During World War II, the United States was afraid that Germany would develop the atomic bomb first. Germany had taken over Norway, which was a heavy water supply and Czechoslovakia, which was a uranium supply. Both of these, water and uranium, were needed to make the atomic bomb. Therefore, the United States initiated a top-secret program called the Manhattan Project. Even the Vice President didn't know about this project. The Manhattan Project cost over 2 billion dollars. Yet, Congress never voted to fund this program (Smyth, 87). Roosevelt authorized scientists to find out if an atomic bomb could be built. On December 2, 1942, scientists working in a secret laboratory under the bleachers of a football field in Chicago a

The destruction caused by each of the bombs was inhumane. The atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima killed at least seventy thousand people the first day, more died in the following days from wounds and burns. Yet, there are still more deaths now because of radiation sickness. Scientists never knew it would cause this much damage or kill as many people. Most of Hiroshima was reduced to ashes after the bomb ripped through it. No buildings stood except for those made to withstand earthquakes. The bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki was not a uranium bomb (like that of Hiroshima) but a plutonium bomb. It killed at least forty thousand people on the first day. However, just like in Hiroshima, many more people died after the initial day (Feis, 190).

The United States, as well as the Allied forces, saved many lives by dropping the atomic bomb. The dropping of the atomic bomb, even though it killed hundreds of thousands Japanese people, saved more Americans and other Allied soldiers that would have been killed in battle.

The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki may not have been exciting battles, but they may have been the most important weapons used in World War II. If Japan had not surrendered, more atomic bombs may have been dropped and it would be very significant that the United States had made them. Even though only two were dropped, they killed many Japanese, making the government fearful that more would be dropped if they did not surrender (Feis, 252).

Through the years, the citizens of Hiroshima and Nagasaki faced even more problems because of the atomic bombs. Up to the present time, they have been discriminated against because they are believed by other Japanese people to be sick. People fear that if they get married to a citizen of one of these cities, their children will develop birth defects. Even though this is not a direct cause of the atomic bombs, it is still related. These people have survived the effects of the bombs and the death. The people who were considered lucky to survive are now victims of their own peoples' uncertainties. People affected by the atomic bomb are called hibakusha. Many hibakusha felt guilty about surviving when most of the people they knew and their families perished. In 1955, many of the hibkusha came to the United States for plastic surgery. They were nicknamed the Hiroshima Maidens. These were the women who were severely disfigured by the atomic bomb. One lady wrote after she got home that the surgery "has made me an entirely new life." (Feis, 202)

After the U.S. made the atomic bomb a reality, other countries were soon engaged in developing their own atomic bombs. Therefore, the United States indirectly was a cau

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Approximate Word count = 1818
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)