How Did The Us Decision To Drop The Atomic Bomb Dbq

The United States decision to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima was barely motivated by the idea that it would intimidate the Soviet Union. Dropping the atomic bomb was designed to demoralize the Japanese and demonstrate to them that if they did not surrender, th . In Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson’s memoirs in document A, he writes, “The total strength of the Japanese army was estimated at about 5,000,000...I was informed that such operation (the invasion of Japan) might be expected to cost over a million casualties, to American forces alone” (Doc A). Stimson’s memoirs were written with the intention of being published and he knew he had to defend the government’s decision to drop the bomb and is writing from the point of view of someone

As Dwight D. Eisenhower remarked to Harry S. Truman in July of 1945 in document C, “it was my personal opinion that no power on earth could keep the Red Army out of the war unless victory came before they could get in” (Doc C). The private conversation between Eisenhower and Truman means that what was said was not censored and was Eisenhower speakly freely to the president, which provides a sense of honesty. Eisenhower expressed his concern of the growing power of the Soviet Union and president Truman also held similar beliefs. In 1941, he is quoted as saying, “ If we see Germany winning, we ought to help Russia and if we see Russia winning we ought to help Germany and that way let them kill as many as many as possible” Truman holded no love for the Russians and the desire to show off to the Soviets played a minor role in the decision to drop the bomb. The main reason for dropping the atomic bomb was to force the surrender of the

Document D demonstrates the idea Russia would join the war with Japan, “The Soviet Union shall enter into the war against Japan on the side of the Allies” (Doc D). It was not a surprise when the Soviets enter the war with Japan. The Soviet Union already cemented their claims in Asia before the atomic bomb was dropped, so the deterrence factor of the bomb was null and void, in regards to intimidating the Soviets in the Pacific. From the point of view of the Churchill and Roosevelt, they guaranteed Stalin significant territory in the Pacific in the the hope of keeping him out of a war with Japan for as long as possible. The atomic bomb would be used to defeat Japan , but it would not halt Stalin’s territorial grab in Asia as he already had a guaranteed claim on several areas. The bomb’s goal was not to intimidate the Russians to stop their advance as they already had control of the areas they