In 1941, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. This prompted the United States to enter World War II. Four years later and still at war, the President Franklin Roosevelt received a letter from Albert Einstein explaining efforts in Nazi Germany to build an atomic bomb. The United States Government soon after began a very secretive project known as “The Manhattan Project”. They developed a new weapon, which was called the nuclear bomb.
The United States made two of these weapons, “Little Boy” which consisted of uranium-235, weighed about 9,700lbs and, two billion dollars of research was the smallest of the two. Fat Boy” was made out of plutonium-238 and weighed around 10,800lbs and being ten times more efficient than “Little Boy”. President Truman warned Japan with the consequences if they didn’t surrender with the Potsdam Declaration. It was signed by President Truman, and by Prime Minister Attlee of the United Kingdom and with the concurrence of Chiang Kai-Shek, President of the National Government of China. Japan refused to surrender.
In order to avoid an inevitable bombing campaign and land invasion of Japan that would have killed many US soldiers and citizens; President Truman issued the order to drop the bomb “ Little Boy” to save as many US lives as he could. At 9:15am August 6th 1945, something happened that would affect our world and all of human kind. Enola Gay dropped a bomb over Hiroshima, Japan. Even after having a second chance they still refused to surrender. Then three days later Nagasaki, Japan was bombed. When “Little Boy” was dropped over Hiroshima at 2,000 feet, 60,000 to 90,000 buildings that were about a 9. mile radius to explosion were destroyed and seemed like it vanished in a matter of minutes.
Around 75,000 people that were near the “Little Boy” explosion died instantly and others screamed uncontrollably from the awful pains of the burns. It was the same thing with “Fat Man”. It was estimated that with both bombs the death toll was about 350,000 and injuries were around 180,000. Soon the survivors of the bombing began to feel the effect of the gamma radiation from the bombs. Many people began to die from cancer.
Fifty five years later children were being born with deformities such as missing fingers, eyes, and club feet. It caused genetic problems, retardation, blood disorders, keloids, and mental trauma. Outside of the physical and geographical effects of these two atomic bombs, we ended up in a cold war between the USSR and the United States. The Soviet Union was afraid of the USA because we had atomic weapons. The mistrust between the two countries grew and caused more worldwide problems. The building of atomic weaponry still remains a threat between countries.
The short term effects of the nuclear bombing impacted the people of Japan in horrific physical, mental, social, economic, and, environmental ways. The long term effects have spread worldwide starting with the Cold War and even in today’s threats from North Korea and The Middle East. Atomic weapons will remain the biggest threat of world power. These actions displayed by the United States showed unnecessary suffering of innocent civilians. When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor there were 3,640 casualties. The bombing on Hiroshima and Nagasaki killed 470,000 civilians. The effects of atomic bombs continue to promote fear and hostility.
