Harry S. Truman's Decision To End World War II

The American people have questioned Harry S. Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bomb for years. Some people believe the release of the bomb was beneficial to both parties involved in the war, however others believe that it was cruel and unnecessary. Either way the decision was one that caused many people to speculate, asking questions such as; did the release of the bomb prevent the death of millions of the Japanese and Americans, or was the United States trying to show the Soviet Union how much power they possessed? Even though one’s interpretation on the matter may differ, the whole world felt the desperation to end World War II. Truman deliberated and decided that the only way that the end could come swiftly was by dropping the atomic …show more content…
Truman was faced with the hardest decision of his entire Presidential Term; he was forced to make the choice of whether or not to bomb a city full of people. Mr. Truman’s decision was to resolve the war that was occurring between Japan and the United States. He thought it would be best to discontinue it by ordering the use of nuclear weapons. When Truman made his decision, World War II had already cost the United States a hefty sum of $341 billion and countless lives had been lost as well (H.L. Stimson). America started spending money on the war in 1941, but the true commencement had begun on September 1, 1939 (Charles Friedrich). The war developed prior to the Germans invasion in Poland, and the United States joined following the loss at Pearl Harbor. When the United States was bombarded on December 7, 1941, the Japanese murdered 2,403 innocent American people, along with injuring an amount of 1,178 (H.L. Stimson). Following the incident, citizens of the United States were coerced into the unwanted battle between the Axis and Allied powers. When the United States became involved in the Second World War, it was only so that they could protect themselves. The “Japs” had chosen to launch the infamous confrontation with one of the most powerful countries in the world and in return, they suffered a considerable amount. Although they were made to suffer, it was for the greater good of the American people and its government. According to Lee …show more content…
People with an opposing point of view may argue that Harry Truman’s order for the first nuclear weapon to be released was completely inhumane, despite the predicaments they made Americans involuntarily participate. They even concluded that Japan was surrendering, and that they were “on their knees” before the U.S. decided to change history forever by using “terrorizing actions” (Manhattan Engineer District, 20). Even some military, intelligence analysts suggest that when the weapons were dislodged on August 6, 1945, the Americans only wanted to cause as much damage as possible. Although they considered the nuclear bombs a destructive force, they envied the Boeing B-29 Superfortress Bomber from which they descended. The Enola Gay, was an expensive war plane that released the weapons, vaporizing 70,000 Japanese citizens of Hiroshima (Manhattan Engineer District, 13). Upon the delivery of the atom bombs, thousands of citizens were killed instantly but the results were ineffective. After the original dismissal of explosives, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan, only two days later. Things were not looking good for any of the powers involved in this heinous war. Then on August 9th, a second atomic bomb was released on Nagasaki, and that resulted in the death of approximately 80,000 Japanese people, adding to their death total. Even