dropped the second atomic bomb on the predominantly civilian city of Nagasaki. The dropping of the two atomic bombs by the United States was a ruthless and immoral decision degrading the moral principles of the U.S. to the point where the war began to transform into a struggle for power among the wolrd's industrial regimes. While the first atomic bomb dropped initialy killed about the same amount of people as the incendiary bombings of tokyo that number later rose to appoximetly 166,000 people. Many of those who partook in producing and dropping the bombs suffered from pyschological disorders and regretted their decisions for the rest of their lives. Even Albert Einstein who is partially credited with persuading Roosevelt to pursue further uranium research and initiate the manhatten project said, "I made one great mistake in my life — when I signed the letter to President Roosevelt recommending that atom bombs be made; but there was some justification — the danger that the Germans would make them...". The blasts indiscriminetly destroyed everything in their path within an 800 meter radius. The bombs also killed approximately 200,000 people in the two cities including over 2,000 prisoners from Korea. When the United States bombed these two cities it was irresponsible because they did not know the full effect of the disastrous bombs even after they bombed Hiroshima they had the choice to not use the second atomic bomb, but they did giving the Japanese little time to contemplate an unconditional surrender. The meager justification presented for the United States bombing the two cities is not nearly sufficient enough to substantiate the moral injustices commited by the United States government.

Thesis

      The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 by the United States were unjustified. The bombings left permanent damage to the two cities and surrounding area, approximately 200,000 Japanese civilians were killed, and the United States used the atomic bombs before they understood the full effects of them.