Truman, the Atomic Bomb, and the Shaping of the Postwar...

Truman, the Atomic Bomb, and the Shaping of the Postwar World ABSTRACT Historians have questioned the decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan in 1945. Evidence shows that President Truman weighed not only military information in his decision to use the bomb, but also considered postwar politics and foreign policy when he considered dropping the atomic bomb on Japan. An analysis of his personal papers offers a different reasoning for using the bomb than what was commonly known at the time. The discrepancy between Truman’s public and private reasoning will be discussed. Many cultural and racial beliefs about the Japanese played into the decision to drop the atomic bomb. The private papers of President Truman as well as the†¦show more content†¦3. The decision to drop the bomb was unanimously supported by Truman’s military advisers. False. General Dwight D. Eisenhaower, Assistant Secretary of War McCloy and other top military leaders urged Truman not to use the atomic bomb, or encouraged the use of other methods first. 4. Japan would not surrender unless defeated on her own soil. I don’t think so. Unfortunately, we will never know the answer to that assumption. It is clear that once the United States broke the Japanese code, information that was not made publicly known by the Japanese could be used to make decisions in policy. Japan sought peace overtures in the Soviet Union. Truman also knew of the emperor’s attempts to seek a peace. The purpose of this paper is to examine the pressures on Harry Truman that led him to authorize the use of atomic bombs on Japan. There are discrepancies in the public reasons that Truman professed for using atomic bombs. His personal diaries record a different reasoning than was presented to the people of the United States and the rest of the world. This paper will also examine the scientists’ opposition to using the atomic bomb. In the video Day After Trinity, some scientists seemed to have a very abstract view of how devastating the bomb would be in realistic human terms. Once the news of the bomb reached the scientists, they seemed shocked and surprised at how savage the weapon was. IShow MoreRelatedUnited States Nuclear Program Essay1195 Words   |  5 Pagesgovern themselves. July 4, 1776 the Declaration of Independence showed the world that America was free from someone else’s rule. As a result, democracy spread around the world as a government by the people, fo r the people, with America at its forefront as a world rolemodel and superpower. The United States Nuclear Program from 1945-1985, was a direct result of the threat of communism to governments and democracies around the world. 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