President Truman: The Reasoning for Dropping the Atomic Bomb

“We believe that . . . an early unannounced attack against Japan inadvisable. If the United States were to be the first to release this new means of indiscriminate destruction upon mankind, she would sacrifice public support throughout the world, precipitate the race for armaments, and prejudice the possibility of reaching an international agreement on the future control of such weapons. Much more favorable conditions could be created if nuclear bombs were first revealed to the world by a demonstration in an appropriately selected uninhabited area.” The initial test for the atomic bomb was dropped in Alamogordo, Mexico with experts observing more than 20 miles away. The explosion was estimated to be a blast of about 10,000 tons of TNT. The Atomic bomb’s intense and destructive power frightened many scientists who were working on the Manhattan Project (Knebel 78). Including the father of the atomic bomb, J. Robert Oppenheimer. Oppenheimer felt as if he had created something that would bring forth destruction to the world, instead of using his brilliant scientific mind to improve and usher the world into an era of peace like he intended to. In fact, many scientists within the Manhattan Project were shocked and against using such a powerful weapon as the atomic bomb against other humans, so much that a group of scientists and

Technology has allowed for the furtherance of warfare, from the invention of gun powder to the splitting of the atom. These findings have propelled the leap of numerous nations’ in the ability to wage war against each other. Of these discoveries, the splitting atom spawned an invention that would hurl the world from conventional warfare into the nuclear age. These ideals were the brainstorming of some of the greatest minds in America and abroad. These scientists began to formulate the creation of the atomic bomb, a device that would change the world in ways that had never been imagined before.

The first atomic bomb that Japan was to get a glimpse of was on August 6th, 1945, during World War II in the city of Hiroshima. The explosion annihilated 90 percent of the city; without hesitation killed 80,000 people. More than tens of thousands of people would have eventually died due to radiation exposure. Within three days of the attack, a second B-29 dropped another A-bomb in another location known as Nagasaki, killing an estimation of 40,000 people. Hirohito, Japan’s emperor announced his country’s unequivocal surrender in WWII in a radio address on August 15th, in allude to the calamitous power of “a new and most cruel bomb.” President Truman had to make one of hardest pre arrangements that he had ever faced. Truman based this decision off of the results of to justify the cost of the Manhattan project, in response of

During World War II the war in Europe ended after the unconditional German surrender at General Eisenhower's Headquarters in Reims, France, May 7, 1945. "After the unconditional German surrender in Europe the war shifted to Asia and the Pacific. As the war continued against Japan the Allied forces captured islands such as Iwo Jima and Okinaawa close to Japan brought the Japanese homeland within range of naval and air attacks." (Dannen) On August 6, 1945, the city of Hiroshima was the target of the first atomic bomb used against civil population in history. On August 9, 1945, the United States dropped a second atomic bomb over the city of Nagasaki. In total,

President Roosevelt knew that America was making these highly deadly bombs, but they were top secret, no one knew, so he made the choice to keep from telling anyone, including his Vice President Truman. When President Roosevelt died Truman was swore in right away and was immediately told about the atomic bombs. After the atomic bombs were finished, successful and ready, the United States Generals started saying that we needed to use them on Japan because they felt that was the plan whole time. They voiced their opinion but left the decision to President Truman. Truman had to decide if he was, or was not making a good decision before he made it. Therefore, he made a committee to help him decide, so the decision was not all on him. The committee came up with four different options for Truman to choose from. Option one was that they just “conventional Bomb the

On December 7th, 1941, Japan attacked the United States first at Pearl Harbor. August 6, 1945, the United States became the first country to use an atomic weapon. Truman made the decision to drop the bomb on Hiroshima because there wasn’t much else to do in the situation.

On August 6, 1945 President Truman made the biggest decision that would change many people’s lives forever, which was dropping the first atomic bomb on a city in Japan called Hiroshima. The atomic bomb had a code that only certain people from the U.S knew; the code name was called “little boy” (Hall). The atomic bomb caused a lot of damage to Japan, killing between 60,000 and 80,000 people in that second that the bomb was dropped (WW2 People’s War). The atomic bomb affected many people’s lives in many ways. Many people believed that it was wrong that President Truman dropped the bomb because there could have been another way to fight back. President Truman was very indecisive to whether or not to drop the bomb on Japan. President Trumans, final decision was the only right thing to do because the atomic bomb had many benefits for the U.S. such as ending World War II, saving many people’s lives and showing what the United States was capable of.

The nature of the careers and by extension the feelings of the president as opposed to scientists was one of the factors that differentiated the finer points of their views on the usage of the atomic bomb. Truman was not aware of the true effects of dropping the atomic bomb, and therefore his decision lay as a purely military choice. Truman, as president, was obligated to protect, preserve and defend America, and the American lives taken by Japanese kamikaze pilots stood as a threat to homeland security. He viewed the bombing as no different than the firebombing of Dresden and Tokyo; essentially, a necessary step in protecting America, blind to the inevitable repercussions for the Japanese, such as radioactive sickness. J. Robert Oppenheimer, the lead scientist of the Manhattan Project, explains the viewpoint of the scientists. The scientists were unaware of the ill effects of the bomb as well, and felt deep regret as expressed by Oppenheimer that such a drastic scale of damage had resulted from the very thing that they had spent months

Truman did not have much information about the bomb, however his hatred against the Japanese, as common as the rest of Americans, with the advice of the Head of the military and in charge of the Manhattan project his decision seemed to be too easy. In fact, he gave the order to the military to employ the A-bomb as soon as it stood ready against whichever of five cities already picked out, before the Potsdam Declaration was even issued to Japan (World War II n.d.). Truman’s decision was not the correct one because there were many alternatives that could have been employed. There were arguments for using the bomb and arguments against using the bomb, nonetheless the decision happened so quickly and the American public was in the dark over the developments occurring regarding the development and exercise of the A-bomb. Americans did not learn of the bomb until after it was utilized and hidden broadly from the public for close to an entire year after the war was over (World War II n.d.).

As Franklin was killed, Truman was brought into office being the Vice President of the US. Before he was brought into office, scientists were experimenting with nuclear materials to create the ultimate weapon. The Atomic Bomb. After very limited testing in New Mexico deserts(), Truman decided that enough was enough and dropped one the the two untested bombs on Hiroshima. This caused great chaos among Japan as a weapon like this had never been used before. They studied what was left and saw that it had completely

Groves was appointed to supervise every aspect of the atomic bomb. It was called the “Manhattan Project”, and was conducted in the utmost secrecy. On March 15th, 1945 at the request of General Leslie Groves, Americans dropped nearly 1,300 tons of high explosive bombs on the German thorium ore processing plant at Oranienburg. The above-ground parts of the plant were destroyed and Germans had to stop atomic bomb research.

This is how the atomic bomb was developed and what happened because of the U.S. dropping these bombs. In 1939, Albert Einstein warned Roosevelt that the Nazis had the power to build an extremely powerful bomb. Scientists from the University of Chicago created the world's first nuclear reactor that created such energy that it had the potential of creating a powerful bomb. After the bomb was tested in Alamogordo, President Truman ordered the use of the bomb. On August 6, 1945, the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima. A few days later, the U.S. dropped another bomb in Nagasaki. As a result, Japan had no other choice then to surrender, and on September 2, Japan signed the formal surrender aboard the battleship Missouri.

The creation of the atomic bomb came about after Albert Einstein warned President Franklin Roosevelt about the Germans experimenting with nuclear technology and recommended its military potential for the US. The Manhattan project was then commission to research and build atomic weapons. After the surrender of Germany and Italy as well as the death of President Roosevelt, Harry Truman was thrown into the driver’s seat and had to deal with last fighting Axis Power, Japan. Truman assembled multiple committees of high ranking military officials in order to decide whether to use the atomic bomb to force Japan’s surrender. The committee members came to a unanimous decision that the atomic

At the beginning of the 1940’s, the American government began to fund the atomic bomb program named “The Manhattan Project”. Scientist in the program began to produce uranium and plutonium to a workable bomb. On July 16, 1945, the first atomic bomb made from plutonium was tested at Alamogordo, New Mexico. The Germans had already surrender by the time of the first atomic bomb was tested, but Japan refused to surrender in the South Pacific. In late July of 1945, the allied demanded total surrender from the Japanese or face destruction. This opportunity was rejected by the Japanese military government. President Harry Truman was advised that further attempts to invaded would result in up to 1 million American casualties. On August 6, 1945, the

With the approval of American President Harry S. Truman, the fates of two Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki were sealed. This decision came with heavy hearts, as the United States attempted to end their involvement in World War II by using nuclear power against the nation of Japan. Truman’s primary goal in this form of attack was to discontinue the war as quickly as possible, while also sending a message to the enemy and establish the United States as the leader in atomic energy. Beginning as a secret operation labeled the Manhattan Project, atomic bombs became the new weapons of mass destruction. The evident frontrunner in nuclear technology, the United States was the first country to release atomic bombs on another nation for war