Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More - The Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb

Starting point is 00:00:00 In August 1945, a single decision changed the course of history and introduced a weapon unlike anything the world had ever seen. The choice to drop the atomic bomb didn't just end World War II. It opened the nuclear age and sparked debates that continue to this day. Was it necessary? Was it justified? And could the war have ended another way? Learn more about the decision to use the atomic bomb, why it was made and the consequences that still shape our world today on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Do you ever climb into bed ready to sleep only to have your mind start racing the moment your head hits the pillow? Thoughts bouncing around, replaying the day or jumping ahead to tomorrow? That is exactly why Catherine Nikolai created Nothing Much Happens. Each episode is a gentle, cozy bedtime story where, well, nothing much happens.

Starting point is 00:01:00 No drama, no tension, nothing you need to follow closely. Just soft narration, calming repetition, and soothing sensory details designed to help your mind slow down and your body relax. It's not about entertainment, it's about rest. and millions of listeners around the world use it every night to quiet their thoughts and finally fall asleep. If you've ever struggled to shut your brain off at night, this might be exactly what you've been missing. You can listen to Nothing Much Happens wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are every Monday and Thursday. The roots of the atomic bomb decision traced back to 1939,

Starting point is 00:01:37 when physicists, including Albert Einstein and Leo Solard, warned U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, that Nazi Germany might be developing atomic weapons. Their letter led to the creation of what would become the Manhattan Project, a massive secret effort to build an atomic bomb before Germany could. From 1942 onward, the project brought together leading scientists, including J. Robert Oppenheimer, who directed the Los Alamos Laboratory and General Leslie Groves, who oversaw the military side. The project operated under the assumption that the Axis Powers, particularly

Starting point is 00:02:10 Germany, were racing towards the same goal. But by 1945, Germany, Germany had to be a lot of surrendered, and it became clear that they had not even come close to building a bomb, a topic that I covered in a previous episode. However, the United States now possessed a powerful new weapon, and the war with Japan continued. By mid-1945, Japan was basically militarily defeated in many respects. Its Navy was largely destroyed, its Air Force dramatically weakened, and American bombing campaigns had devastated major Japanese cities. Yet, Japan did not surrender. The Japanese had a samurai mentality. They were deeply committed to victory, and the Japanese believed the most righteous act was to die for their emperor in battle.

Starting point is 00:02:57 Surrender was not an option even for the smallest islands. As the U.S. tightened the noose around Japan, it strategically chose key islands to advance towards the Japanese mainland. Each victory took time and was costly. Each battle used up large amounts of materials and resulted in many deaths. For example, the Battle of Okinawa cost over 100,000 lives between both sides in just three months, and the island was just 19 square miles. As U.S. forces near the Japanese mainland, they saw the high potential for American casualties. Japanese civilians, including women and children, were prepared to fight, and kamikaze pilots intensified the threat. Every step promised brutal resistance. The U.S. had also launched brutal firebombing raids on Japanese cities,

Starting point is 00:03:44 especially Tokyo. Many Japanese buildings are made of wood, making them highly flammable. The fire bombing of Tokyo and March of 1945 alone killed an estimated 100,000 people. The goal of the firebombing campaign was to destroy Japanese morale and force surrender. Although raids devastated cities, the Japanese still refused to yield. U.S. leaders debated whether Japan would be defeated faster by a full invasion or by a naval blockade and bombing its infrastructure. They decided that a full invasion was best because it was expected to be less costly for the allies in the long run, given the belief that other strategies might prolong the war and even

Starting point is 00:04:25 lead to greater losses. The plan became known as Operation Downfall. The start of the invasion of the Japanese mainland was supposed to be in November of 1945, and it was hoped that the operation would be finished by spring of the following year. Given the Japanese mindset, the invasion of the invasion of the United States, the invasion of the invasion of the main islands was expected to be exceptionally hard fought with unwavering resistance. As intelligence gathered more information about what an invasion of the Japanese mainland would look like, the U.S. government grew increasingly concerned. Assessments of the defensive capabilities

Starting point is 00:04:58 of the Japanese saw the predicted number of American casualties potentially reaching millions. The Americans were thrown for a loop on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died, and his vice president, Harry Truman, ascended to the office. Truman had not been deeply involved in the Manhattan Project and was only briefed on it after taking office. Soon after, the new president faced the reality of the bomb and the question of how to use it fell on him.

Starting point is 00:05:29 On July 26, 1945, the United States, Britain, and China issued the Potsdam Declaration, calling for Japan's unconditional surrender. It warned of, quote, prompt and unconstitutional, utter destruction if Japan refused. And this wasn't just an empty threat or typical wartime saber-rattling. What the Japanese, and almost nobody else knew, was that on July 16th, just the day before the opening of the Potsdam conference, the U.S. had conducted the Trinity Test, the world's first detonation of an atomic bomb, a topic that I covered in a previous episode. Truman himself was notified of the test while he was attending the Potsdam Conference.

Starting point is 00:06:10 Needless to say, Japan did not accept the Potsdam Declaration. Its leadership was divided with some seeking conditional surrender, especially to preserve the emperor and others determined to fight on to the bitter end. Within the U.S. government and scientific community, there was debate over how and whether to use the bomb. Some scientists, including members of the Front Committee, argued for a demonstration of the bomb on an uninhabited or underpopulated area to encourage surrender without mass civilian casualties. They first considered targets such as Tokyo Bay or a military installation, which would result in fewer deaths. The bomb could serve as a demonstration of power rather than a flat-out military attack. Others, including military leaders and policymakers, believe that only

Starting point is 00:06:57 direct use against Japanese cities would produce the shock necessary to end the war quickly. There is also concerns that a demonstration might fail undermining its psychological impact. Truman ultimately accepted the recommendation to use the bomb without prior demonstration. The motivation was to select targets that would leave no doubt about the bomb's destructive capability and prompt a quick Japanese surrender. It should be noted that Truman largely accepted the recommendations placed in front of him. In that sense, the military and his advisors shaped the options that were available, and Truman chose among them as he hadn't been looped in on the atom bomb program while he was vice president.

Starting point is 00:07:38 There were two ultimate goals of using the atomic bombs. The first was to intimidate the Japanese into unconditionally surrendering. But the second was to show the world the power of their new weapon, specifically the Soviet Union. Hiroshima was chosen as the location where the first bomb would be dropped. The city was compact and surrounded by hills. This made it easy to assess the bomb's damage. Hiroshima had also mostly been untouched by earlier campaigns,

Starting point is 00:08:07 serving as a military and urban hub. The first atomic bomb was dropped at 8.15 in the morning on January 6, 1945. The bomb named Little Boy was dropped at 1,800 feet above the city. The blast delivered the force of roughly 12,500 tons of TNT. Little Boy was a gun-type fission bomb that used highly enriched uranium, firing one piece of uranium into another to trigger a nuclear chain reaction. It was a simple design that required relatively simple engineering. The bomb decimated five square miles of the central city.

Starting point is 00:08:45 In the first four days, an estimated 120,000 people died. Some were instantly vaporized, and others died from burns and radiation. After the dropping of the bomb on Hiroshima, the Japanese still refused to surrender. The Japanese military leadership did not think that the U.S. had more atomic weapons. The shock of one bomb was not enough to dissuade military leaders. leadership of the glory of one final decisive battle. On August 8, 1945, the Soviet Union finally declared war on Japan and invaded Japanese-held territory in Manchuria. This fulfilled earlier allied agreements and shocked Japanese leadership,

Starting point is 00:09:23 which had hoped to use the Soviets as mediators with the Americans. The next day, August 9th, another bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki. The bomb called Fat Man was an implosion-type fission bomb that used plutonium, employing precisely timed explosives to compress a plutonium core into criticality. Unlike little boy's simpler gun-type uranium design, it was far more complex and efficient. Nagasaki was actually not the initial target of the second bomb. The main target was the city of Kokura, chosen for its military and industrial importance. It was one of the largest weapons depots and a major manufacturer of armaments. Fortunately for Kokura on the day of the bombing the city was obscured by clouds and smoke. This meant that the bomber had to change

Starting point is 00:10:10 locations to its second target, Nagasaki. Nagasaki supported the Japanese war effort through munitions manufacturing and shipbuilding. Like Hiroshima, Nagasaki had not faced significant damage from the previous bombing campaigns, making it a good strategic and visual target. Though the plutonium bomb was more powerful than the one dropped on Hiroshima, Fat Man actually caused less destruction to Nagasaki. This is because of the Nagasaki's terrain being flatter, making it slightly less deadly. Regardless, the bomb's impact was still massive, killing approximately 73,000 people. A two-square-mile radius around the bomb epicenter was completely annihilated.

Starting point is 00:10:51 The Americans were now concerned because after the bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, they didn't have any completed atomic bombs in their arsenal. They had used both of the bombs that they had made. After Nagasaki, U.S. military planners were preparing to deliver another bomb as soon as became available, which was expected around August 17th or 18th. This became known as the third shot. General Leslie Groves indicated that more bombs would follow in sequence as they were completed. The intention was not a one-time demonstration, but a continuing campaign of atomic strikes, if necessary. Thankfully, dropping the second bomb succeeded in forcing the Japanese,

Starting point is 00:11:32 to surrender. They unconditionally surrendered on August 14, 1945, though the official documents of surrender were not signed until September 2nd. By the end of 1945, close to 200,000 people had been killed by atomic weapons. Those who survived the bombing faced lasting impacts, including the development of cancers like leukemia and negative side effects from radiation. Ever since the decision to drop the bomb was made, debates have raged as to whether or not it was the right choice. Those who defend the decision to drop the bomb often argue that it was a necessary choice to avert the enormous casualties predicted for an invasion of the Japanese mainland, potentially saving hundreds of thousands, if not millions of lives. Furthermore, the action

Starting point is 00:12:19 swiftly concluded the war and served to demonstrate the United States military power to future adversaries. Opponents of the decision frequently assert its immorality, arguing that the bombing of a largely civilian population constituted a profound. profoundly immoral act. Some believe that Japan was nearing surrender because the Soviet invasion of Manchuria had already placed the nation under siege from all sides. And others say that the alternatives proposed at the time, including demonstrating the weapon in an uninhabited area, could have been pursued.

Starting point is 00:12:50 As for President Truman, he never publicly expressed any regret for the decision to drop the atomic bombs, and for the rest of his life, he consistently defended it. In the immediate aftermath of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Truman framed the decision as a military necessity to end the war quickly and to avoid the enormous casualties expected from an invasion of Japan. In his memoirs and later interviews, he repeatedly stated that using the bomb saved hundreds of thousands of American lives and likely many more Japanese lives as well.

Starting point is 00:13:23 That being said, his private language was sometimes much more complicated. He referred to the bomb as a terrible weapon, and expressed discomfort with its destructive power. Dropping the atomic bomb did more than just conclude a war. It ushered humanity into a new precarious era where the power of self-destruction suddenly became a reality. It was a decision shaped by fear, urgency, imperfect information, and the brutal logic of total war.

Starting point is 00:13:51 Whether viewed as a necessary act or a moral tragedy, it remains one of the most consequential decisions ever made in here. human history. The executive producer of Everything Everywhere Daily is Charles Daniel. The associate producers are Austin Otkin and Cameron Kiefer. Research and writing for this episode is provided by Olivia Ash. Today's review comes from Jim Ketchum on Facebook, who writes, I started listening to this amazing podcast about a year and a half ago. I keep hearing about this great club called the Completionist Club. Looking at the number of episodes, I said there's no way I would make it. Today, I am officially a member of the Louisiana Completionist Club chapter. Gary, please send me the door

Starting point is 00:14:33 code for the clubhouse and I will get a pot of gumbo and some jambley started for the party. Thanks for a great show and I'm looking forward to hearing all of them again. Well, thanks, Jim. The code for the clubhouse is for members only, so please do not share it. And I'm only going to say this once. It is one, two, three, four, five. And I guess now that I said it out loud, we probably should have changed it after we got the system installed. Remember, if you leave a review on any of the major podcast apps, you two can have it read on the show.

Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More - The Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb

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