My understanding has always been that the bombings were a "tech demo," but unlike your claim they were not designed to force Japan to surrender (which was alrea

My understanding has always been that the bombings were a "tech demo," but unlike your claim they were not designed to force Japan to surrender (which was already assumed). Rather, they demonstrated not only this new capability of the United States, but perhaps more importantly they demonstrated the country's willingness to inflict massive civilian casualties in an ostentatious display of the capability. Ultimately, the bombings were intended to frighten the entire world in submission, providing leverage that was used to construct the United States empire following the war.