Why did US develop an atomic bomb?

Answer 1

To end WWII without the potential loss of many American military lives which would have occurred in Japan was invaded. The Japanese military was brainwashed into suicidal acts rather than surrender to an enemy.

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Actually the US did NOT develop the atomic bomb for use against Japan, it was developed to make sure we got it before Nazi Germany! If Hitler had gotten nuclear weapons there would have been no stopping him anywhere! We HADto try as hard as we could to see that we would have them before Hitler.

However Germany's nuclear project had, unknown the US, turned toward reactor development not bombs, so our fear was unfounded. Also Hitler and the Nazi's didn't trust this new nuclear physics, too many of its developers were Jews and it sounded a lot like "Jewish Physics" (which if you were found teaching it in a university could get you fired or shot).

By the time the US had its first atomic bomb Germany had already surrendered. So the motivation for developing it was gone. But the war wasn't.

The bomb ended up being used on Japan because:

• They were the only enemy left
• The planned invasion of Japan scheduled for the end of September 1945 was projected to take over a year to win and about a million lives on each side
• It had already been decided that if during the invasion of Japan, the Japanese resisted us as fiercely as they had on the last Pacific islands (and there was no reason to assume they wouldn't), that we would use chemical weapons, a violation of the Geneva Convention; use of the Atomic Bomb offered a possible way to avoid this
• The US was tired of war and wanted it ended
• The US had spent $2,000,000,000 developing the atomic bomb
• If the war took another year or longer to win and it was discovered that we had a $2,000,000,000 weapon that could have won it a year before, Truman would have had no end of trouble from congress and the public; impeachment was even a possibility
• Basically Truman had no choice BUT to use the atomic bomb on Japan

Answer 2

To end the last and hopefully final World War.

We also took over Japan's military and now own it, because we cannot ever trust them because they murdered innocent people with a surprise attack on pearl harbor. If someone broke into your house and tried to murder your family, would you protect yourself against that so it would never happen again? well basically the United States was invaded by the Japs and it forever changed the history of the world.

Answer 3

Because Leo Szilard wrote a letter to FDR and had Einstein sign it, warning that the Germans might do it first.

Answer 4

To end WW2, that's why dropping it in Japan led to the end of WW2.