Truman And The Atomic Bomb Essay

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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. In August 1945 the first, and last atomic bombs were used in war. For various reasons, Truman had chose the best option for ending the war. In 1945 the war in Europe just ended and the Allied Nations were looking for a way to make sure a world war did not break out again. Although the war had ended, Russia still had control over Poland, and America was concerned that Russia might continue to take land. Meanwhile in the pacific, America was still in a war with Japan. America’s military was within bombing distance and was firebombing more than 60 cities into ashes. The firebombing did not make the Japanese lose hope. Due to the Japanese samurai beliefs the soldier only had two outcomes on the field and it was victory or honorable death. The samurai beliefs meant that Japan either going to win or die trying. Truman learned of a new type of bomb known as the atomic bomb two weeks into his presidency. No one knew the long term effects of the bomb, but Truman saw an …show more content…

The bombing sites caused instant death, but they also caused cancer, burns, and radiation poisoning all from the radiation given off from the explosions. When America bombed Japan using the atomic bombs they did not know the long term effects of the bombs. The bombing sites are still uninhabitable to this day. Morally the atomic bombs were not the right option. Many innocent people suffered from the bombs, and many people did not even get closure because their loved ones bodies were