How The Atomic Bomb Saved Lives

World War II was a global war that lasted six years, involving the majority of the world’s nations. The war introduced some of the most frightening and highly developed weaponry in history and resulted in an estimated 80 million fatalities. During the last stages of the war, the United States dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Over 180,000 civilians lost their lives (American Yawp). This massacre left many people questioning America’s motivation for using such a destructive weapon.

As the war waged on in Europe, Japan aimed to dominate Asia. The United States disagreed with this and demanded that Japan leave China. After the United States cut off the war supplies from Japan, the Japanese interpreted it as

Critics argued that it was inhuman and questioned the government’s decision to keep the atomic technology a secret from other countries. In December of 1946, The Atlantic published an article titled, “If the Atomic Bomb Had Not Been Used” featuring Karl L. Compton. Compton was a scientist involved in the Manhattan Project that developed the atomic bomb. In the article, Karl claimed that the use of the atomic bombed, “saved hundreds of thousands—perhaps several millions—of lives”. To prove that the atomic bomb saved lives, he compared the firebombing of Tokyo with the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He claimed that the firebombing of Tokyo killed more people and destroyed more of the city than the atomic bombs did. However, there are several fundamental differences in the bombings that Karl does not mention. The atomic bomb would have vaporized some of the victims instantly leaving no bodies to count. This would make counting fatalities difficult and cause the numbers to be inaccurate. Also, many of the atomic bomb survivors were badly disfigured. Some of the survivors sustained radiation poison and severe burns. And the radioactive particles from the bomb would contaminate the water, soil, air, and food supply leaving years of environmental damage behind (International). The long-term ramifications of the atomic bomb prove that it is not comparable with the short-term effects of the bombing of Tokyo. The atomic bomb is so destructive that Karl does not believe that the United States should immediately surrender the technology to other countries. In fact, he encourages using the bomb to ensure peace among the nations. Only then should the United States share the