Why the United States dropped the Atomic Bomb: Persuasive Essay
The atomic bomb is the subject of much controversy. Since its first detonation in 1945, the entire
world has heard the aftershocks of that blast. Issues concerning Nuclear Weapons sparked the
Cold War. We also have the atomic bomb to thank for our relative peace in this time due to the
fear of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD). The effects of the atomic bomb might not have
been the exact effects that the United States was looking for when they dropped Little Boy and
Fat Man on Hiroshima and Nagasaki respectively (Grant, 1998). The original desire of the United
States government when they dropped Little Boy and Fat Man on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was
not, in fact, the one more commonly known: that the two nuclear devices dropped upon
Hiroshima and Nagasaki were detonated with the intention of bringing an end to the war with
Japan, but instead to intimidate the Soviet Union. The fact of Japan's imminent defeat, the
undeniable truth that relations with Russia were deteriorating, and competition for the division of
Europe prove this without question.
Admittedly, dropping the atomic bomb was a major factor in Japan's decision to accept the terms
laid out at the Potsdam agreement otherwise known as unconditional surrender. The fact must be
pointed out, however, that Japan had already been virtually defeated. (McInnis, 1945) Though
the public did not know this, the allies, in fact, did. Through spies, they had learned that both
Japan's foreign minister, Shigenori Togo and Emperor Hirohito both supported an end to the war
(Grant, 1998). Even if they believed such reports to be false or inaccurate, the leaders of the
United States also knew Japan's situation to be hopeless. Their casualties in defending the
doomed island of Okinawa were a staggering 110,000 and the naval blockade which the allies
h...