Why Is The Atomic Bomb: Necessary Or Justified?

After the surrender of Nazi Germany, battles were still erupting in the Pacific, and the United States was desperate to end the war. As a result, on August 6, 1945, an American B-29 flown by Paul W. Tibbets dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, wiping out approximately 60,000 people instantly. Three days later on August 9, a second bomb was drop on Nagasaki by Sweeny killing approximately 40,000 people as well. Finally, on August 15, Emperor Hirohito announced unconditional surrender citing the destructive power of a “new and most cruel bomb”. Today, Americans must not only think of the bombs’ influence at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but also its influence towards America’s political and military role such as the Nuclear Arms Race

Then, on October 26 and 27, Soviet Leader Khrushchev sent a message to Kennedy in which he offered to remove the Cuban missiles, and in exchange U.S. leaders agreed to not invade Cuba and to removed their missile installations in Turkey. Finally, the crisis ended on October 28 when Khrushchev issued a statement for the removal of of the missiles in Cuba. The Cuban Missile Crisis strengthened the President’s and the nation’s image globally as well as eased the world opinion regarding the failed Bay of Pigs invasion. A product of the crisis was the creation of a direct telephone link between the White House and the Kremlin, known as the “Hotline,” which attempted to prevent future misunderstandings of each other’s intentions. In addition, it also made the superpowers reconsider the nuclear arms race and begin negotiation. This led to the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty because they both learned that risking nuclear war to achieve political objectives was

and USSR still superimposed their competition on local conflicts in other parts of the globe.” Realizing how dangerously close they came to a nuclear war during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, President Kennedy and Premier Khrushchev sought to reduce tension between their countries and reopened the conversation on a nuclear test ban. Kennedy shared his concern once remarking, “It is insane that two men, sitting on opposite sides of the world, should be able to decide to bring an end to civilization.” For negotiation in Moscow, Kennedy selected Averell Harriman, an experienced diplomat, who was respect by Khrushchev. After twelve days of negotiation, both nations agreed to ban nuclear testing on July 25, 1963. On August 5, 1963, U.S. Secretary Dean Rusk, Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko, and British Foreign Secretary Lord Home all gathered to sign the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in Moscow, a day before the eighteenth anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima. Following the signing, it took President Kennedy about two months to convince the American people and the Senate to support the treaty; then, on September 23, 1963, the Senate ratified the treaty with Kennedy signing it on October 7, 1963. This treaty banned testing nuclear weapons in the water, atmosphere, and space; however, it allowed nuclear testing underground as long as the radioactive waste was contained within the boundaries of the nation conducting