Harry S. Truman and His Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb Harry S. Truman once said, “Carry the battle to them. Don’t let them bring it to you.” In World War II, that is exactly what he did. While Japan was breaking treaties and fighting with allied countries, the United States was developing a powerful weapon that would cripple Japan and end World War II. This weapon was called the atomic bomb. After it was fully developed and tested, Harry S. Truman made the decision to drop this deadly weapon on two cities in Japan, Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The debate over the legitimacy of the atomic bombings of Japan generally revolves around what it was going to take to get Japan to agree to an unconditional surrender and what that might cost in American and Japanese lives. Those who supported the use of the bomb took the utilitarian view that it would end the war quickly and thereby save even greater numbers of American and Japanese lives by avoiding an Allied invasion of the home islands. In the context of The Just War Theory, however, the issue still comes down to the legitimacy of targeting civilians in industrial cities this line had already been crossed. Utilitarian considerations, such as the doctrine of double effect, only apply if the intended target is indeed military. Strategic bombing in World War II essentially was a decision to kill people not because of their military role, but because of their nationality.
On August 6, 1945 the United States dropped an Atomic bomb called the Little Boy on Hiroshima in Japan. A few days later the united states dropped another atomic bomb called the Fat man on the city of Nagasaki. The dropping of an atomic bomb in Hiroshima and Nagasaki ended the wars quickly, as Japan saw the devastating effects it had on their people and country. The decision to drop the bomb was a very hard one to agree on but changed lives for others. There are many pros and cons of the atomic bombs.
During this time period, the U.S. War Department developed the 1940 Principles of War, and the Potsdam Declaration was received by Japan; one which restricted a majority of their rights. More importantly, the culmination of the war was the deployment of two atomic bombs. From the mass ruination of the fire bombings to the atomic bombs, there is clearly a misinterpretation of rules and ethics during WW2. From each of the firebombings to the atomic bombs, there is a clear representation and violation of the 1940 Principles of War; there were massive civilian casualties due to these bombings and gave no military target. Truman even gave his own opinion on Rules and Ethics, “Finally, Japan has consistently disregarded the rules of war and I believe we are justified in using our full military strength” (Meet and Greet Roles Document).
The alternative for President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his advisors was doing nothing and letting Nazi Germany develop atomic power and going on to use it to conquer the world. The United States of America wanted to end World War II on both the Atlantic and Pacific fronts and needed the quickest possible method to do so. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s advisors concluded that hundreds of thousands of American lives would be lost on an assault on the island of Japan. The U.S. Armed Forces was over 16,000,000 strong and Franklin D. Roosevelt’s main motive for dropping the atom bombs was to save American lives.5 The fact of the matter is World War II was started by the Axis powers which were Germany, Italy and Japan. The Axis powers alone turned Europe upside down.
As the context of the clip flutters in things begin to seem more understandable in the sense that this course of action was necessary. On December 8th of 1941, Franklin D. Roosevelt produced a declaration of war speech entitled “Day of Infamy Speech” in response to the bombing of military bases in Pearl Harbor the day before. Roosevelt detailed that the premeditated Japanese strike came out of nowhere and were especially dishonorable as the United States was at peace with that nation. This instance set the stage for many lives to be lost as the land of the rising sun attempted to extend its horizons all across the Earth. In his speech, Roosevelt stated in no uncertain terms that Hostilities exist and that it becomes necessary to take action to make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again endanger us.
The poster consisted of a gang of criminals, representing Americans, stuffing a dove with an atomic bomb (with a “US” label), accompanied with the statement “Though artfully disguised, it does not hide your cowardice”. However, the creator can be narrowed down to a civilian related to the military because of the context of the poster. It was most probably released after the dropping of the atomic bombs in Japan (August 6, 1945), and before the Soviet Union tested their first atomic bomb (August 29, 1949). This is corroborated by the fact that the poster explicitly criticizes the use of atomic bombs. The Soviet military was the most upset about Hiroshima and Nagasaki
The creation of the atomic bomb in 1945 marked the beginning of a new era. As Japan was surrounded by U.S. forces, the U.S. issued the Potsdam Declaration, defining terms for Japanese surrender. However, Japan did not surrender. Thus, U.S. dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, killing many civilians. Three days later, the second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, ultimately leading to a Japanese surrender, essentially ending World War II.
As World War Two was coming to an end, the United States shocked the world with the power of science. Two atomic bombs were dropped on Japan giving a great moral boost to the Americans and the Allies, while also bringing a lot of threat to the outside world. As the countries felt vulnerable to the might of the bomb, the Soviet Union found itself in a hard situation of trying to assert itself as a superpower while also recovering from the war. As Stalin slowly came to power, he gradually became more and more controlling and finally became a dictator. Watching the USSR’s gradual climb to power, the U.S. found it important as the police of the world to keep the USSR in check.
On September 9, 1945, Admiral William F. Halsey, commander of the Third Fleet, was publicly quoted as stating that the atomic bomb was used because the scientists had a “toy and they wanted to try it out…” He further stated that “the first atomic bomb was an unnecessary experiment” and that it was“a mistake to ever drop it.” By all the evidence and information we have above, it shows us that to end the WWII is not really the reason for U.S. to drop that bombs on Japan. The evidence above had also said Japan already was prepared and ready to surrender. The bombs are totally unnecessary. Those evidence make dropped bombs be not