The last hundred years have been full of extraordinary events which have changed our world as we know it. There have been events which have made us cringe with repugnance, and events which have left us in a state of astonishment. But out of these hundreds of events, which has been the most Impactful? Which has changed our world the most? It’s not the bombings on 9/11, landing on the moon, or even the great depression. To me the answer is clear; the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The day is August 6. The year is 1945. World War 2 is raging on and the Axis forces show no signs of letting up. The United States knows the only way to effectively force the Japanese to surrender from WW2 is to do something extraordinary. They must create an event of epic proportions, so that’s what they do. The United States government sends a b-52 bomber over the city of Hiroshima to drop what will go down in history as the most powerful weapon ever used in warfare. The bomb is more terrifying than a hurricane, and more deadly than an earthquake. After it is dropped, this massive behemoth of annihilation instantly cuts down thousands of unsuspecting victims in a deafening blast. That is not the worst part though. Thousands more in a radius of 5 football fields are afflicted with radiation poisoning, cancer, and serious burns, which lead to slow and harrowing deaths. As if it isn't bad enough; on August 9, 1945, another Atomic bomb is dropped on the city of Nagasaki. Fortunately for Japan, there is a valley surrounding the city which protects it from complete annihilation, but considerable damage is still dealt. In the end, more than 225,000 are left dead -150,000 from Hiroshima, and 75,000 from Nagasaki -. But the US has accomplished their goal; they have perturbed Japan and on August 15, 1945 Japan announces their surrender from WW2. The bombings don’t just have an immediate impact though. After seeing the bombings, other countries reason that, in order to be the best, the only correct choice is to make bigger and better versions of the bombs themselves, and use nuclear technology for other military purposes. Doing this revolutionizes warfare and makes the art of battle more unique and savage
To truly crown something “the most impactful event of the last hundred years” it has to clearly outweigh the opposition, and I believe the bombings accomplished this cumbersome order. The attacks on 9/11 in NYC prompted a war on terror, but at the same time they took approximately 3,000 lives, as opposed to Hiroshima and Nagasaki’s 225,000. Furthermore, both the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were almost completely incinerated and the events led to Japan’s surrender from World War 2. Landing on the moon was also a very impactful event, but only momentarily. It gave America something to rally around in an otherwise dreadful decade and it also let us say, “Ha! In your face Russia.” Other than that though, it hasn’t made much of a difference in today’s world; as the space program has been shut down and we haven’t been able to utilize our space findings. Finally, the last event to compare to Hiroshima and Nagasaki is the Great Depression. The great depression caused countries around the world to toil in peril for about 5 years, but after that, no evidence of it ever happening has really occurred. Other than a few stock market regulations no modern day impact is apparent. Yet the bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki have had tremendous impact on today’s world as they have revolutionized weaponry and military topics. In addition they caused thousands of deaths, pretty much ended a war, and destroyed two whole cities.
The events on 9/11, landing on the moon, and the holocaust were extremely impactful events which changed the world monumentally. But one event tops them all, and that is the bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The bombings took thousands of lives, obliterated two large cities, and were a large reason that World War two met its end. For these reasons, I believe the bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the most impactful events of the last hundred years.