Trumans Decision regarding the Atomic Bombs - Research Paper Example

Download file to see previous pages... produced and finally in the early morning of July 16, 1945, the first successful testing of an Atomic bomb was conducted at the Trinity test site at Alamogordo, New Mexico. During this time, the allied forces had already captured Germany, but Japan continued to fight the war even with the clear indication of their little chance of winning. It was estimated that in the period between mid-April to mid-July in 1945 Japan displayed ferocity by killing massive number of allied forces. The Japanese government even rejected the proposal made in Potsdam Declaration that proposed the Japanese armed forces to surrender or else face “prompt and utter destruction” (The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki). Truman believed that the destruction caused by the Atomic bomb in the Japanese cities would place America in a formidable position amongst the other powerful nations of the world. Controversies President Truman experienced many dilemmas that influenced his decision to drop the Atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Within two weeks of becoming president, he received a full report on the developmental process of the most expensive war material which stated it as “the most terrible weapon ever known in human history” (Hamby, 18). On 8th May 1945, after Germany surrendered, it was still necessary to defeat the Japanese. Truman’s decision was highly influenced by his past experience of being a combat artillery in the WWI. During that phase he developed a perspective of Japanese fanaticism, and also as American President he wanted to exhibit his diplomatic power by solving the existing difficulties with Soviet Union which was not yet at war with Japan. Many scholars in response to the utter calamity caused by the Atomic bombs professed that Truman deliberately killed and...
Japan was always a losing side since the nation’s military power was in no way a match for the U.S. military power. Moreover, by August 1995 fatigue had set in and it was highly possible that the Japanese would surrender by the end of the year. Moreover, I feel the first Atomic bomb could be dropped anywhere near the harbor if the intention was only to scare the Japanese and force them to surrender. Also, I feel the Potsdam Declaration should have been modified, and instead of ordering the Japanese to surrender unconditionally they should have given the chance to say something. There is also the fact that the bomb was dropped on two cities which resulted in deaths of more civilians than soldiers. Finally, the major reason why I cannot support Truman’s decision is that many Japanese people are still suffering from diseases that occurred from the bomb’s radiation. On such grounds which include both political and moral issues, it was an unjustified act by President Truman. ...Download file to see next pagesRead More