Atomic Bomb Dbq

Prior to entering World War II, the United States engaged in the development of the atomic bomb. This tool, which all perceived as the guaranteed method to victory, was initially intended to be used upon the Germans. However, development of these weapons outlasted the war in Europe, leaving the Japanese as the next target. It was widely accepted that the atomic bomb would be utilized as early as possible to avoid more deaths. The reasons as to utilize these weapons were not of an act of racism, but to motivate Japan to lose its condition upon surrender, insure Truman’s reelection, assure the world the US was capable of producing several atomic bombs, and to avoid communist propaganda regarding Truman’s actions. The significance as to dropping

the first bomb on Hiroshima was allies desires to end WWII as quickly as possible; while the Nagasaki bombing sent the message to the Soviet Union that Japanese reconstruction was under American jurisdiction.
Scientists during WWII became aware of German initiative to develop an atomic bomb; Albert Einstein included and notably wrote to President Franklin D. Roosevelt about his concerns of the implications. The Manhattan Project formed from there with a budget of $2 billion in order to beat the axis powers to the atomic weapon. Unbeknownst to the US, Germany halted their atomic bomb project in 1942, just as the American project was growing. Teams of American, British, and refugee scientists joined the project is their race against the time, boundaries of knowledge, and the axis powers, The first bomb was tested in New Mexico in July 1945, two months after Victory in Europe day-- May 8, 1945. (Shore 31) Many members of the Manhattan Project, more specifically refugee scientists displaced by the war, worked to prevent Nazi victory, but left once aware that Germans would no longer serve as the target. (Rotblat 18) These accounts dispute the idea that the bombing of Japanese was an action of racism. The original targets of the atomic weapon were the Nazis of Aryan race; the Japanese served as only military targets.
Recent Allied and American victories in Iwo Jima and Okinawa encouraged Japanese to surrender.

As a result, Japan sent envoys to Moscow to negotiate peace. The US knew of this interaction via code breaking, but were aware of Japanese attempts of protecting, “their imperial system of government, the right to disarm and repatriate their own troops, no military occupation of the home islands, no international trials of alleged war criminals, and possible retention of some of their conquered territory.” (Cohen 906) The Potsdam conference in 1945 produced an Allied ultimatum to Japan; either surrender unconditionally or face destruction. Japan replied persistently that their one condition was that Emperor Hirohito would be saved; to surrender without preserving their semi-god would mean unacceptable dishonor. In addition, the Japanese included the translated phrase, “to kill with silence” (Weber 6); this conveyed to President Harry Truman that the Japanese were noncompliant with Allied demands and explain the prolonging of WWII.
President Truman consequently ordered for the dropping of ‘Little Boy”, the first atomic bomb on Japan. The bomb hit Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, 8:15 AM Japanese time. Despite devastating the city and convincing Emperor Hirohito that Japan was threatened, some Japanese leaders believed that US would not have enough materials to send another bomb. However, Truman was successful as Foreign Minister Shigenori Togo and Emperor Hirohito were in accordance that

they needed to surrender along the lines of the Potsdam declaration. (Kort)
Additionally, some historians hypothesize that had President Truman opted to not utilize the atomic bombs, news of the Manhattan Project to the US public would cause outrage. That said, this source is limited by inference rather than reality. By administering the atomic bomb, the US sent a catalyst to the end of WWII. If the news about an all-destructive weapon that could have prevented US lives was not used, historians believe that American citizens would lobby for the impeachment of President Truman. (Nichols) The act of utilizing Little Boy saved Truman from potential disdain at home and protected his chances for reelection.
Following Little Boy, the Soviet Union mobilized troops to the Manchuria to oppose Japanese forces. This alarmed US military leaders because the USSR avoided fighting Japan during the whole war; now the USSR joins in when it is obvious that Japan will lose. By the USSR active role in the war against Japan, the Soviet Union would have rights to be included in the reconstruction of Japan’s government. This is unappealing to the US, as they chose to not accept Japan’s condition of preserving their emperor because of the initial thought that the role of emperor would contrast the democratic government that the US would instill. If the Soviet Union were to included in the reconstruction of the Japanese government, there would be no doubt that there would be communist influence. (Cohen 906) The US and USSR could fight alongside each other under the Allied powers because of their common enemy; the opposing political ideology between the two powers caused a series of future wars to increase tension. President Truman, known for the anti-communist Truman Doctrine that dictated US diplomatic actions for the following 50 years, thus justified the second atomic bombing, Fat Man, as a way that the US could intimidate the USSR.
The Manhattan project further planned the use of additional bombs on cities of high population. It was military leaders’ intentions to use multiple bombs to achieve unconditional surrender by analysis of Japanese persistence to save face from unacceptable dishonor. However Truman decided to end the bombing cycle on August 10, a day after the second bomb. (Wellerstein) Truman could effectively convey to the world that the US had the power to make numerous bombs while receiving the reaction he desired. However, this reaction lacks the full abandonment of the conditional surrender.
Back to the point regarding possible hysteria among the public had Truman avoided use of the atomic weapon, historian Tom Nichols notes that Joseph Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union, could have driven his followers with equal madness if Truman reserved the use of the bomb.

Stalin, due to Soviet spies, was aware that Truman had this weapon. Around the time of the testing of the bomb, Truman told Stalin of the addition to the Allied arsenal. This hypothetical addresses the emotional Soviet civilians who suffered exponentially more casualties than the Americans. Possible statements would regard the loss of soldiers’ lives in Japan that could have been avoided with the use of an atomic bomb.

(Nichols)
The use of Little Boy was an action to end WWII, which already claimed millions of lives and even more casualties. Leaders believed that the bombing of Hiroshima would cause Japan to alter their ways of surrender. However, Allied forces did accept Japanese surrender with the condition that their emperor would be preserved because this figurehead of authority yielded useful for the aided reconstruction of the Japanese government. The use of Fat Man started the Cold War as it set the tension between the communist and capitalist ideologies in the aforementioned reconstruction and propelled US as a superpower in the twentieth century. It also served as a bonus for the US as they proved that they did in fact have materials to produce these mass-destruction weapons in numbers.