Truman’s Decision To Bomb Japan In World War II †Free Samples

Question: Discuss about the Trumans Decision To Bomb Japan In World War II. Answer: 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, Trumans 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 other. Many Americans were led to believe that the Jaspanese emperor Hirohito was the reason behind Japan launching an aggressive war against enemies. Japanese also embodied a true Japanese spirit into emperor Hirohito. In mid-July of 1945, Truman met British secretary Clement Attlee and Soviet leader Josef Stalin in Postdam conference, to ensure Soviet participation in the war against Japan and to rebuild the future of Europe with the knowledge of successful testing of the bomb in New Mexico desert prior to attending the conference (Selden Selden, 2015). Finally, Truman, Attlee and the nationalist government of china declared the result of Postdam conference that announced that Japan will face utter destruction unless they surrender (Messer, 2017). Historians have had differing views both in support for and against the decision. Some revisionist historians argued that the Americans wanted Japan to surrender before Soviet could make entry into the pacific war. Andrew Rotter argued that Truman wanted to save American lives as well as win the battle against Japan without minimal loss. Thomas Zeiler concluded in the chronicled of post-bombing brutality that the bombing was done out of military reasons rather than political reasons (Prados, 2013). Historians also feel that the bigger shock and total surrender from Japan was observed not by the bombings, but when Soviet declared a war against Japan two days after the bombs were dropped (Wilson, 2013). Japanese historian Yuki Tanaka said that Soviet would destroy the age-old imperial system and execute the royal family. A survey revealed that 85% among the American citizens were in support of the bombings (Messer, 2017). Although the percentage of Americans dropped to a much lower number at present, only the older people now stick to their opinion in support for the decision. Americans were fearing the aggressive Japanese military actions and both the countries were hostile towards the others race. Professor of History in Harvard University, Charles Maier argued in an interview that it would have been very difficult for Truman to justify the prolongation of the war, which would have brought a great number of casualties to the American soldiers and citizens alike, when he was already aware of the nuclear weapon at his disposal. President Truman can never be dismissed as impatient in taking his decisions. He had explored every option at his hand before declaring the ultimatum against Japan. On the other hand, pressure was building in the military situations in both the camps. President Truman did what he could do to secure the lives of the American citizens. Conclusion: Million lives were lost within a few days of the two bombings. Lingering radioactive effects of the nuclear bombs on Japanese people caused lifelong incurable diseases. Regardless of the unavoidable circumstances leading to taking the decision to bomb, as has been discussed above, the lives of half million innocent Japanese were put in permanent misery. Although America successfully ended with a victory over the Pacific war, the common peoples miseries were unbearable and haunt them till date. References: Herken, G. (2014).The Winning Weapon: The Atomic Bomb in the Cold War, 1945-1950. Princeton University Press. Messer, R. L. (2017).The End of an Alliance: James F. Byrnes, Roosevelt, Truman, and the Origins of the Cold War. UNC Press Books. Prados, J. (2013). Of Spies and Stratagems.A Companion to World War II, Volume I II, 482-500. Reed, B. C. (2014). The Manhattan Project.Physica Scripta,89(10), 108003. Selden, K. I., Selden, M. (2015).The Atomic bomb: voices from Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Routledge. Walker, J. S. (2016).Prompt and utter destruction: Truman and the use of atomic bombs against Japan. UNC Press Books. Wilson, W. (2013). The Bomb Didnt Beat Japan Stalin Did.Foreign Policy.