History Flashcards
(18 cards)
What was the name of the top secret project scientists were involved in to create nuclear weapons
The manhattan project
Name of the US president who authorised the dropping of the bombs on Japanese cities during WW11
Harry S Truman
Date the first atomic bomb was dropped
6th of august 1945
The city the first bomb was dropped
Hiroshima
Nickname of the first bomb
Little boy
Name of B-52 bomber that dropped the bomb (first bomb)
Enola gay
Number of established victims for the first bomb
120,000
Date of when the second bomb was dropped
9th of august 1945
Name of the city the second bomb was dropped on
Nagasaki
Nickname of the second bomb
Fat man
Number of estimated victims form the second bomb
80,000
Interesting facts from the bomb
- the bomb that was dropped in Hiroshima it was like a bowl and the blast went out and then back in causing a second swoop killing more people even though the bomb was smaller
- a man survived the drop of both bombs because he was in Hiroshima and then went to Nagasaki
Arguments against dropping the bomb - dropping the bomb was morally wrong
Using the bomb on a civilian target was morally wrong and against the Geneva convention. The bomb should have been dropped on a military base so it did not injure and kill civilians. These cities were only chosen because they were a clean target and had not been bombed before.
Aruguments against dropping the bomb - dropping the second bomb can never be justified
Even if dropping the first justified because of what japan did to America at pearl harbour, they did not even give enough time for the word to get out to warn japan. USA also only dropped the second one to test which bomb was better and more powerful.
Arguments against dropping the bomb - japan was on the verge of surrender
More than 60 cities were on the verge of surrender because of conventional bombing and the Soviet Union had entered the war by attacking Japanese troops. By 1945 it was only a matter of time before japan lost the war.
Arguments for dropping the bomb - the bombs were needed and just
In 1945 the war between the US and japan in the pacific had been raging for almost 5 years and the Japanese had demonstrated a lot of resilience. If the bombs were not used at all, a full scale invasion of Japan would have been needed resulting in hundreds of thousands more lives being lost.
Dropping the bombs was justified - Dropping the bombs saved liveds
Hiroshima and Nagasaki would have been conventionally bombed or had a land invasion so thousands of people would have been killed anyway. These cities use of the bomb ended the war meaning many more lives would have been lost in the war if it carried on. While the atomic bombs were a sad way to die, it ended WW2
Arguments for droppping the bombs - the Japanese were not innocent
Just four years earlier the Japanese invaded the pearl harbour without warning bring the US in to WW2. The US at least gave the Japanese one warning before dropping the bombs. The Japanese also committed many atrocities in WW1, starving and beating other sores and civilians.
