Preview

How Did President Truman's Decision To End The Cold War

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
866 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
How Did President Truman's Decision To End The Cold War
Some people also believe that dropping the bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was not just to stop the war between Japan and the U.S but, that it was also intimidate Russia. During World War two Russia had not put much thought or really focused on the building of any nuclear weapons up until around 1939. Even then the Russian scientists had not put much effort into it like the Americans had with the Manhattan Project. After the Germans invaded Russia their nuclear program became almost non-existent because most of the scientist as well as other workers in those departments were put into other jobs that were viewed as more important. During this time the Russian scientists had been working on experiments that German scientist had conducted trying to produce a chain reaction from nuclear fission. …show more content…
After World War two almost immediately the United States and Russia started the Cold War. However some people might say that the cold war started on August 6, 1945 when the first atomic bomb was dropped. This makes President Truman’s decision to not only end the war with Japan and save American lives but also to try and scare Russia. “The view that it was purely coincidental that the first bomb was dropped two days before the Soviet offensive was due to start” (ideas in conflict 160). So because Russia had started their own Nuclear program it could cause problems for America in the future. By dropping the atomic bombs it was possible that it could prevent Russia from trying to invade or possibly try to take over the United States on down the line. This could have helped push Truman’s decision to drop the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Atomic Bomb Dbq

    • 949 Words
    • 4 Pages

    As World War II was coming to an end during 1945, the creation of one of the most destructive weapons known to humanity occurred within the United States. This weapon, known as “the atomic bomb,” was used on the two Japanese cities: Hiroshima and Nagasaki, resulting in a death toll unprecedented by any military weapon used before and an immediate, unconditional surrender. Some historians believe President Truman decided to drop the atomic bomb in order to intimidate the Soviet Union whereas others believe it was a strictly military measure designed to force Japan’s unconditional surrender. In the Report of a Scientific Panel of nuclear physicists, some scientific colleagues believed the atomic bomb was a “purely technical demonstration” to induce surrender. Other scientists believed that the use of the atomic bomb will improve international prospects in that they are more concerned with the prevention of war than with the elimination of this special weapon (Doc G). Thus, the United States dropped the atomic bomb to both force Japan’s unconditional surrender and to intimidate the Soviet Union.…

    • 949 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Truman dropped the a bomb because the military entering japan would of caused to many casualties. So he had the a bomb created to save lives. I do agree with do agree with truman on dropping the a bomb. The a bomb being dropped did cause the death of many innocent Japanese civilians, i will say. The death of those people saved the lives of thousands of Americans, it sounds harsh, but it was either us or them.…

    • 78 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory 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
  • Good Essays

    Twenty years after Harry Truman ordered the dropping of the atomic bomb, scholars and citizens subscribed to the original version of the story: the President acted to avoid the invasion of Japan and lose anywhere from 200,000 to 500,000 American lives. Then in 1965, Gar Alperovitz published a the book “Atomic Diplomacy: Hiroshima and Potsdam”. He argues that the dropping of the atomic bomb “was not needed to end the war or to save lives” but was a message to the Soviet Union. Fifty years after the atomic bomb was dropped, Alperovitz said that the final answer to why the atomic bomb was dropped is “neither essential nor possible”. He also said,”What is important is whether, when the bomb was used, the President and his top advisers understood that it wa not required to avoid a long and costly invasion, as they later claimed and as most Americans still believe.” Alperovitz believes that if the bomb was not used, Japan might still have been made to surrender before the first American landing on the island of Kyushu.…

    • 745 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    DBQ Atomic Bomb

    • 639 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In August of 1945, the United States launched two atomic bombs on Japan; the first, in Hiroshima on August 6, and the second in Nagasaki a few days later. Despite the obvious diplomatic advantage to implementing one of the most intimidating weapons of that time, the United States’ tactics and goals behind dropping the atomic bombs were purely military oriented; the political benefit was merely an added bonus. The atomic bomb was necessary due to the Japanese’s refusal to surrender and the hundreds of thousands of lives at stake.…

    • 639 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The money that was involved in the creation of the atomic bomb was tremendous. It was massive, if it wasn’t experimented on then it was believed that the Americans would be highly disappointed. After the Japanese attack, President Truman took that as a great opportunity to use the bombing. The outcome was successful because it caused an atrocious amount of deaths in…

    • 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
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The atomic bomb shouldn’t have been used in World War 2 to defeat Japan. America could have used other alternatives then the deadly atomic bomb. President Truman should of waited a few more weeks for russia to declare war on Japan. The thought of invasion by both of America and Russia probably had an even more scared effect on the Japanese government then the Atomic Bombs. America could of also continue the conventional bombings and blockade.…

    • 141 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Warfare would be forever changed after the introduction of nuclear weaponry and through the United State’s unprecedented newfound power, they would play a major role in the conflicts to come. The atomic bombings introduced an age of nuclear weaponry, and resulted in the increased tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States after the Potsdam Conference, which eventually lead to the Cold War. Had Truman not decided to show Stalin the extents of his country’s power, and been backed by the confidence of this nuclear failsafe at the Potsdam conference, tensions may not have risen to such an all time high in the years to come, however one thing that is for sure is that the destruction caused by these bombs not only heightened international conflicts, but also had detrimental effects to residents who survived the bombings. Even today, Hiroshima and Nagasaki have higher concentrations of radiation and diseases which arose after the bombings continue to ail those who live there. Hiroshima and Nagasaki never truly will always be in the shadow of the atomic bomb, and the decimation of these cities will go on in history as one of Truman’s biggest…

    • 940 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    After 4 years of U.S. fighting in WWII, the country was exhausted from the war and the loss of American lives. The completion of the atomic bomb testing in July 1945 was timely and its effectiveness was reassuring. Finally, Truman wanted to ensure the Soviet Union could not stake claim to any post-war agreements with Japan, as he did with Germany during the Potsdam Conference. The U.S. had learned from Iwo Jima and Okinawa that fighting Japan would be costly and lengthy.…

    • 1232 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the mid 1900’s the term Cold War would be used to describe the relationship between the United States and the USSR. With the United States possessing a powerful weapon known as the atomic bomb; the USSR would not be long behind them after World War II with their own atomic bomb. During this time period the USSR and the United States relationship would dissolve because of the United States holding back information at the Yalta Conference. The Cold War would greatly affect the civil liberties and the election politics in the United States. Although neither side ever fought the other if one side attacked the other it would lead to World War III.…

    • 561 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    By dropping the atomic bomb, we were able to put an end to a war that could have continued for many more years. Though there was much controversy over the bomb, Truman, our president at the time, apprised America saying he was quite thankful for it and celebrated the scientific achievements of the minds that created it. America was the first country to create something of this caliber and he wanted us to realize how great it was. The pragmatic decision helped America to establish its military power on a global scale. It is believed that Japan did not believe that we had a weapon that could cause so much destruction, so we had no choice but to show them. The Japanese people do not believe in surrendering, they see it as dishonorable and are…

    • 314 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A President’s Role During the Second World War, about 350,000 Americans died compared to the 7 million Russians that were sacrificed. By focusing on the negative aspects of the atomic bomb dropping, one may overlook the fact that a president’s first priority is to protect and secure the welfare of his/her people and Truman did just that by dropping the bomb. Chief Executive Harry S. Truman fully knew that his decision to drop the atomic bomb would cause damage beyond imagination, but he had no other choice because the Japanese were reluctant and were highly unlikely to surrender. Even with the sea blockade enforced by the United States, the Japanese displayed little to no sign of giving up. President Truman’s decision to drop the atomic…

    • 944 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Atomic Bomb DBQ

    • 757 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The United States dropping on atomic bomb on Hiroshima was one of the most controversial topics of 1945. Many believe that the United States decision to drop this atomic bomb on Hiroshima, was a diplomatic measure intended to scare the Soviet Union after the Second World War; however, this is untrue. The United States decision to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima was done entirely to scare the Japanese army, and force them to surrender.…

    • 757 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays