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 wiped out 90 percent of the city and immediately killed 80,000 people; tens of thousands more would later die of radiation exposure. Three days later, a second B-29 dropped the 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 Debate about the BombIn the initial days following the Japanese surrender, the United States public overwhelmingly supported the use of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. A poll taken in August 1945 by Gallup found that 85 percent of Americans supported the bombings, 10 percent were opposed to them, and 5 percent had no opinion. Fast-forward to 2015 and a similar poll found that 56 percent of Americans believe that the bombings were justified.
A collection of Herbert "Herblock" Block political cartoons regarding the Cold War/Nuclear Era
|
It was not one atomic bomb, or two, which brought surrender; it was the experience of what an atomic bomb will actually do to a community, plus the dread of many more, that was effective." A 2015 study done in Japan found that only 14% of Japan found the use of the atomic bombs necessary. Even so, historians speculate that more Japanese would have died fighting in the Pacific than died due to the bombs had the bombs not been used.
|
A Double Edged Sword
While the insane destructive potential of atomic weapons is well known around the world, our greatest threat may also be our shield. Since 1945, never once has there been a direct armed conflict between two powers possessing nuclear weapons. With the ability to turn an entire country to ash with the push of a button, even an irrational leader would think twice about waging a war with stakes that high. As Kenneth Waltz, the leading "nuclear optimist" and a professor of political science at UC Berkeley puts it: "Why fight if you can't win and might lose everything" This idea is called Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD). World superpowers know that another World War would assure the destruction of entire continents if even a single proverbial "red button" was pushed.
The scale of damage that nuclear weapons can cause can be very difficult to imagine. This website allows you to experiment with bombs that actually existed to better understand the destructive nature of Nukes.
|
Modern warfare is a never ending game of tag. Any sane leader will never use their weapons. However, if provoked they may flaunt their power and make empty threats. The truth is that Mutually Assured Destruction will keep Nuclear Countries from fighting. In the case of North Korea, they are dwarfed by the power of the US.
1. Alwaght. “Japan Remembers US Bombing of Hiroshima.” ::ALWAGHT:: 7 Aug. 2017, alwaght.com/en/News/106070/Japan-Remembers-US-Bombing-of-Hiroshima.
2. Christien, Bonnie. “War of the Words: Trading Taunts with North Korea Is Ineffective - and Dangerous.” U.S. News, 29 Sept. 2017, www.usnews.com/opinion/world-report/articles/2017-09-29/trading-insults-with-kim-jong-un-and-a-nuclear-north-korea-is-dangerous.
3. Block, Herbert, Artist. [Man nailing up a poster on nuclear nonproliferation and being knocked down by man pushing cart of drums labeled "US approved sales of nuke materials"]. 10/2. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <https://www.loc.gov/item/2012641216/>
4.Block, Herbert, Artist. Strategic Defense. 5/1. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <https://www.loc.gov/item/2012641512/>.
5. Block, Herbert, Artist. The ultimate U.S. defense. 5/28. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <https://www.loc.gov/item/2012641530/>.
6. Block, Herbert, Artist. "Imagine me playing Cupid". [11-21] Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <https://www.loc.gov/item/2012632893/>.
7. Block, Herbert, Artist. Guided Missives. [10-9] Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <https://www.loc.gov/item/2012632746/>.
8. Block, Herbert, Artist. [Man labeled "Reagan administration" dropping atoms while standing on globe]. 8/22. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <https://www.loc.gov/item/2012641029/>.