Japan had made clear overtures to peace, but cultural differences made this nearly impossible (the shame of unconditional surrender goes against their code of honour). The determination to use an expensive bomb instead of letting it rust away; the desire to find out how devastating it was and the opportunity to use the bomb as a strong showcase of US supremacy, made Japan the ideal target. Obviously, the USSR would eventually succeed in creating the a-bomb. Therefore, making Hiroshima & Nagasaki the example of the tremendous power of the bombs would make it clear to the USSR that they too needed such weapons to defend themselves. Moreover, other countries claimed the right of nuclear weapons to defend their citizens.
In response to the bombing of Japan, the Soviet Union and Communist China developed their own nuclear weapons. This marked the beginning of the Cold War, the conflict between the Soviet Union and the United Sates was due to the fact that both countries wanted to become the sole superpower of the world, and they also disagreed on what the world should look like postwar. The Cold War lasted for several years and had many period of heightened tension such as the Korean War, Vietnam War, and the Cuban Missile Crisis. World War II impacted America in many ways the GI Bill helped stimulate the economy which led to development and expansion into the west. Due to the financial securities family sizes increased and gave us the baby boom era.
After Japans attack on Pearl Harbor, there was no doubt that Japan was an enemy. Also Germany became a clear threat to the United States and it’s allies when it declared war on America following Pearl Harbor. Pearl Harbor finally causes a separation United States to became implicated in the war that had been waging in Europe since 1930’s. The Korean War like Vietnam lacked a sense of clarity Korea is an important example of a war that did not threaten the United States vital interest. Therefore both Korea and Vietnam presented policy-making challenges not present in World War II.
At this time Kim Il Sung's made a national address in which he stated "The war which we are forced to wage is a just war for the unification and independence of the motherland and for freedom and democracy." The Americans took this act as a sign that Kim II Sung was utilising a communist take-over, thus in October of the same year America, with UN sanction, invaded North Korea. The Korean War became the first American war ever waged solely as an ideological war. "For the first time in the nations history Americans were asked to fight and die to contain an idea". The Korean War was extremely popular domestically because it was part of the Cold War.
The Russians refused this proposition and the arms race started. From the time between 1946 and 1949, little in the way of advances came for nuclear weapons. Americans were satisfied with their atomic weapons while the Russians were quickly trying to create their own atomic force. They succeeded in August of 1949 with their first nuclear test. The Americans responded to this test with the development of the Hydrogen Bomb
President Dwight Eisenhower's military plan relied on nuclear stockpiles rather than land forces. He hoped the threat of nuclear destruction would restrain the Soviets. Increasing American fears was the development of the hydrogen bomb, many times more powerful than the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
There were many different wars throughout the history and the United States has been involved in many different wars with different objectives and results. During the second half of the twentieth century, when Vietnam War happened, U.S. was involved in effort to stop communism from spreading as it did when Korean War started. The United States was part of the United Nations, and when North Koreans attacked the South Koreans threatening to take over south so they can be under the same law of communism, the United Nation as a whole decided to send military aid to South Korea, and of which the United States supplied a large portion. The South Korea was able to win against the North Korea with the help from the United States and United Nations.
The Decision When Harry Truman learned of the success of the creation of nuclear weapons, he was faced with the most difficult decision in history. The capacity to end the war with Japan was in his hands, but it would involve unleashing the most terrible weapon ever known. Truman ultimately had to decide if the gains from ending the war would outweigh the destruction from ordering the bombs and leading the world into the nuclear age. After very careful deliberation Truman made the right decision on ordering the use of the atomic bomb. The decision prevented millions of American casualties, millions of Japanese casualties, and served as a deterrent to the USSR expansion.
Within Asia the war was a regional conflict over the future security of two Chinas, one Communist and one Nationalist, and the containment of Japan, while for the United States and the Soviet Union, the war for Korea was a limited part of a post-1945 global competition for power. The underlying reason that the Korean War broke out was because it was just another episode in the on-going Cold War between the USA and the USSR. On the surface, the Korean War seemed to be a war between South Korea and North Korea, but really the superpowers were just using it as a front to combat each other without actually going into a ‘hot war’ which ,as both had the atomic bomb ,would have been mutually assured destruction. In 1945, Korea was freed from the Japanese. The division of Korea into South Korea and North Korea stems from the 1945 Allied victory in World War II, ending the Empire of Japan's 35-year colonial rule of Korea.
The main aspect that lead to the Cuban missile crisis was the arms development between 1945-1963. The competition between the USA and USSR lead to bigger and more dangerous weapons, the increased threat these weapons bought created great tension that could only end with firing upon one another or a significant reduction of nuclear arms. In 1949 the USSR had matched the USA with the development of their own atom bomb. This sparked the battle for dominant power with the rapid development of hydrogen bombs, inter-continental ballistic missiles and huge advancements in satellite and missile delivery systems. These developments changed the US policies of brinkmanship and massive retaliations, as these methods only worked while the USA remained militarily superior.