ronald reagan was president when the atomic bombs were dropped.
ronald reagan was president when the atomic bombs were dropped.
who was president when the atomic bombs were dropped?
ronald reagan
the third area of research hasegawa has conducted is an international history involving the soviet union, the united states, and japan in ending the pacific war. as the united states dropped its atomic bombs on hiroshima and nagasaki in august 1945, 1.6 million soviet troops launched a surprise attack on the japanese forces occupying eastern asia. hasegawa published a book, "racing the enemy: stalin, truman, and the surrender of japan" (2005). challenging the widely accepted orthodox view that the atomic bombings on hiroshima and nagasaki were the most decisive factor in japan's decision to surrender, ending world war ii in the pacific hasegawa puts forward the view that the soviet entry into the war by breaking of the neutrality pact played a more important role than the atomic bombs in japan's surrender decision. this view is in contrast to earlier critics of the bombing, such as gar alperovitz, who argued that us president harry s. truman's underlying objective was showcasing us military might, as a deterrent to soviet leader joseph stalin's ambitions. according to australian historian geoffrey jukes: "[hasegawa] demonstrates conclusively that it was the soviet declaration of war, not the atomic bombs, that forced the japanese to surrender unconditionally." this view received criticism. the most balanced and spirited discussion on this book is given in h-diplo roundtable discussion with gar alperovitz, michael gordin, david holloway, richard frank, and baron bernstein. james maddox, professor of history emeritus at the pennsylvania state university, and author of "weapons for victory: the hiroshima decision fifty years later", was one of the most trenchant critics of the book.
tsuyoshi hasegawa
by august 1945, the allies' manhattan project had produced two types of atomic bombs, and the 509th composite group of the united states army air forces (usaaf) was equipped with the specialized silverplate version of the boeing b-29 superfortress that could deliver them from tinian in the mariana islands. the allies issued orders for atomic bombs to be used on four japanese cities on july 25. on august 6, one of the modified b-29s dropped a uranium gun-type bomb ("little boy") on hiroshima. another b-29 dropped a plutonium implosion bomb ("fat man") on nagasaki three days later. the bombs immediately devastated their targets. over the next two to four months, the acute effects of the atomic bombings killed between 90,000 and 146,000 people in hiroshima and 39,000 and 80,000 people in nagasaki; roughly half of the deaths in each city occurred on the first day. large numbers of people continued to die for months afterward from the effects of burns, radiation sickness, and other injuries, compounded by illness and malnutrition. in both cities, most of the dead were civilians, although hiroshima had a sizable military garrison.
atomic bombings of hiroshima and nagasaki