Preview

Harry Truman Atomic Bomb Justified Analysis

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
697 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Harry Truman Atomic Bomb Justified Analysis
In august of 1945, the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were a questionable decision by Harry Truman, the president of The United States of America. Throughout the years, it has been a heated debate in terms of whether the decision was morally correct and justified. Historians have analyzed and presented many arguments. In this short essay, I will attempt to expand on how historians feel about the decision by Truman to use atomic bombs. The revisionists bring into perspective and question the motivations of Harry Truman claiming he had more on his agenda than just the war. In my opinion, the decision to use atomic bombs was somewhat justified because if looked at statistically, the death toll with an invasion would have been higher and Truman …show more content…
It seems that according to revisionists, Harry Truman had other alternatives to reach his goals. The atomic bombs were not the only means towards the surrendering of Japan. He had the option of going ahead with a conventional bombing or strategic bombing which would have a significant impact: if not more, a little less than the atomic bomb. The argument is that if he had decided to use conventional bombing or strategic bombing, Japan would not have had to go through dangerous amounts of radiation levels which are still producing abnormalities in birth to this day. Also, revisionists claim that Truman’s decision was motivated by USSR. Historians have argued the claim that Truman had an interest in impressing Stalin, since USSR was about to invade Japan. Japan had already been defeated and its military and air force was exhausted. Another reason for Truman to launch the atomic bombs was to cover for the Manhattan Project. The project was created to build atomic bombs and consumed billions of US dollars. To show, or rather create a façade of the progress, the atomic bombs had to be displayed so the Americans would feel that the money was put to good

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Atomic Bomb Dbq

    • 949 Words
    • 4 Pages

    One can argue that the dropping of the atomic bomb by the United States was strictly a military measure designed to force Japan’s unconditional surrender. First, as stated in the Memoirs of Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson, Japan was willing to literally “fight to the death” and the war was guaranteed to be prolonged for many months against the Japanese. Many more millions of American casualties were bound to happen and the U.S. wasn’t willing to risk all those lives. Because of this unwillingness to surrender, both Truman and Americans found it strenuous to figure out a way to end the war quicker. Charging into Japan or bombing Japanese cities with regular bombs would take up too much time and the number of casualties would only increase. Therefore, having the decision to use an atomic bomb to blow an entire city up within seconds, Truman undoubtedly ordered…

    • 949 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Truman, as he saw the attack of okinawa in 1944 witnessed how the Japanese would not surrender, they had to capture all 100,000 Japanese soldiers on the island (peace and war book page 152 by Ben Walsh). This lead to the US dropping almost 2000 tons of incendiary grenade from B 29 planes which ensured the US a victory for Truman. Although the Japanese were losing the pacific war, the fire bombs failed to persuade Japan to surrender which made Harry Truman’s decision to drop the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. From the information given to Harry Truman of how the Japanese were not willing to surrender, dropping of the atomic bomb was justified as he did it in order to shorten the agony of war and to save American lives. Based on the choices given, Truman had to take the least costly option which was to use this bomb. Furthermore, the bomb was an approach to end Japanese brutality on the asian countries they have colonized. In retrospect, many historians have criticized him as the Japanese were rumoured to be ready to surrender prior to the use of the Atomic…

    • 1582 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In addition, Bergamini returns to several of Butow’s traditional arguments to prove his claims. Agreeing with Butow’s statement that the use of the bomb would leave Japan “practically powerless”, Bergamini writes that the atomic bomb lead to Emperor Hirohito’s decision to surrender. Returning to Butow’s claims Bergamini expands the traditionalist perspective by examining the influence that the atomic bomb had on emperor Hirohito’s decision to terminate the war. Providing evidence to his claims, Bergamini writes that while Hirohito believed that Japan could continue the war until the fall of 1945. He affirms the traditional opinion that the atomic bomb motivated the surrender by quoting Hirohito’s remarks to General MacArthur. Citing Hirohito’s statement that the atomic bomb “gave Japan an excuse to surrender”, the author offers historians with an additional account to consider for what motivated Japan’s surrender. Bergamini’s statements advance the traditionalist view of Japan’s motive to surrender by demonstrating Hirohito’s power in starting the war with the United States. Leaving historians to consider the influence of the emperor, the author shows how the atomic bomb moved Hirohito to…

    • 466 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    To this day, many debate the primary reasoning behind Truman's decision to use Atomic Bombs against Japan and whether they served to bring a quick end to the war or to gain leverage with the Soviet Union in the post-war world. The cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was specifically decided as these were population dense cities that were primarily devoted to military production. These cities also did not hold cultural significance within Japan, as opposed to cities like Kyoto. Because of this, many argue that Truman did not seek to destroy Japanese culture or its people; the goal was to destroy Japanese means of war production. The war was coming to its end and it was only a matter of time before the Japanese surrendered.…

    • 202 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The first option would allow President Truman to end the war peacefully, and it would have also allowed the Japanese to withdraw from the war without shame to their leader and save the thousands of Japanese individuals by not making the United States have to make the choice of dropping the atomic bombs. This option would have let Truman show that “We as Americans have not sunk to the level of our enemies” “We should end the war now in a manner that reflects the value we place on the sanctity of human life and the dignity of the individual”. The author gives Truman a second option and this option approaches the war in the Pacific with a demonstration of the atomic bomb in efforts to force the Japanese to surrender without condition. This includes the uprising of the Manhattan Project which gave the United States the “weapon of almost inconceivable power” with the scare tactics of the demonstration this gives the Japanese leaders an idea of what would…

    • 629 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    During World War II, the Japanese and Americans were at war. Japan had an advantage over American military troops with a greater number of troops being put out into the war. On the other hand, American troops and military bases had a technological advantage, which ultimately helped the Americans succeed during the war. President Truman made one of the most difficult decisions in American history. Truman’s decision would kill many Japanese soldiers but would save many of the Americans. An atomic bomb would be the last resort, which would wipe out countless miles of land, military bases, and anyone who was close by. As Truman had to think about the pros and cons of this decision, it was ultimately Truman’s say so in whether to proceed and…

    • 999 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    American Dbq Analysis

    • 562 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In Doc A, Truman believes that it was necessary to save as many American lives as possible. This would keep them out of the way of the kamikazees that were flying through and only cause the persistant Japanese to lose lives. Also, from Doc C, the atomic bomb was a way for America to show our might against the Russians.…

    • 562 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    This investigation evaluates whether or not the dropping of the two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was necessary to make Japan surrender unconditionally. To assess the extent to which the deployment of nuclear weapons affected the Japanese decision to surrender unconditionally and if Japan was already prepared to do this prior to the use of the atomic bombs. The details and motivations of the United States to drop the bombs are explored as well as Japan’s peace negotiations with the United States and their progress prior to the U.S. choosing to use the bombs. Actions of the United States and Japan not related to the end of World War 2 are not assessed in this investigation.…

    • 2170 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    President Truman’s decision of the atomic bombing has undeniably made a huge impact to world’s history events. Throughout decades, many individuals’ have encountered diverse explanations as to why it was necessary for the dropping of the atomic bomb. While others believe it was essential, some may think that it caused an enormous catastrophe, murdering millions of innocent civilians and produced a generation with an atrocious radiation poison. Years has passed by and it continues to be the utmost talked about event. The atomic bombing that took place in Japan can be argued that it was the greatest decision made by president Truman. There are majority of different schools of thought behind President Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bombing. Readings that have been encountered can conclude that President Truman’s decision was a great one. This event prevented future fatalities amongst the Japanese as well as the Americans, ended the world war II, and it was the only option handed to Truman.…

    • 537 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Harry Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bomb was a good decision. If he had not decided to drop the atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the war would have continued and more Americans, as well as Japanese, would have continued to die. Since the Japanese were using ruthless methods of war like kamikazes or killing themselves rather than be captured, it was hard to tell how far Japan was willing to go in order to win the war. Thus, Truman’s decision to bomb Japan is justifiable by the cause of not knowing to what extents Japan was willing to go. I believe Truman wanted to show the Japanese that the United States was willing to do anything to win the…

    • 125 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    A key reason for Truman’s decision to drop the Atomic Bomb was the alternative options were not proper solutions. Dropping the bomb wasn’t the only considered option. The main “runner up” was a mass invasion of Japan. This idea was very dangerous. The casualties for the US were projected to be over 1,000,000 soldiers, and 5,000,000 japanese soldiers. One of the other alternatives was the idea of displaying to true power of the atomic weapon to Japan through a test. Such an idea had way too many flaws to be applicable. There was only enough Plutonium and Uranium available to the US for two bombs, (Little Boy, Fat Man). Also this idea was a risk because if the weapon did not detonate, the US would look even weaker to the Japanese. The idea of barricading the Japanese was also a considered solution, using Naval vessels to trap the Japanese in until the US “starved them out”. The fault in this idea was the unreasonable amount of time and resources it would consume. After weighing the options, and thinking it through carefully, President Truman made the correct choice to drop the bomb.…

    • 498 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The decision to drop two atomic bombs on Japan in August of 1945 was made by a complex group of technological, political and military influences. History has it that the bombs were dropped in order to save American lives by avoiding the invasion of Japanese homelands, at least, that was what President Truman told the American public at the time. “For years, this simple view has been challenged by a seemingly more sophisticated academic perspective that the bombs were wrongfully used against innocent civilians, did not genuinely factor into the surrender of Japan, and would have better served the war effort as part of a diplomatic “carrot and stick” package.” (Beason 1). Some argue that the first bomb may have been required to achieve Japanese surrender, but the second one was a needless act of barbarism. According to Admiral William D. Leahy, the President’s Chief of Staff, “The use of this barbarous weapon at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was of no material assistance in our war over Japan. The Japanese were already defeated and ready to surrender…” (Beason 1). However, I have many facts to counteract all of these criticisms and to support President Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bomb.…

    • 1290 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    World War was nearing the end when Truman stepped into presidency. The Truman Administration was clearly looking for a way to end the war at the lowest possible cost of American lives. The suggestion of dropping atomic bombs over Japan had surfaced, and with it came a huge dilemma. After much deliberation, the time came when Truman ordered the Americans to drop an atomic bomb over Hiroshima. It all becomes quite clear that atomic bombings of Japan cannot be justified. They can be viewed as an inhumane acts that were aimed at American revenge and retaliation against the Japanese. The decision made by Truman in 1945…

    • 941 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Then, after the bombing at Hiroshima, Japan still would not surrender (Tindall & Shi, 2013). Truman did not make the decision to use the atomic bomb on his own, he consulted his cabinet and Churchill and Stalin were aware of the capability from the Potsdam conference. Truman’s decision to order the second bombing of Nagasaki was his last effort to put an end to the war with Japan. This was Truman’s final act causing Japan to surrender on August 14, 1945, ending World War…

    • 1232 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hiroshima Outline

    • 399 Words
    • 2 Pages

    A. Restate Thesis: Clearly the atomic bombing of Japan was justified because of the tremendous amount of lives, both Japanese and American, which would have been lost in a conventional invasion. The Japanese fighting style also precipitated the need for drastic measures to be taken to bring…

    • 399 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays