The dropping of the atomic bomb on Japan ended world war two. The decision to do so was solely that of the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, Harry S. Truman. As President Truman had to ask himself whether or not it was justifiable to use a weapon of untold destructive force. The answer would change the world.
I. The Dropping of the Atomic Bomb
A. How was the atomic bomb created?
1. The atomic bomb was created in the south western desert of the United States under top secret conditions. The Manhattan Project was run by Dr. Robert Oppenheimer, a German Jew who had fled the Nazi's.
2. The Germans and Americans had been racing to complete the bomb first but with Germany's destruction and the persecution of many of her top scientists who were Jewish the German effort was severely hampered.
3. The first atomic bomb was detonated in a test in the New Mexico desert on July 16th 1945. It was considered a spectacular success.
B. Why did Truman decide to drop the atomic bomb?
1. The army estimated that it would have cost between 500,000 to 1,000,000 soldiers lives to mount a successful full scale invasion of Japan.
2. Truman wanted an unconditional surrender of Japan.
For more information on the decision to drop the bomb see hate following web site:
http://www.peak.org/~danneng/decision/decision.htm
C. When was the bomb dropped?
1. President Truman issued his executive order to drop the bomb on July 26th 1945.
2. The Army created a list of 5 military targets and the bomb would be dropped depending on weather conditions. The first available target was the industrial city of Hiroshima.
3. The bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6th 1945. The bombs nickname was "Little Boy."
4. The second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki after the Japanese government failed to offer their unconditional surrender. The bomb, nicknamed "Fat Man" was dropped on August