Truman's Decision to Bomb Japan in World War II

Running head: TRUMAN’S DECISION TO BOMB JAPAN IN WORLD WAR II
TRUMAN’S DECISION TO BOMB JAPAN IN WORLD WAR II
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TRUMAN’S DECISION TO BOMB JAPAN IN WORLD WAR II
Table of Contents
Introduction:....................................................................................................................................2
Discusssion:.....................................................................................................................................2
Conclusion:......................................................................................................................................4
References:......................................................................................................................................5

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TRUMAN’S DECISION TO BOMB JAPAN IN WORLD WAR II
Introduction:
The bombs were developed by and with the supervision of Dwight D. Eisenhower,
Douglas McArthur, William Leahy and assistant secretary of war John J. McCloy. The two
bombs were dropped on two cities of Japan – Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9 in
1945, respectively. Apart from the indelible scar that the bombs had left on the human history,
there has been a long history of bombings. The focus of this essay will be the decision of
bombing the Japanese cities and whether it was made with a view to end the long term hostility
between the two nations and make Japan surrender to the US and its allies in Second World War.
Discussion:
There is a long debate regarding the bombings. Erstwhile American president Truman,
within two weeks of being sworn in as president, was informed by Stimson, who were the
secretary of War at that time, that within four months the most dangerous weapon would be
ready for use (Herken, 2014). However, Truman was not of the opinion of using the bombs.
Even the scientists in the Manhattan project were divided between a camp that wished to use the
bombs to use where it is “most effective” and to have a “military demonstration in Japan.”
(Reed, 2014). American government also tried to assure Soviet Russia that Germany will not
make a solid comeback into the war. The military surrender of Japan was necessary at this point
in the war in order to consolidate the powers of Western nations. Secondly, Truman’s decision
was indirectly affected by previous president Roosevelt legacy that states “unconditional
surrender” of the enemies to end the war. On May 8, 1945, as Germans surrendered
unconditionally, Americans’ desire for total victory in the pacific were growing more intense.
Even the two nations, America and Japan were having extreme racial hostility towards each