Why Did President Truman's Decision To Drop The Atomic Bomb On Japan?

After Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in the Hawaiian Islands, President Truman dropped two atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan. Since then, there has been arguments whether the bombs should have been dropped or not. President Truman’s choice to drop the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was really the only option he had back then. Today, the bombs that President Truman dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki is thought as a horrible event, but Truman dropped the bombs to save American and Japanese lives, and in the end, shortened the war.

Try putting yourself in president Truman’s place how would you have dealt with Japan? Make a treaty or just try and completely destroy them? The U.S. and president Truman had a very hard decision to make dealing with Japan. Although there was several reasons to not drop the atomic bomb, the U.S. had good reason for the bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki which were justified due to the bombing of Pearl Harbor, to keep the nation safe, and to stop the Japanese empire from becoming any stronger.

One of the most controversial events from World War II (WWII) was the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. On August 6, 1945, America dropped the world’s first atomic bomb, code name “Little Boy, over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The explosion resulted in over 90,000 deaths. August 9th, 1945, a second bomb was dropped, code name “Fat Man”, on Nagasaki, instantly killing an estimated 70,000 people. On August 15, Japan surrendered unconditionally. President Truman decision to drop these atomic bombs on these cities changed the course of history and modern warfare. After this pivotal moment begun an arms race to develop the most nuclear bombs between many nations. The decision to drop the atomic bombs over Japanese cities had to involve a lot of pros and cons. This paper will discuss the reason why the bombs were dropped, how historians look back on that decision, how the culture of the time affected that decision, and what, in my opinion, was the deciding factor. “It is an awful responsibility that has

The issue I see with the dropping of the A-Bombs was that there were much better strategic options for America but it seems like they were done being in the war and just wanted to get it over with even if it costed many Japanese lives. In Document 6 Admiral William E. Leahy, President Truman’s Chief of Staff states “The use of this barbarous weapon at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was of no material assistance in our war against Japan. The Japanese were already defeated and ready to surrender”. This proves the fact even more that Japan was ready to surrender and knew they had no chance at winning.

As all the world has known, the biggest atomic bomb in warfare history by the end of World War 2 is the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima that hit on August 9th, 1945 by the direct order of our 33rd president of The United States Of America; Harry S. Truman. He thought this bomb would bring a close ending of the war (World War 2) and it definitely did but it was too much to handle afterwards when it hit. There was no choice for Truman because there was no other way to bring the war into a close. It was the last call, but they didn’t realize that after they released the bomb, it was hard to decide whether it was a mistake or the right decision. The bomb killed innocent people of 199,000 (plus more).

It appears as if mankind’s most destructive war is coming to end. Victory has been won at a steep cost in lives and treasure. We would not be here, however, had it not been for the valiant efforts of everyone involved in the war effort. While President Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bomb may seem controversial in the long run, its immediate effect is that it saved lives.

Was America right to use atomic weapons against Japan? The dropping of the atomic bomb in Japan at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, was the end of WWII. However, there has been much conflict considering the use of the bomb. In this essay, I will discuss reasons from both sides of the argument and justify my opinion.

In the twentieth century, the United States dropped two atomic bombs, which were the most powerful weapons at that time, on Japan. It happened on August 6 and August 9, 1945. The atomic bombs killed 226,000 Japanese and ended the war. However, America should not have dropped the atomic bombs for two reasons. First, it was not necessary to drop the bomb to win the war militarily or to get the Japanese to surrender.

World War II was one of the biggest conflicts in the history of the world. It was a conflict between the Allies — Britain, American, and France — and the Axis Powers — Germany, Italy, and Japan. America entered the war in 1941 when the Japanese surprise attack our naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. At the start of the conflict, the 32nd President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, was our Chief in Command that had just let the nation through one of its most trying times, the Great Depression. In 1942, Roosevelt began a top secret project led by Robert J. Oppenheimer. The Manhattan Project was started in fears that Nazi Germany was going to create the ultimate weapon, powered by the natural forces of fission. As President and wartime Commander, Roosevelt

As stated in document A, President Truman believed that it was his duty as president to use every weapon available to save American lives. By making the decision to employ atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it successfully brought an end to World War II. Now, while these bombs did ultimately spare thousands of American lives, it did also put an end to about 200,000 lives as shown in document E. Document A stated that Admiral William Leahy, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, opposed using the bomb because it killed civilians indiscriminately. He believed that an economic blockade and conventional bombing would convince Japan to surrender. As an opposite end of the spectrum though Truman’s advisor, James Byrnes thought that the use of “the A-bombs would not only cause Japan to surrender, but also impress the Soviet Union, and hopefully stop its expansion” (Doc C).

Truman’s Decision President Truman was justified in his decision to drop the atomic bombs in Japan. Truman faced many pros and cons of his decision, however, the pros outweighed the cons. There were very few alternatives to the extreme, the casualties in the Pacific were growing and the rate the war it would save lives. Although, there were many lives lost Truman made the right decision for his country.

1. Source B mentions that the reason for Truman dropping the bomb was to save American lives, but it was a speech to the nation. Source A transmits a completely different message. It mentions that “the end of Japanese war no longer depended upon the pouring in of [the Russian] armies.” They way this phrase is interpreted is that Truman dropped the bomb because he no longer wanted the help of the Soviets so he didn’t have to share the reward, which was Tokyo.

Being the president of the United States comes with the responsibility of making tough decisions that aren’t always perceived as the best, especially when it involves the war. In 1945, President Harry Truman had to make a difficult decision that ultimately gave americans a leg up in the war. President Harry Truman’s decision to use the atomic bomb on Japan in WWII is surrounded by much controversy but holds many positive advantages that helped end the war. Presidents Harry Truman’s decision to use the atomic bomb posed nearly no significant dilemmas overall.

Theoretically of course, what if a country was to develop a weapon strong enough to completely disintegrate cities and all the people living in it? Coincidently, the United states discovered a bomb that did exactly that and ended up thrusting the world into a new era of weaponized technology towards the end of World War II. Countries from this point on became wary of opposing the United States, aware of the power they possessed, especially since the US had already used this weapon on Japan to end the war. However, the Japanese were committed to fight to the bitter end of the war and see it all the way through, regardless of the fact that the United States demanded unconditional surrender from the small country of islands. This further emphasizes that since the Japanese were not simply going to give up, Truman came to the conclusion that in order to save millions of lives, he had to take thousands. President Truman decided to drop the atomic bomb on Japan to warn the world about the new found power of the United States, force an unconditional surrender of the Japanese, and save millions of lives.

Was America Justified in dropping the atom bomb on Hiroshima in August 1945? On August 6th, 1945 at 8:16 AM, a great yet horrific event in history occurred. This event is known as the dropping of the atom bomb on the city of Hiroshima, Japan, the event that would begin and end the pain and suffering of millions. The atom bomb was dropped by an American B-29 Superfortress bomber named Enola Gay and