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Why Is Truman Justified In Dropping The Atomic Bomb On Japan

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April 12, 1945, president Roosevelt dies of a cerebral hemorrhage. The death of president Roosevelt was shocking and with World war two occurring left many to wonder what would be our next step that next step was getting a new president, his name was Harry Truman. Truman had only been vice president for a short amount of time and had very little experience. Along with this he had also never met president Roosevelt. With the war going on he had to make some quick decisions, which included one that would change history forever, dropping an atomic bomb on Japan to end the war, but was the choice he made the right one? Was Truman justified in dropping the atomic bomb on Japan? After president Roosevelt died and just twelve days into being president "Vice President Harry Truman took office, and was suddenly faced with being the leader who would need to gain total victory over Japan," says Interview Transcripts: The Bomb. He didn't have many options when it came to how they should approach the matter, one of the first options was Operation Olympic which would involve invading Japan the other choice he had was to release a bomb in Japan not with any bomb, but an atomic bomb. This bomb …show more content…

He had a big decision to make and it made a lot of sense to use the atomic bomb, due to it risking less American lives. We had already had many people die and we didn't want it to continue the only American lives who were at risk in the dropping of the bomb were those who had to fly the plane to Japan and drop the bomb. This also had the surprise on Japan, when America arrived in Japan many didn't realize what was happening until after it had occurred. This was good for America, because the Japanese didn't know what we were doing unlike if we had done the Operation Olympic. The bomb also resulted in a quicker surrender from Japan which America had been after. This was the right choice strategically for Truman to

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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.

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As stated the response was not due to the U.S. just wanting to be superior and not wanting to lose to Russia, there could have been more options if more patience was given, and there were many more casualties in this time. This matters because no matter what the situation is there is always a way to go about the situation and come up with the best solution. I feel Truman was not seeing how one thing could harshly affect the world and resulted in deaths. This should matter because every individual should be aware enough to know how badly things may go and not just make a decision so fast. Some might argue that the War ended faster and lives were saved because of this decision that was made.

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Although he did approve of the bomb, Roosevelt was unconcerned about actually dropping the bomb on Japan. Instead he supported the idea that since Germany was possibly looking into the same type of destructive weapon, the U.S. needed to advance in the field in order to prevent detrimental attacks against them. He had the Great Depression on his hands as well and was less motivated during his time to destroy Japan to end the war more efficiently. On the other hand, Truman saw his opportunity of bringing the United States to the end of the war in a quick manner by releasing the bombs since Japan had no intentions of taking an easy surrender. To prevent going through an invasion, Truman made a hasty decision to drop the bombs.

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Harry S. Truman was the 33rd president of the United States, being in office from 1945 to 1953. Truman demonstrates uses of both expressed and inherent powers throughout his presidency. During the years of his first administration, Truman attended the Potsdam Conference alongside Churchill and Stalin to discuss post-war matters regarding the decision to split up Germany. Throughout this time period of war filled with tension among nations, Truman approved the dropping of atomic bombs on Japan in efforts to end the war in the Pacific and prevent any possible future casualties that Japan may inflict on the United States. The first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, and the second was dropped on Nagasaki on August 9.

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This bomb saved many more lives including Japanese, and American. His decision to let this happen ended inhumane fighting all around the world, and saved countless lives. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and in this situation when a war is involved there is no time to linger, but instead come up with a plan that is beneficial. Japan should have been expecting a surrender sooner or later because this was war and they had to expect it. In an extremely reliable source it is stated, “ Nonetheless, I also believe that President Harry Truman’s decision to use the atomic bombs against Japan almost certainly saved lives.”

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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.

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The bombing attacks resulted in 225,000 total casualties, and destruction of both cities. Even though dropping the atomic bombs destroyed both Japanese cities, President Truman’s decision to drop the bomb was justified, because it saved both American and Japanese lives, ended the war quickly, and established the United States as a superpower. In the same fashion

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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.

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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.

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As you can see, soldiers would have had to unnecessarily die for the cause even if the U.S. had the power to end the war. Second, after the bombs were dropped President Truman made a statement to further support the necessity to preserve the union. Truman said, “We have used it to shorten the agony of war, in order to save the lives of thousands and thousands of young Americans”(Doc. I). Clearly displayed here, you can see that Truman was so determined to preserve America, he was willing to introduce a new weapon in order to save the country and all the young patriots in it.

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That was a big deal for him because all he wants was the best for the American people. After his loyalty program for civil servants the government came under attack for loose security after the conviction of Alger. Truman remained active in politics for many years after his retirement. He could go around the country for Democratic candidates and observation on national issues. He was part of the Truman library, which opened on 1957 in Independence,

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There are many reasons why it could be argued that the dropping of the atomic bomb was justified. One reason is that Japan was warned, they were given plenty of opportunities to surrender such as the Potsdam declaration. The Declaration was issued to Japan by President Truman and the Allies of America after America had tested the Atom bomb on July 26th. The declaration was a proposition of surrender to Japan that linked directly to the dropping of the atomic bomb.

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President Truman was treating people even worst by putting them through the torture of the bomb and the resulting effects of the bomb. Time became a major factor into the decision, and dropping the bomb was a result of that fear. On the other side of the argument, the Japanese did bomb Pearl Harbor which was the catalyst that got America involved in the first place. We as a country should not need to compromise with the nation who started the battle.

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