The Role Of Truman In Dropping The Atomic Bomb

A President’s Role
During the Second World War, about 350,000 Americans died compared to the 7 million Russians that were sacrificed. By focusing on the negative aspects of the atomic bomb dropping, one may overlook the fact that a president’s first priority is to protect and secure the welfare of his/her people and Truman did just that by dropping the bomb. Chief Executive Harry S. Truman fully knew that his decision to drop the atomic bomb would cause damage beyond imagination, but he had no other choice because the Japanese were reluctant and were highly unlikely to surrender. Even with the sea blockade enforced by the United States, the Japanese displayed little to no sign of giving up. President Truman’s decision to drop the atomic
bomb was in fact proper because he fulfilled his role as president by doing so. The dropping of the atomic bomb was the last and best resort for Truman because it made sure that war ended as quickly as possible without risking any more American lives. Although many believed that Japan was eventually going to surrender, their actions proved that America’s only option left was to drop the atom bomb. The Japanese did not attend the Potsdam conference, which was where the Big Three negotiated terms for the end of World War II. This action clearly demonstrates that the Japanese had no interest in surrendering because the conference was basically the discussion of surrendering. Former Ambassador to Japan, Joseph C. Grew quotes that Prime Minister Suzuki thought that the Potsdam conference was “unworthy of public notice,” and rejected the invitation. The United States even invited the Japanese government and military leaders to witness firsthand, the effects of the atomic bomb during the test demonstration of an atomic bomb, in hope that it would persuade them to surrender. Harry S. Truman states, “If the test of the bomb was successful, I wanted to afford Japan a clear, chance to end the fighting before we made use of this newly gained power.” This sheds light on the fact that the United States did in fact, give the Japanese a chance to surrender and they refused. Truman ensured that Japan had the clear opportunity to end the war. He promised to allow the Japanese dynasty to persist even after they surrender, but the Japanese had too much pride and wanted to “save face.”
Furthermore, even though the development of the atomic bomb opened a new doorway to highly dangerous military equipment, the bomb ultimately saved the lives of millions of Americans.
If the bomb did not work as planned, General Marshall predicted that in order to do the same amount of damage inflicted by the bomb, they would need over half a million Americans to risk their lives in order for Japan to surrender. President Truman knew very well that the dropping of the atomic bomb would cause an unimaginable amount of damage, but he knew that in order to end the war and save American lives, it was worth the risk of not knowing what would truly happen. Even though Truman could not predict what would follow after the dropping of the atom bomb, he had a good sense of the effects mainly because of the test in New Mexico. Besides that, Truman knew for sure that the bomb would end the war whereas if he were to wait it out with the sea blockade, he would have to run the risk of losing even more Americans. The Secretary of War briefly mentions, “...no indication of any weakening in the Japanese determination to fight.” In addition, Stimson mentions that the military strength of Japan alone would result in more than 1 million casualties to the American forces because they had an estimated 5 million men and 5 thousand suicide aircrafts who were armed and ready to attack. The Japanese’s persistence would result in the death of many Americans and as the President of the United States, Truman was definitely unwilling to risk the lives of millions of Americans when he could just end the war in a timely manner by dropping the
bomb.
In the long run, the dropping of the atomic bomb gave Americans a sense of security and superiority, which made Truman’s decision one of the best options left. A sense that they were protected by the preeminent United States because now the U.S. has leverage over Russia. Detonating the atomic bomb was crucial for the United States to show the U.S.S.R. that they were capable of creating a powerful weapon that would potentially kill over a hundred thousand people. The atomic bomb gave America the upperhand in this situation because as we know, the U.S.S.R. and the U.S. during the Cold War, had an arms race. By having something that the U.S.S.R does not have, it gives America more power. James F. Byrnes strongly believed that Russia would not be planning on declaring another war any time soon mainly because Russia sacrificed millions of their people in this World War. This also gave America the upperhand because they did not have to sacrifice as many people due to the bomb, leaving them more prepared for another war if there was one. The bomb ultimately left America ahead of the game and also saved many lives at the same time.
In conclusion, although many may still believe that Truman’s decision was not proper, one must acknowledge the fact that the bomb did potentially save millions of Americans and also left Americans feeling seemingly superior and safe. Japan left America no choice but to drop the bomb because they refused to surrender, despite the many attempts to convince them otherwise.