Truman's Decision to use the atomic mom

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.

In the brutal and deadly Pacific Theater of World War ll, President Truman had to make a crucial decision on whether or not to drop the atomic bomb on Japan. Some believe that Truman’s actions to drop the atomic bomb were unethical and inhumane; however, Truman was justified in his decision to use the atomic bomb against Japan due to the fact that they are our enemy, saving American lives is the first priority, and the atomic bomb will ultimately prevent Russia from gaining control of Asia.

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 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)

By dropping the atomic bomb, America demonstrated the power they had. America’s “Secret Weapon” displayed our technological and scientific superiority to the world. This helped deter the Soviet Union and others from further expansion. For example Dwight D. Eisenhower states, “We ought not to need to put ourselves in the position of requesting or begging for Soviet aid” (Document C). America proved once again to be a group of individuals who could rise above all adversities.

Many debates have been provoked based on President Truman's decision to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. The debate is not solely based on the bomb being dropped, but more on the actual necessity and intention of the bomb being dropped.

Americans have been wondering whether President Truman should’ve ordered the usage of weapons which was against Japan back in August 1945. The World War II which involved almost every part of the world. This decision had the citizens thinking every year that passes by as if the President had made wrong decision. This horrible event had the citizens in doubt. The results were not good for the Japanese civilians. Because the of the atomic bomb they had lost not only their families, but also their houses and businesses. It impacted the tens of thousands of people in every way possible. To what Americans observes from this is not only the pros it had brought for the citizens, but it

While Truman himself stated in an August 1945 radio address and further emphasized in his 1955 memoirs that the atomic bombs were dropped in order to “shorten the agony of war, in order to save the lives of thousands and thousands of young Americans” (Doc H), historians and government officials are split on the issue of the true motivations behind dropping the a-bombs. However, given his sour relationship with Stalin, it is clear that Truman intended the bomb to be used more than merely as an atomic weapon. When the Truman Administration made the decision to drop the atomic bombs, it was neither completely military or diplomatic. The decision was militaristic in that it tried to end the war with Japan in the most efficient manner possible, and was diplomatic in that it tried to prevent the Soviets from gaining too much

In conclusion, it does not matter the decision of Truman to order the dropping of atomic bombs was right or wrong. It matters how effective that decision in ending the war and saving lives of soldiers. And history proved it. With those two atomic bombs, the

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

A famous expression often used by Harry Truman was “the buck stops here”. This means that all people have the tendency to pass along responsibilities and blame. Harry Truman, however, believed that as the President of the United States, he must take responsibility for his actions. One decision he weighed was the decision to use nuclear weapons during the Pacific War in the year 1945. President Harry Truman’s decision to drop the two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was a suitable decision and saved far more Japanese lives in the long run, while also preserving hundreds of thousands of American lives.

President Truman was informed about the Manhattan Project after he became President. Once, the success of the project was secure, the United States has the capacity to end the war with Japan is in our hands. President Truman’s primary goal is “to win a complete victory and to keep the U.S. casualties to a minimum” (Walker 50). Japan on the other hand is not willing to surrender without a fight, even though American forces took over Okinawa and Iwo Jima and were continuously bombing Japanese cities. Japan has denied unconditional surrender, although the refusal is certain to result in total destruction. Thus, President Truman should be advised towards the use of the atomic bomb to quickly bring an end to the

In 1945, President Harry S Truman ordered an atomic bomb to be dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, to ultimately put an end to the Japanese American war. The dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were tremendously significant in the history of war for America. Although there is great understanding as to why the bomb was dropped, there is also various controversial debates as to other options that could have been carried out. J. Samuel Walker wrote the book Prompt and Utter Destruction Truman and the Use of Atomic Bombs against Japan, to display the various beliefs people had on the different ways to put an end to the war, and also the reasoning behind the use of the atomic bomb.

Proponents of the argument that Truman was immoral in using the atomic bomb, constantly argue that the Japanese were depleted in their will and ability to wage war and were actively seeking chances to ending the war by means of diplomatic measures through peace feelers in the Soviet Union. The argument is one of those what if’s in history that can never be concluded