President Truman's Decision To Drop The Atomic Bombs

Lucas Goldoni
US2
Mr. Oosting
12/15/14
Decision to Drop the Atomic Bombs Essay President Truman was justified in using atomic weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August of 1945. As commander-in Chief of US Armed forces, President Truman was responsible for the men and women in harms way. Americans and Japanese were dying, suffering life-altering injuries and experiencing torture and deprivation in prison camps each day the war raged. Additionally, it is important to look at the cultural elements of Japan, , the possible invasion of Japan, and the American morale during this time, when addressing the justification of Truman's decision. Although the Americans had been "winning" before the bombing of Japan, the war was still raging and the Japanese were fully engaged in desperate attacks, including suicide missions, against American personnel. Despite military losses and firebombing of Tokyo and other cities, Japanese leaders were intent on continuing the war and exhorting their soldiers and civilians to fight to death. American soldiers, engaged in horrific
fighting in the Pacific islands of Iwo Jima and Okinawa , witnessed the heartbreaking results of Imperial Propaganda as Japanese women killed their own children and themselves in fear of being taken alive by the 'barbaric' Americans. Japanese soldiers refused to surrender even when they were clearly defeated, preferring to die and take as many Americans with them as they could. The idea of fighting to death was summed up under the Code of Bushido, the strict warrior code of Japan. The code demanded many things of the Japanese warriors, including loyalty, devotion, honor to the death, and self sacrifice. The Japanese did everything they could to honor this code, including systematically enslaving and brutalizing non-Japanese populations across Asia, and subjecting allied prisoners to torture, deprivation, and humiliation. This gave America and President Truman even more reason to end fighting as soon as possible. As the atomic bomb was being developed, it was by no means a "sure thing" and plans were well underway to invade the island of Japan under Operation Downfall. This invasion would have produced the most casualties, on both sides, than any other operation in all of World War II (1.2 million casualties were estimated on the American side). Had America followed through with the invasion on Japan, it would have also produced the most civilian casualties (second to the systematic destruction of the Jews in Germany), but far more than the result of the two atomic bombs. Searching for means of surrender without facing a severe amount of casualties, the United States, Britain, and China issued surrender terms and a warning to Japan, under the Potsdam Declaration, published on July 26th, 1945.
The ultimatum included a series of surrender terms as well as stated that if Japan did not surrender, it would face "prompt and utter destruction". Although the statement had been somewhat vague (for safety purposes of the United States), Japan did nothing in response to the threat itself. After the first bombing on Hiroshima on August 6th, President Truman further warned Japan, stating in a speech that if Japan failed to accept the terms of the Potsdam Declaration, that the nation could "expect a rain of ruin from the air, the like of which has never been seen on this earth". Even after the first bomb dropped on the city of Hiroshima, the Japanese were still unwilling to
surrender. When the American public first heard about the use of the atomic bomb, most were simply happy due to the fact that it meant that American troops could come home, safe, and finally out of the war. American soldiers had been diminished and exhausted by the end of the war, and everyone was solely searching for a way out. With the desperation that war brings about, it is necessary for the leader of a nation to undergo all that he possibly can to bring about the victory of his nation. Dealing with an absolutely adamant nation such as Japan, Truman had no better alternative than to drop the bomb, and did so after numerous warnings and propositions to the enemy, that had been utterly rejected. President Truman was justified in using atomic weapons on both the cities of Hiroshima (August 6, 1945) and Nagasaki (August 9th, 1945), because to refuse such an opportunity he had to bring his nation out of misery and into success, under the given circumstances, would have been extraordinarily wrong.