Why Did President Truman Dropped The Atomic Bomb?
When President Harry Truman made the decision to drop the first ever atomic bomb, did he saves lives or did he create a whole new Pandora's box that we would continue to struggle with today? After gathering facts and meeting with our Allies such as the Soviet Union, he believed that dropping the atomic bomb would make the Japanese surrender quickly saving lives in the long run.
There were many factors that went into the decision that President Truman made. After the bloody battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, American soldiers and the American government realized that the Japanese would fight to the end. They did not believe they were "beaten" but they believed they were luring the American troops to their turf where they could fight a better battle in their rugged terrain. This made President Truman's decision a bit easier since he believed that he was saving the lives of not only Americans but Japanese people as well. In Harry Truman's Diary and Papers, he writes a letter to Senator Richard Russell saying, "My object is to save as many American lives as possible but I also have a humane feeling for the women and children in Japan."
Although the United States had dropped over 63 million leaflets across Japan warning of air strikes in …show more content…
major Japanese cities, many people were afraid to leave or were stopped from leaving Hiroshima and other major cities. In fact, if you were caught with one of the United States leaflets that warned you to evacuate, you were arrested or killed. The government controlled what the people did and what they thought. They claimed that the United States leaflets were propaganda.
On July 26, 1945, the Potsdam Declaration outlined the terms for Japan to surrender.
It was an "ultimatum" to force the Japanese government to surrender or else the Allies of the United States and United Nations would attack Japan from all sides. On July 29, 1945, their leader Premier Suzuki scorned the ultimatum and actually told his people to increase the Japanese aircraft production. He felt he could still win the war against the United States by increasing his air strikes. After reflection, President Truman took into account that Premier Suzuki would not surrender freely. In fact, the 3,500 Kamikaze airplane raids from Japanese suicide bombers were proof that they were going to fight to the
end.
Eight days later on August 6, 1945, President Truman ordered the release of the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima. More than 90,000 to 146,000 people were killed. Since Hiroshima was a military base for the Japanese, many of the deaths included Japanese military. Almost half of the deaths were within the first day of the bombing but many more died later due to illness from the atomic bomb.
On August 9, the second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki killing more than 39,000 to 80,000 people many of whom were innocent civilians. Unlike Hiroshima with its military population, Nagasaki was full of women and children. Not only did the bombs kill people, they pulverized and ruined buildings within another 10 square miles and damaged another 7 to 8 miles away from the epicenter. It was a rude awakening to Premier Suzuki and his comrades.
Two days later on August 10, 1945, Japan declared they would surrender. They accepted the terms of the Potsdam Declaration terms on August 14th but it took another 3 weeks to actually get them to sign the surrender papers. On September 2, 1945, they signed the agreement which officially ended the World War II. It took so long for the Japanese to actually sign the agreement because they needed to make sure their people would accept the idea of surrendering. It was feared from the government officials that the people would overturn the government and seize control. A guerrilla war could begin if the people of Japan did not agree to surrender. It could be a disaster. However, the people agreed to surrender ending the war.
Maybe it was the actual atomic bomb that caused the war to end or maybe it was the fear of more atomic bombs to come that caused the war to end. It has been said that President Truman was also sending a subliminal message to the Soviet Union to fear the United States power. General MacArthur predicted that 50,000 American deaths would occur during this war. Unfortunately, it was many more deaths both Japanese and Americans. Although many say that Japan was ready to surrender before the atomic bomb, there is proof that they were ready to continue fighting. They ordered more airplanes and refused to go along with the Potsdam Declaration. They arrested civilians that believed the United States leaflets warnings. Their army thought they were winning by luring the Americans to fight on their turf with their difficult terrain. They were told they were going to win or fight to the end.
It is a difficult decision to decide the fate of so many innocent people. Even though you can warn them of the dangers that lie ahead, it is not really possible to factor in all of the components that make up a war. The influence that the government has over people leads people to make decisions that are best for them. It was the decision of President Harry Truman to protect the United States from more casualties and more financial burdens produced by the war with Japan. It was a tremendous decision that had to be made and one that would carry a tremendous consequence either way. It did end the war quicker than a prolonged war which probably saved more lives but we will never know the true answer.
However, it did open a "Pandora's Box" to the future of war with these types of weapons of mass destruction. Is is better to quickly extinguish lives in order to prevent more casualties? That is still the unanswered question that we will continue to debate.
There were many factors that went into the decision that President Truman made. After the bloody battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, American soldiers and the American government realized that the Japanese would fight to the end. They did not believe they were "beaten" but they believed they were luring the American troops to their turf where they could fight a better battle in their rugged terrain. This made President Truman's decision a bit easier since he believed that he was saving the lives of not only Americans but Japanese people as well. In Harry Truman's Diary and Papers, he writes a letter to Senator Richard Russell saying, "My object is to save as many American lives as possible but I also have a humane feeling for the women and children in Japan."
Although the United States had dropped over 63 million leaflets across Japan warning of air strikes in …show more content…
major Japanese cities, many people were afraid to leave or were stopped from leaving Hiroshima and other major cities. In fact, if you were caught with one of the United States leaflets that warned you to evacuate, you were arrested or killed. The government controlled what the people did and what they thought. They claimed that the United States leaflets were propaganda.
On July 26, 1945, the Potsdam Declaration outlined the terms for Japan to surrender.
It was an "ultimatum" to force the Japanese government to surrender or else the Allies of the United States and United Nations would attack Japan from all sides. On July 29, 1945, their leader Premier Suzuki scorned the ultimatum and actually told his people to increase the Japanese aircraft production. He felt he could still win the war against the United States by increasing his air strikes. After reflection, President Truman took into account that Premier Suzuki would not surrender freely. In fact, the 3,500 Kamikaze airplane raids from Japanese suicide bombers were proof that they were going to fight to the
end.
Eight days later on August 6, 1945, President Truman ordered the release of the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima. More than 90,000 to 146,000 people were killed. Since Hiroshima was a military base for the Japanese, many of the deaths included Japanese military. Almost half of the deaths were within the first day of the bombing but many more died later due to illness from the atomic bomb.
On August 9, the second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki killing more than 39,000 to 80,000 people many of whom were innocent civilians. Unlike Hiroshima with its military population, Nagasaki was full of women and children. Not only did the bombs kill people, they pulverized and ruined buildings within another 10 square miles and damaged another 7 to 8 miles away from the epicenter. It was a rude awakening to Premier Suzuki and his comrades.
Two days later on August 10, 1945, Japan declared they would surrender. They accepted the terms of the Potsdam Declaration terms on August 14th but it took another 3 weeks to actually get them to sign the surrender papers. On September 2, 1945, they signed the agreement which officially ended the World War II. It took so long for the Japanese to actually sign the agreement because they needed to make sure their people would accept the idea of surrendering. It was feared from the government officials that the people would overturn the government and seize control. A guerrilla war could begin if the people of Japan did not agree to surrender. It could be a disaster. However, the people agreed to surrender ending the war.
Maybe it was the actual atomic bomb that caused the war to end or maybe it was the fear of more atomic bombs to come that caused the war to end. It has been said that President Truman was also sending a subliminal message to the Soviet Union to fear the United States power. General MacArthur predicted that 50,000 American deaths would occur during this war. Unfortunately, it was many more deaths both Japanese and Americans. Although many say that Japan was ready to surrender before the atomic bomb, there is proof that they were ready to continue fighting. They ordered more airplanes and refused to go along with the Potsdam Declaration. They arrested civilians that believed the United States leaflets warnings. Their army thought they were winning by luring the Americans to fight on their turf with their difficult terrain. They were told they were going to win or fight to the end.
It is a difficult decision to decide the fate of so many innocent people. Even though you can warn them of the dangers that lie ahead, it is not really possible to factor in all of the components that make up a war. The influence that the government has over people leads people to make decisions that are best for them. It was the decision of President Harry Truman to protect the United States from more casualties and more financial burdens produced by the war with Japan. It was a tremendous decision that had to be made and one that would carry a tremendous consequence either way. It did end the war quicker than a prolonged war which probably saved more lives but we will never know the true answer.
However, it did open a "Pandora's Box" to the future of war with these types of weapons of mass destruction. Is is better to quickly extinguish lives in order to prevent more casualties? That is still the unanswered question that we will continue to debate.