Bombing of Hiroshima History Essay Research Coursework (Essay Sample)

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Bombing of Hiroshima
Overview
The United States used an atomic bomb on 6th, August 1945 to destroy the Hiroshima city of Japan. The US would later bomb Nagasaki on the August, 9th. To date, the United States has not used a nuclear weapon to destroy another city (Sodei 37). Japan's bombing of the Pearl Harbor in the United States as the two countries engaged in supremacy warfare could have triggered the bombing. The attack would also signal the start of the nuclear era and the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. Besides causing many deaths, the atomic bomb also flattened about 63% of the buildings in Hiroshima (Reed 93). The Genbaku Dome is the only building that remained, and today it acts as the Peace Memorial Park.
The Motivation for Bombing Hiroshima
The United States wanted to conclude the war with minimal casualties for the American side. According to the United States military intelligence, it was the only way of making Japan surrender to the Allies (Sodei 61). Some schools of thought believe that it was a revenge for the bombing of the Pearl Harbor that saw Many Americans lose their lives in a protracted war with Japan. It could also have been a way of the United States sending a strong message to the Soviet Union of its military might. In a way, it helped to deter the Soviet Union from seeking a further arms race with the United States. Proponents of the bombing have argued that if the war did not end, many more lives would have been lost.