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Atomic Bomb

 

            More than half of a decade after the United States of America dropped the Atomic Bomb on two cities in Japan in 1945, there is still an enormous debate over it. The decision to drop the Atom Bomb created a huge impact on Americans and forever changed the way that other nations view the United States. Gar Alperovitz's book, The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb, discusses many viewpoints of people involved with the decision before and after the bomb was dropped. This book makes it very apparent that there were many more sides to this huge decision that what most books tell. Some of the main arguments in Alperovitz's book about the decision to drop the Atomic Bomb include whether or not it was really necessary, why an attack on civilians, and how does the United States justify using the Atom Bomb if they are against the notion of using chemical weapons. At the time the United States decided to drop the bomb, many felt that Japan would surrender within days; others felt it would be months. After the defeat of Germany, the war was near its end. Either way, surrender from World War II was in the near future.
             The decision to drop the A-Bomb on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan were first made because Hiroshima was considered to be a large army center and military supply port and Nagasaki was a major seaport, containing large industrial establishments. Years later in documents found from the 1970's, the decision was said to be made because the two cities had the criteria needed to drop such a large bomb: Large, urban areas that were more than three hundred miles in diameter and were capable of being damaged effectively by a blast as large as the Atomic Bomb could make. The Target .
             Committee also recommended on May 31, 1945 "that we should seek to make a profound psychological impression on as many of the inhabitants as possible." (Page 524). This quote indicates that the United States was not only interested in ending World War II; they wanted a dramatic ending to show the world who was boss.


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