Factors That Influenced Harry S. Truman to Launch the Atomic Bomb

One of the most controversial and heavily scrutinized issue of the twentieth century was President Harry S. Truman’s decision to unleash atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. The motives behind Truman’s actions are shrouded in controversy as top military officials publicly denounced the use of such a disastrous weapon. There is overwhelming evidence supporting both sides of the decision, as historians are split in opinion. The United States had been using conventional bombing to try to push Japan over the edge to surrender, but with countless Japanese civilians loyal to their country, invading Japan proved to be more problematic than first thought. Harry S. Truman made the ultimate decision of dropping the atomic bomb in hopes that it would end the war, but the amount of casualties caused by it has historians questioning if it was morally right, “The bomb was unfortunate, but it was the only means to bring Japan to a surrender,” historian Sadao Asada states (Bomb 9). Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were justifiable because they would ultimately lead to the end of the war and would demonstrate U.S. supremacy.

Truman’s primary goal as the President of the United States was to first and foremost save the lives of numerous Americans. As stated in Document I, “Truman believed it was his duty as president to use every weapon available to save American lives.” He’s willing to take any action in order to better protect America from countries that

In the 1930’s and the 1940’s there was a change in American leadership. Having this change not only changed the outcome of the war that we were currently in, but how the rest of the world would view our country after the war. The decision that Harry Truman was forced to make on the choice to drop the atomic bomb or to attempt more land invasions was a choice that shaped the outcome of the war. There were major influences and side effects from the dropping of the atomic bomb and what it did to the country of Japan. Having the option and the weight of the moral decision weighing on Truman’s shoulders about what decision should be made, he was the only one who was capable of making the decision that shaped the outcome of the war. Having dropped the bomb on Japan, as a statement of power and a means to an end in a form was the only way that American lives could have been spared as comparing that to the lives that would have been lost in a land invasion. Knowing what the issues with the bomb was; one has to look at the moral issues, the results of the incident, and also how it played in the rest of the development of the world.

President Truman’s actions during the war were most reasonable because he had been “duped” by MacArthur and his belief that China would not enter the war when their troops reached Yalu River. Truman’s response to this was firing MacArthur; the action he took was justified as MacArthur needed punishment for his blunder in the war. While MacArthur did deserve to be relieved of his position, maybe it was not the right time to do so. He was an exceptional general with experience, and surely he would not have made a mistake of the same magnitude again.

The United States only started being active in war due to Japan attacking them in 1941. This could possibly be one of the main underlying motives. However, the revenge for pearl harbor was not part of the decision making as in Truman’s entries he revealed that his motives were mostly to save more people than he was killing. But, the unmoral treatment of a large group of Americans would most likely be in the back of his mind influencing his decision.

Although Truman was faced with such tough decision, he was supported by the citizens of

President Truman must have kept in mind the personal political implications of his decision to drop the bomb. With polls showing that Americans overwhelmingly supported the "unconditional surrender" of Japan and with his knowing the strong anti-Japanese sentiments of the American people, I must have felt that I had little political risk in dropping an atomic bomb on Japan."(Harry Truman) President Truman must have also considered his difficulty in explaining to American voters why the government spent two billion dollars to develop a superior weapon if he personally decided not to deploy it, especially if the war had dragged on with additional American casualties. Here is an entry from Truman's diary, "I have to decide Japanese strategy - shall we invade Japan proper or shall we bomb and blockade? That is my hardest decision to date. But I'll make it when I have all the facts."(Ferrell)

Imagine yourself making the toughest decision in your life, whether sacrificing a million of our men and thousands of war ships and plans, verses several thousand of Japanese civilian populists. This decision was on the shoulder of Harry S. Truman, the United States President, who had to make this decision by deciding whether or not to drop a newly designed weapon. The atomic bomb was tested in the sands of New Mexico, where it proved to be very successful. Harry S. Truman made a very successful decision, because he wanted to end the war quickly, show others that the United States had power, and the retribution of Pearl Harbor.

I believe that the Presidents decision was based dually on military necessity and on the Nation's reputation. Truman was not a dumb man; he was inexperienced and quickly expected to make important decisions based on very little information that he had been recently made aware of. I believe that his first thought was to just end the War. I do not think he felt the need

They also said that Truman should have chosen different ways to compel a Japanese surrender instead of dropping atomic bombs into two cities. The most obvious alternative is an invasion of American into Japanese mainland because Japanese was very close to defeat. And the World War II was close to the end. However, according to historians, the atomic bomb probably saved half of a million U.S. lives, not to mention the number of Japanese casualties than the invasion. Moreover, Japanese was close to defeat, but not close to surrender. Therefore, the decision of President Truman was necessary at that time. His decision was just for the good of America as well as was to save lives of both American and Japanese soldiers. If the war was prolonged, a lot of soldiers would die and the expenses would increase.

decision to bomb Japan was mainly focused on Truman's confrontational approach to the Soviet Union.”Moreover, this subject is thought to be more appropriately thought as a side benefit of dropping the bomb and not so much its sole purpose.

This investigation assesses President Harry Truman’s decision to drop atomic bombs on both Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It will determine whether or not his decision was justified. This investigation will scrutinize the reasons that made Harry Truman feel inclined to drop atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Preventing further casualties along with the desire to end the war are two argumentative points that will be analyzed to determine if they were strong enough to justify the dropping

War always results in destruction, debt, and deaths these outcomes are unevitable. But Truman's choice helped minamize the amount of deaths which is probably the most important catagory. The civilians that died, with out a doubt didnt deserve to die and their deaths will always be remembered and honored. But, the

I believe that Truman did the right thing in dismissing General Douglas MacArthur. Although a war hero respected by millions of Americans, MacArthur took charge of the U.S forces during the Korean War and made several mistakes due to his impulsiveness and egotistical mindset. MacArthur continuously insulted President Truman’s policy to the press, as well as ignored advice from superiors. MacArthur abused his title as a war hero and did whatever he wanted due to his narcissism, disrespecting those politically above him. After recapturing Seoul, the capital of South Korea, during the Korean War, he pursued the North Korean forces all the way to the Chinese border by Yalu River, despite being cautioned. This resulted in being surprised by thousands

First what made his decision ethical, Truman gave Japan ample warning time. As the Japanese knew they would be bombed in a few days, they immediately warned civilians to evacuate thirty-five cities. With that being said, for example, “About 1 million leaflets fell on the targeted cities whose names appeared