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Truman's decision to drop the atomic bomb leffler ihj bulletin
Harry S Truman decision to use the atomic bomb
Harry S Truman decision to use the atomic bomb
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For decades, Harry Truman, the 33rd President of the United States of America, will always be remembered as the man who took the decision to launch the atomic bomb in two cities of Japan, Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. The president takes measure, which was a very important decision and any President would ever have to make. Harry Truman, the 33rd President of the United States, is known for the decision to drop the bomb in Japan in August 1945. Back in the years, some scientists talk with Harry Truman about a type of nuclear bomb that has a destructive rate than over twenty thousands pounds of dynamite. This project was called as “Manhattan Project”. Truman’s advisors work in this project for a long time and they did a lot of tests. Some tests worked but also some tests did not worked. Using this bomb in Japan, the war would end faster, but unfortunately millions of Japanese people would be killed and others would be extremely hurt. Some Truman’s partners wanted to drop the bomb in the ocean, but Truman did not accept because US only had 2 atomic bombs and if they launch at the o...
In Prompt and Utter Destruction, J. Samuel Walker provides the reader with an elaborate analysis of President Truman’s decision behind using the atomic bomb in Japan. He provokes the reader to answer the question for himself about whether the use of the bomb was necessary to end the war quickly and without the loss of many American lives. Walker offers historical and political evidence for and against the use of the weapon, making the reader think critically about the issue. He puts the average American into the shoes of the Commander and Chief of the United States of America and forces us to think about the difficulty of Truman’s decision.
Truman, Harry S. Bombing of Hiroshima. 9 Aug. 1945. Speech. Harry S. Truman was the president during the later stages of the war. This primary source was important to me because it shows the president’s view of how the bombers of World War II showed the growing strength of America’s armed forces.
Truman’s decision to use atomic weapons has long been a controversial subject throughout the decades after he used it. Many scholars and people who surrounded the president at the time published memoirs and books about the decision to use the weapon. As years went, more works of writing and information were released which added more information to the vast knowledge we have of the decision to drop the bomb and of what the Japanese faced after the event took place. J. Samuel Walker wrote a book called Prompt & utter destruction which uses new knowledge gained about the bomb and new information the Japanese released, which Walker said, “has greatly enriched our understanding of the agonizing deliberations in Tokyo over ending the war” (ix).Walker did not take any sides in the book, however, he uses what material from the first book and new sources of information to evaluate why President Truman made his decision. The main focus of Walker’s book is to answer why President Truman used atomic bombs against Japan and open more discussion to the question “was the bomb militarily necessary or was it used primarily for political/diplomatic reasons that had more to do with impressing the Soviets than winning the war against Japan?” (xii), which Walker said the question “divided specialists” (xii).
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.
The decision to drop the first Atomic bomb on a Japanese city was made after President Truman and his advisors decided that only bombing a city would create the desired effect. In 1945, the Interim Committee was formed to advise President Truman on the use and effects of an Atomic weapon. This committee stated; “We can propose no technical demonstration likely to bring an end to the war. We can see no acceptable alternative to direct military use.” (1)
A huge proponent to the use of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and August 9 of 1945 was President Harry Truman. Although they value the ideas and contributions out in by the committee they choose, the president ultimately has the last say on war time decisions. It just so happens that President Truman wanted to drop the bomb. President Truman believed that Japan's leaders would not surrender to the terms outlined in Potsdam meeting. He saw it fit to drop the bombs and end all doubt.
Although there were many successful presidents in office, Harry S. Truman was one of the most successful. Truman made the fateful decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan which ended World War II. President Harry S. Truman gained his success by using his military and diplomatic powers to lead the U.S. during the Korean War, utilizing his legislative powers to create the Fair Deal and issue the Marshall Plan, and employing his executive powers to abolish racial discrimination in the U.S. Armed Forces in Executive Order 9981. The four powers Truman used led to his popularity and success as president throughout the 20th, and 21st Centuries.
In 1945, Germany had surrendered, but the war in the Pacific raged on. The allies were becoming desperate to end the war before it was necessary to carry out a full scale invasion. New developments in science had made it possible for the United States to weaponize the atom, and the consequent bomb created was dropped on Hiroshima and later Nagasaki at the approval of President Harry S. Truman and his advisors. In years to come, Truman would have to face questions over the merit of his actions. Although some may believe the atomic bomb was needed because it ended WWII, it was unnecessary to drop the nuclear bomb because of the alternatives that existed, the effect it had on the Japanese people, and because of the unethical reasons for dropping it.
The strongest among the Allies, the United States was the initiator of the plan of the atomic bomb. During World War II, Japan bombed the navy base of the United States known as Pearl Harbor(Depression & WWII). Fueled by the motivation to take revenge on Japan after the Pearl Harbor Incident, the United States decided to enter World War II. In order to defeat Japan as rapidly as possible, the United States initiated the Manhattan Project to develop the atomic bomb (Chen). The two atomic bombs that were dropped on the two major cities of Japan led to the unconditional surrender of Japan. According to President, Truman the dropping of the “atomic bomb was the greatest thing in history.”(Wright) Therefore, even after seeing the devastating effects of the atomic bomb the United States showed no regrets of the plan of the atomic bomb. The United States government believed that it was a necessary act to drop the atomic bomb for the sake of ending the war as soon as possible.
Because of logistics, an invasion of Japan could not being for another three months, so the U.S. could have waited to see if Japan would surrender before dropping the atomic bombs. This evidence helps explain that the U.S. should not have dropped the atomic bomb because the most important factor in debating why the alternatives were not pursued was the effect the bombs would have on the Soviet Union, “the bomb reduced the incentives for compromise and even stiffened demands by the time of the Potsdam meeting in July 1945 because the weapon gave the U.S. enhanced
President Roosevelt’s death had been shocking to everyone and The Death of President Franklin Roosevelt states “America’s longest serving president who had led the nation through the Great Depression and World War 2 was dead.” Truman made the right decision in dropping the atomic bomb on Japan, because he was under a lot of pressure to be like Roosevelt, he was new in office, and he wasn’t fully aware of what the bombs capabilities were.
Upon reading “Prompt and Utter Destruction: Truman and the Use of Atomic Bombs Against Japan” by J. Samuel Walker, a reader will have a clear understanding of both sides of the controversy surrounding Truman’s decision to drop atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II. The controversy remains of whether or not atomic bombs should have been used during the war. After studying this text, it is clear that the first atomic bomb, which was dropped on the city of Hiroshima, was a necessary military tactic on ending the war. The second bomb, which was dropped on Nagasaki, however, was an unnecessary measure in ensuring a surrender from the Japanese, and was only used to seek revenge.
Historian Robert James Maddox starts the debate by siding with Truman and states that he made the right decision in dropping the bomb. Maddox uses several influential meetings, speculations and the presidents’ personal opinions on the situation to defend his statement. Some examples he uses include, Japanese military power and mentality, saving American lives, and unconditional surrender. In short, because the use of the atomic bomb occurred, the Japanese military lost their lust to fight to the end, countless lives were saved, and Japan surrendered. Therefore, although many Japanese lives were lost in the conflict the right decision was made by Harry Truman to authorize the usage of the bombs.
Cold war 1945, The United states are the first and only nation to use an atomic bomb weapon during the purpose of wartime. The dropping of the atomic bomb on Japan marked the end of World War II. During the 1940’s the United States have been already in the process of working on this atomic bomb. Particularly, the first test of the atomic bomb was dated July 1945, located in New Mexico, as a result of this, the outcome of the weapon with its power had an enormous result showing the strength what this weapon can portray. During this time period Germany had been already defended, however, japan on the other hand was still in full force. More importantly, President Harry S. Truman was formerly warned by his own advisers by the dropping of this
Our world is filled with a constant threat of Nuclear detonation and the ensuing fallout of such an attack. This Leads to the question would the world be safer without nuclear arms? Nuclear weapon is defined as “A bomb or missile that uses nuclear energy to cause an explosion.” (Oxford Dictionary, 2016) Nuclear weapons are one of the most destructive devices known to man, and as such the masses have cried for their use to be abolished following the Cold War. Two nuclear bombs have ever been dropped during a war, both on Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, during World War II by the United States. While these bombs were devastating for their time they are easily outclassed by current Nuclear technologies. The Tsar Bomba, the most powerful bomb ever created and tested by man, was limited to 50 megatons or 50 million tons of Dynamite. The Tsar Bomba’s yield was limited for its testing however, with sections being replaced with lead instead of weapons grade nuclear material halving its explosive power. These weapons are apparent