japan bombing essay

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Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

By: History.com Editors

Updated: April 18, 2023 | Original: November 18, 2009

On August 6, 1945, during World War II (1939-45), an American B-29 bomber dropped the world’s first deployed atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The explosion immediately killed an estimated 80,000 people; tens of thousands more would later die of radiation exposure. Three days later, a second B-29 dropped another A-bomb on Nagasaki, killing an estimated 40,000 people. Japan’s Emperor Hirohito announced his country’s unconditional surrender in World War II in a radio address on August 15, citing the devastating power of “a new and most cruel bomb.”

The Manhattan Project

Even before the outbreak of war in 1939, a group of American scientists—many of them refugees from fascist regimes in Europe—became concerned with nuclear weapons research being conducted in Nazi Germany . In 1940, the U.S. government began funding its own atomic weapons development program, which came under the joint responsibility of the Office of Scientific Research and Development and the War Department after the U.S. entry into World War II . The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was tasked with spearheading the construction of the vast facilities necessary for the top-secret program, codenamed “The Manhattan Project ” (for the engineering corps’ Manhattan district).

Over the next several years, the program’s scientists worked on producing the key materials for nuclear fission—uranium-235 and plutonium (Pu-239). They sent them to Los Alamos, New Mexico , where a team led by J. Robert Oppenheimer worked to turn these materials into a workable atomic bomb. Early on the morning of July 16, 1945, the Manhattan Project held its first successful test of an atomic device —a plutonium bomb—at the Trinity test site at Alamogordo, New Mexico.

No Surrender for the Japanese

By the time of the Trinity test, the Allied powers had already defeated Germany in Europe . Japan, however, vowed to fight to the bitter end in the Pacific, despite clear indications (as early as 1944) that they had little chance of winning. In fact, between mid-April 1945 (when President Harry Truman took office) and mid-July, Japanese forces inflicted Allied casualties totaling nearly half those suffered in three full years of war in the Pacific, proving that Japan had become even more deadly when faced with defeat. In late July, Japan’s militarist government rejected the Allied demand for surrender put forth in the Potsdam Declaration, which threatened the Japanese with “prompt and utter destruction” if they refused.

General Douglas MacArthur and other top military commanders favored continuing the conventional bombing of Japan already in effect and following up with a massive invasion, codenamed “Operation Downfall.” They advised Truman that such an invasion would result in U.S. casualties of up to 1 million. In order to avoid such a high casualty rate, Truman decided–over the moral reservations of Secretary of War Henry Stimson, General Dwight Eisenhower and a number of the Manhattan Project scientists–to use the atomic bomb in the hopes of bringing the war to a quick end. Proponents of the A-bomb—such as James Byrnes, Truman’s secretary of state—believed that its devastating power would not only end the war, but also put the U.S. in a dominant position to determine the course of the postwar world.

Why Did the U.S. Bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki?

Hiroshima, a manufacturing center of some 350,000 people located about 500 miles from Tokyo, was selected as the first target. After arriving at the U.S. base on the Pacific island of Tinian, the more than 9,000-pound uranium-235 bomb was loaded aboard a modified B-29 bomber christened Enola Gay (after the mother of its pilot, Colonel Paul Tibbets). The plane dropped the bomb—known as “Little Boy”—by parachute at 8:15 in the morning, and it exploded 2,000 feet above Hiroshima in a blast equal to 12-15,000 tons of TNT, destroying five square miles of the city.

Hiroshima’s devastation failed to elicit immediate Japanese surrender, however, and on August 9 Major Charles Sweeney flew another B-29 bomber, Bockscar , from Tinian. Thick clouds over the primary target, the city of Kokura, drove Sweeney to a secondary target, Nagasaki, where the plutonium bomb “Fat Man” was dropped at 11:02 that morning. More powerful than the one used at Hiroshima, the bomb weighed nearly 10,000 pounds and was built to produce a 22-kiloton blast. The topography of Nagasaki, which was nestled in narrow valleys between mountains, reduced the bomb’s effect, limiting the destruction to 2.6 square miles.

HISTORY Vault: Hiroshima - 75 Years Later

Marking the anniversary of the 1945 Hiroshima bombing, this special—told entirely from the first-person perspective of leaders, physicists, soldiers and survivors—provides a unique understanding of the most devastating experiment in human history.

Aftermath of the Bombing

At noon on August 15, 1945 (Japanese time), Emperor Hirohito announced his country’s surrender in a radio broadcast. The news spread quickly, and “Victory in Japan” or “V-J Day” celebrations broke out across the United States and other Allied nations. The formal surrender agreement was signed on September 2, aboard the U.S. battleship Missouri, anchored in Tokyo Bay.

Because of the extent of the devastation and chaos—including the fact that much of the two cities' infrastructure was wiped out—exact death tolls from the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki remain unknown. However, it's estimated roughly 70,000 to 135,000 people died in Hiroshima and 60,000 to 80,000 people died in Nagasaki, both from acute exposure to the blasts and from long-term side effects of radiation. 

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September 29, 2015

Terrible But Justified: The U.S. A-Bomb Attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki

By: Elbridge Colby

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National Archives News

The Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, August 1945

Photograph of Hiroshima after the atomic bomb. (National Archives Identifier 22345671 )

The United States bombings of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and August 9, 1945, were the first instances of atomic bombs used against humans, killing tens of thousands of people, obliterating the cities, and contributing to the end of World War II. The National Archives maintains the documents that trace the evolution of the project to develop the bombs, their use in 1945, and the aftermath.

Online Exhibits

The Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki   features a letter written by Luis Alvarez, a physicist who worked on the Manhattan Project, on August 6, 1945, after the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan.

[Photograph: The atomic cloud rising over Nagasaki, Japan, August 9, 1945. National Archives Identifier 535795 ]

A People at War looks at the 509 Composite Group, the unit selected to carry the atomic bomb to Hiroshima.

[Photograph: Col. Paul Tibbets, Jr., waves from the cockpit of the Enola Gay before departing for Hiroshima, August 6, 1945. National Archives Identifier  535737 ]

Photograph Gallery

"Little Boy" atomic bomb being raised into plane on Tinian Island before the flight to Hiroshima. National Archives Identifier  76048583

Hiroshima after the atomic bomb. National Archives Identifier  22345671

Hiroshima after the atomic bomb. National Archives Identifier  22345679

Hiroshima after the atomic bomb. National Archives Identifier  22345680

Hiroshima after the atomic bomb. National Archives Identifier  148728174

Nuclear weapon of the "Fat Man" type, the kind detonated over Nagasaki, Japan. National Archives Identifier  175539928

The atomic cloud rising over Nagasaki, Japan. National Archives Identifier  535795

Nagasaki after the atomic bomb. National Archives Identifier  39147824

Nagasaki after the atomic bomb. National Archives Identifier  39147850

Additional Photographs

Atomic Bomb Preparations at Tinian Island, 1945

Photographs used in the report Effects of the Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima, Japan

Manhattan Project Notebook

Atomic bomb/Enola Gay preparations for the bombing missions

Post-bombing aerial and on-the-ground images of Hiroshima

Empty bottle of Chianti Bertolli wine signed by scientists who worked on the Manhattan Project

Archival Film

Hiroshima and Nagasaki Effects, 1945

The Last Bomb ,  a 1945 film, done in Technicolor, by the Army Air Forces Combat Camera Units and Motion Picture Units covering the B-29 bombing raids on Japan

Effects on the human body of radiation from the atomic bomb

Additional Records

Photos: Atomic Bomb Preparations at Tinian Island, 1945

Atomic bomb/ Enola Gay preparations for the bombing missions

Post-Hiroshima bombing aerial and on-the-ground images

Color image of Hiroshima after bombing

Manhattan Project records from Oak Ridge, TN

Blogs and Social Media Posts

Unwritten Record:  Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Unwritten Record:  Witness to Destruction: Photographs and Sound Recordings Documenting the Hiroshima Bombing

Forward with Roosevelt:  Found in the Archives: The Einstein Letter

Pieces of History:  Little Boy: The First Atomic Bomb

Pieces of History:  Harry Truman and the Bomb

Pieces of History:  Morgantown Ordnance Works (part of the Manhattan Project) Panoramas, 1940–1942

Today's Document:  Petition from Manhattan Project Scientists to President Truman

For Educators

Docs Teach resources on the atomic bomb

Teaching with Documents:  Photographs and Pamphlet about Nuclear Fallout

Kennedy Library: “The Presidency in the Nuclear Age”

At the Presidential Libraries

Roosevelt Library: Albert Einstein’s letter to FDR regarding the atomic bomb

Truman Library: “The Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb ”

Truman Library: Additional records on the bombing of Hiroshima

Truman Library:  President Truman's Diary Entry for July 17, 1945 (the day before Truman learned that the United States had successfully tested the world's first atomic bomb)

Truman Library: Memo for the Record, Manhattan Project, July 20, 1945

Truman Library: Petition from Leo Szilard and other scientists to President Truman

Eisenhower Library: Atoms for Peace

Kennedy Library: “ The Presidency in the Nuclear Age: The Race to Build the Bomb and the Decision to Use It”

Home — Essay Samples — War — Nuclear Weapon — Japan After Hiroshima And Nagasaki Bombing In 1945: Economical And Political Effects

Japan after Hiroshima and Nagasaki Bombing in 1945: Economical and Political Effects

• Categories: Bombing Raids Nuclear Weapon

About this sample

Words: 1547 |

Published: Mar 18, 2021

Words: 1547 | Pages: 3 | 8 min read

Table of contents

Identification and evaluation, works cited.

• O’Malley, Gerald F. “The Grave Is Wide: The Hibakusha of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Legacy of the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission and the Radiation Effects Research Foundation.” Clinical Toxicology (15563650), vol. 54, no. 6, July 2016, p. 526. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edb&AN=116263077&site=eds-live.
• Fisher, Joel M. Vital Speeches of the Day, vol. 41, no. 9, Feb. 1975, p. 268. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mat&AN=9881266&site=eds-live.
• Beckley, Michael, et al. “America’s Role in the Making of Japan’s Economic Miracle.” Journal of East Asian Studies, vol. 18, no. 1, Mar. 2018, pp. 1–21. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1017/jea.2017.24
• “Displaying the Future: Techno-Nationalism and the Rise of the Consumer in Postwar Japan.” History & Technology, vol. 19, no. 3, Sept. 2003, pp. 197–209. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=khh&AN=11639045&site=eds-live.
• BRODIE, JANET FARRELL. “Radiation Secrecy and Censorship after Hiroshima and Nagasaki.” Journal of Social History, vol. 48, no. 4, Summer 2015, pp. 842–964. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=khh&AN=109033772&site=eds-live.
• The American Occupation of Japan, 1945-1952 | Asia for Educators | Columbia University, afe.easia.columbia.edu/special/japan_1900_occupation.htm.

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• History of China

The Bombing of Hiroshima

Updated 18 October 2023

Subject History of China ,  World War II ,  Asia

Downloads 49

Category History ,  War ,  World

Topic Hiroshima ,  Atomic Bomb ,  Japan

As World War II was drawing to a close

The US released two nuclear weapons upon the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These bombings took place on August 6 and 9, 1945 respectively. It happened right after the states obtained the consent of the United Kingdom which was a requirement by the Quebec agreement. The bombs resulted in the deaths of approximately 226,000 people, majority of whom were civilians and in the following five months. The children flesh – who attended Honkawa elementary school - did not hold up within the concrete walls of the school. Nothing was left, absolutely nothing. No remnants of their parents to bury. No single human being who was within a 1.2-kilometer radius of the hypocenter survived within a few seconds of the 8:15 a.m. bombing. (Asada, 1988, 2007)

Why bomb Japan?

In his article, "Japan's Delayed Surrender," Herbert P. Bix's 1995 focused on Emperor Hirohito's conditions to delay Japan's surrender during the month’s preceding Japan's bombing. On the contrary, the emperor said that it was a "sacred decision" to delay the surrender in which the states took advantage of the divided government. Lawrence Freedman and Saki Dock rill (1994), proclaims that the States followed "a clear and coherent strategy of shock," which was a success. President Harry S. Truman had been issued with a warning by some of his advisers. They told him that any attempt to attack Japan would result in American casualties. But all advice fell into deaf ears as he later gave the order to allow the new weapon to be used on Japan. An American bomber, Enola Gay, was instructed to drop the bomb over Hiroshima. In just 72 hours later, the states dropped another bomb Nagasaki, and these actions prompted Japan to announce its surrender.

In recent years since the inhuman massacre of the Japanese

Some Japanese and other historians suggested that the main aim of the weapon was based on two primary objectives. One of the two was to bring the Japanese war with other nations to an offensive end and consequently additional American lives. Secondly, it was to demonstrate the new weapon's power to the Soviet Union. By August 1945, relations between the Soviet Union and the United States had poorly deteriorated hence the weapon would have proved its worth. The havoc bestowed upon Hiroshima was not enough to convince the Japanese War Council to accept defeat and call for an unconditional surrender. The States had already planned to deliver another blow by a bomber, nicknamed "Fat Man," on August 11. However, the meteorologists said that there was bad weather expected for that day and hence the states pushed the date to August 9th. Nagasaki was bombed at 11.02 pm, and the Japanese government had no alternative other than to surrender. (Asada, 1988, 2007)

The main reason why Hiroshima was targeted

And not any other city was because it had not been previously targeted by the United States air force conventional bombings on Japan. Therefore, it was regarded as the best place to experiment the effects of the nuclear weapon. The allies had a fear that any attempt to attack Japan would result in fatalities since Japan had a robust military base that coincidentally, has its support in Hiroshima. The bomb was seen as the only suitable way to bring the war to an end. (Asada, 1988, 2007)

Effects of the bomb on Japanese

The United States bombings on Japan resulted in horrific casualties and significant long-term effects. Some of the effects are the exposure to radiations which increased the rates of cancer among the survivors. Many scientists up to date are under the influence that the survivors faced health effects and are at high rates of getting cancer. (Roesch, 1987)

Over the next few years, the cities of Japan saw a spike in leukemia. It was the most deadly long-term side effect that occurred two years after the bombing. It was estimated that people caught up in the blast had a 46% chance being affected by leukemia. Later, there were increased cases of breast cancer. Young women were at a higher risk of getting breast cancer if and only if they were exposure of more than 100 rads. (Wanebo, et al., 1968) The exposers to radiation are three times as likely to develop breast cancer, than someone who wasn't exposed to radiation. Similar, there was an increase in patients with anemia, a disease relating to a situation where the blood fails to create enough red blood cells. To some individuals, the effect lasted for a long time lasting to even ten years. Increase in Cataract is when the lens of the eye becomes foggy. Cases cataracts came several years after the bombs. The first case was exactly three years after the bombing. (Folley et al., 1952)

Keloids. In 1946, keloids also developed. Keloid is a situation in which a scar is healing but heals too much, causing swelling and later abnormal growth. Radiations are believed to be the sole causes of keloids. The scar tissue grows and ends up looking like a crab. (Folley et al., 1952)

Birth Complications. A handful of surveys specifically completed in Nagasaki proved a high rate of infant deaths. The study demonstrated that 98 pregnant women exposed in the blast out of a possible 113 women gave birth to babies with some disabilities. The children suffered in the growth and the general development of their bodies and this resulted in some children being born with microcephaly, a condition where the head is smaller than required. Microcephaly cannot be cured. However, it can be treated. (Roesch, 1987)

When the bombs were dropped, they destroyed everything including the crops. People were worried that the waste fields could not support the growth of any plans and that the radiations were too much for them to live there. It was not safe. Only are some few years that the cities began to rebuild and the soil could inhabit some crops. As time passed by, the levels of radiation dropped significantly, and hence the places were considered safe for human inhabitation. (Roesch, 1987)

The effects of bombing Hiroshima and Nagasaki were more negative than positive. The bombs resulted in the death of many innocent civilians in the attempts to stop the war, which we might say was a positive effect of the bomb. However, we should not rest on the conclusion that nuclear bombing is the sole answer to surrendering. The United States should have sorted other ways to end the war without causing the devastating effects if the bombs in Japan. Eliminating nuclear weapons, no matter how worthy a project is, on its own cannot and will not put an end to "man's inhumanity to man." Therefore, the humanist position must always emphasize the importance of human life over political expediency.

Works Cited

Asada, Sadao. "The shock of the atomic bomb and Japan's decision to surrender: a reconsideration." Pacific Historical Review 67.4 (1998): 477-512.

Asada, Sadao. Culture shock and Japanese-American relations: Historical essays. University of Missouri Press, 2007.

Folley, Jarrett H., Wayne Borges, and Takuso Yamawaki. "Incidence of leukemia in survivors of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan." The American journal of medicine 13.3 (1952): 311-321

Freedman, Laurence and Saki Dockrill. “Hiroshima: a strategy of shock.” From Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima. Palgrave Macmillan, London 1994. 191-212.

Herbert P. Bix, "Japan's Delayed Surrender: A Reinterpretation," Diplomatic History, 19 (1995), 197-225.

Roesch, William C. "US-Japan joint reassessment of atomic bomb radiation dosimetry in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. DS86. Dosimetry System 1986. Vol. 1." (1987).

Wanebo, C. K., et al. "Breast cancer after exposure to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki." New England Journal of Medicine 279.13 (1968): 667-671.

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