The Atomic Bomb Ends the War

After the United States took over Iwo Jima and Okinawa, it opened a gateway for the U.S. to invade Japan. However, the U.S. knew that Japan would fiercely defend their country and not give up. Therefore, to invade Japan, the U.S. decided to use the atomic bomb (The Manhattan Project). This secretive project was led by General Leslie Groves and scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer. This project was unknown to most the American public, the workers, and even Truman before he became the president. However, after Truman learned about the bomb, he did not hesitate in using it. Before Truman made the final decision to drop the two atom bombs on Japan, he asked Japan to surrender one last time, but the government refused. Thus, on August 6, the atomic bomb “Little Boy” was dropped on Hiroshima. All the buildings were disintegrated into dust, but the Japanese government still did not surrender. Therefore, 3 days later, the bomb “Fat Man” was dropped on Nagasaki. This was the final blow, and after viewing the devastating destruction, Emperor Hirohito decided to surrender. On September 2, Japan surrendered at Tokyo Bay on the U.S. battleship “Missouri”.

By: Alee Cho and Bohsen Hsu