ipl-logo

Essay On Why The Truman Dropped The Atomic Bomb

882 Words4 Pages

On August 6, 1945 the world changed as U.S President Truman made the decision to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. A difficult decision to make but, Truman made the right one in effort to preserve his own interest of American lives and resources and to swiftly end a war against the aggressive Japanese; while Japan was near to yielding, the assurance the atomic bomb brought of their Empire’s surrender was too vital against such a vicious opponent. Truman dropped the bomb to spare the lives of his own American soldiers; it is not that Truman had disregard for Japanese lives, but that the Japanese had no regard for American lives fueling his decision. This can be seen in his speech after dropping the bomb, “We have used it against those who attacked us without warning at Pearl Harbor, against those who have starved and beaten and executed American prisoners of war, against those who have abandoned the pretense of obeying …show more content…

The idea of saving cutting casualties and quickly ending a bloody war in one display of raw power was tantalizing and irresistible. There is no question as to why Truman dropped the atomic bombs. It clearly had little initial ramifications compared to the copious amounts of advantages it offered for the Americans. Had Japan been given the chance to drop two atomic bombs, based on their behaviour throughout the war, they would have dropped them on American cities. However, just because the Japanese would have done the same to the Americans does not make it correct, but ultimately it justifies it. No country came into World War II simply to participate, people were there to claim victory and in essence, the Americans did what they had to do to win against one of the most brutal adversaries the world had

Show More
Related
642 Words | 3 Pages

But he had no compelling reason to do so. The bomb provided a promising way to bring about a prompt Japanese surrender without the disadvantages of other alternatives, and in Truman’s mind, its use did not require a lengthy consideration” (Walker pg. 96). After the bombs were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, people decided that the bombs were actually required. The people thought that if the bombs weren’t dropped, thousands of American lives would have died while America invaded Japan. The problem with this logic is that many people died in those bombings.

Read More
301 Words | 2 Pages

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).

Read More
523 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More
424 Words | 2 Pages

The Bombing of Hiroshima The bombing of Hiroshima was the right thing to do due to the military lives that were going to be lost if the bomb did not get dropped, America also wanted to impress Russia or intimidate them by dropping it and the president saw this opportunity to make japan surrender as well. This all supports the main point on why it was the right thing to do but many to all Japanese say otherwise Lots of soldiers lost their lives because of the conflict with japan, in document B, it states,”123,000 Japanese and Americans killed each other”. Paul Fussell, a WWII soldier also stated, ”war is immoral, war is cruel”. This is speaking for all the soldiers in the war or most of them, this also means that he doesn’t like war and it would

Read More
645 Words | 3 Pages

Truman’s decision to bomb Japan was right for many reasons. One piece of evidence that shows Truman made the right decision is when Japan captured our American troops and kept them as prisoners, they beat and starved them and even went as far as executing them, he talks about this in his radio report to the American people. " against those who have starved and beaten and executed American prisoners of war" (DocF). A second piece of evidence that shows Truman made the right decision is he was just trying to save the lives of thousands and thousands of young Americans. He talks about both of these pieces of evidence in his radio to the American people. "

Read More
312 Words | 2 Pages

Chase Nagel Mrs. Kilker College U.S. History II April 10, 2024 Atomic Bomb Controversy Yes, Harry Truman should have dropped the atomic bombs. The dropping of the atomic bombs was revenge for what Japan had done during the war. Japan had slyly attacked Pearl Harbor by air strike, therefore, it was fair for America to do the same. Throughout the war, Japan also committed numerous war crimes on surrounding countries.

Read More
608 Words | 3 Pages

Looking at the statistics and charts during the war, the Unites States was already winning the war and the body count and death rate was way lower than the japanese where. If the U.S army stuck to the Island hopping campaign or operation downfall than the war would've still been won by the U.S. History would've turned out way different if the president did not give the order to fire the bomb. Maybe we could of had more allies. President Truman was not justified because of the way that he didn’t really have a plan,There were so many other operations and plans that could've works only if they tried or thought more clearly.(option #1: Invade Japan (operation downfall) President truman could have took many different paths instead of dropping the bomb and ending the war and frightening the Russians.

Read More
910 Words | 4 Pages

Dropping a nuke on a country can cause lots of difficulty. The Americans dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima was the most controversial topics in American history. Truman was the active president who made the final decision for this act. Many people believe that Truman made the correct decision while others are in complete disagreement with the decision. President Truman made the correct choice in dropping the atomic bomb because it showed the United States had power, it helped end the war quickly, and saved many lives.

Read More
378 Words | 2 Pages

Paul Ryan once said, “If we don't make tough decisions today our children are going to have to make much, much tougher decisions tomorrow.” This is relevant to Harry Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bomb because he had to make a difficult decision that affected many people and their children. Harry Truman made the right decision in dropping the atomic bomb. The atom bomb should have been dropped because it saved millions of American lives. Also, the atomic bomb was an extreme form of revenge for the attack of Pearl Harbor.

Read More
530 Words | 3 Pages

Talking about atomic bombs makes the hair stand up on my arms. Those words used together are very powerful and very frightening. In 1945, there were many reasonings considered in using atomic weapons and not using these atomic weapons. Truman decided to drop the atomic bomb, and that forever changed the way that people view these bombs. The morally good reason that President Truman decided to use atomic weapons is, because I believe that he believed that it would end the war quicker.

Read More
852 Words | 4 Pages

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.

Read More
700 Words | 3 Pages

Was the Atomic Bomb Necessary? It was necessary for the United States to drop the atomic bomb on Japan. Truman’s decision to do this was because of the american lives, the Pearl Harbor in general, and bringing an end to it all. This all began when Japan attacked the Pearl Harbor and, for precautions, the U.S. Interned Japanese people here in our country.

Read More
881 Words | 4 Pages

Truman and the Atomic Bomb In 1945 President Roosevelt died of a cerebral hemorrhage, leaving his vice president Truman in charge of ending the war in the pacific with Japan. Truman was left with a plan to invade Japan and end the war in that way. Two weeks into Truman’s presidency he got word of a new type of bomb that could end the war quickly. Truman had to make a hard decision.

Read More
863 Words | 4 Pages

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. With the controversy over whether or not Truman should have dropped the bomb, some consider the decision irrational and unnecessary.

Read More
581 Words | 3 Pages

President Harry Truman gave an executive order in 1945 to drop to atomic bombs in popular downtown cities in Japan. With the guidance of many scientists and political leaders President Truman made the extremely tough decision to drop the bombs. After listening to arguments from both sides President Truman came to the conclusion that dropping bombs would be the best thing to do for this war. It would also show that the United States had an extreme military power. Many American politicians were for the idea of dropping the bomb, because they believed that it was the only way to end the war and get Japan to surrender.

Read More

More about Essay On Why The Truman Dropped The Atomic Bomb

Related Topics

Open Document