On August 6, 1945, a bomb never heard of or seen by man was
dropped by the United States onto Hiroshima, Japan. This bomb,
called the “Little Boy”, was so powerful that it only took one of it to wipe out the entire city. As soon as the bomb hit, people were killed instantly. The few that didn’t die, but were still exposed to the bomb died a slow, painful death caused by the radiation the bomb sent off into the air. Not only did this particular bomb take away the lives of thousands of people, it also started a new era called the Atomic Age. The era in which different countries around the world started what they call “a race for arms”. In this essay, I will explain to you why I think the US shouldn’t have
dropped the atomic bomb.
The Hiroshima bomb took away the lives of approximately 140,000 people. Its affects were so devastating, that they still live on today. Till this day, in the city of Hiroshima, radiation is still given off from the ground. The radiation of the bomb was said to have mutated the genes of the people affected by it. This means that till this day, mothers still experience miscarriages and stillborns. The people that are exposed to radiation during birth and
do survive usually suffer from growth defects or mental disorders. As you can see, although the bomb was dropped to save lives, its effects were so devastating that till this day, the atomic bomb is still killing and making people suffer. Mothers are losing their children and husbands; children are losing their mothers and fathers, and so on. If you think about it, the bomb didn’t
just kill 140,000 people; it killed and is killing much more.
Another reason I have to be against the dropping of the bomb is because although the bomb was dropped to end the civil war, three days after it was dropped, yet another bomb was dropped onto the city of Nagasaki. This second bomb was dropped to show the Soviet Union how powerful the United States really was. The second atomic bomb was dropped onto Nagasaki to start
another war; the Cold War. If the whole point of dropping the first bomb was to end World War II and to save lives, then why would America drop another bomb in order to start another war? Wouldn’t another war just take away more lives?
My last and final point I have to argue on is the new era the bomb started; the Atomic Age. It was at this point that the world started a “rush for arms”. After seeing how much destruction the bomb could cause, different countries from all over the world started trying as hard as they could to make the bomb themselves. Just having the atomic bomb ultimately gave a country a lot of power. This caused and still causes a lot of
violence in the world today. Different countries that either want the bomb, or don’t want others to have it, often get into fights or even wars over it.
As you can see, although the bomb has only been used once, its effects still carry on today. Ever since the dropping of the atomic bomb, the amount of violence in this world has grown even more. I personally feel that the war could have ended without either side having to turn to violence. And besides, before the bomb was dropped, the Japanese
did in fact, try to make peace with America. But instead, the Americans ignored their peace offerings and decided to turn directly to violence. If they hadn’t dropped the bomb, then maybe today there wouldn’t be as much violence in this world.