The Role Of Truman In Dropping The Atomic Bomb
A President’s Role
During the Second World War, about 350,000 Americans died compared to the 7 million Russians that were sacrificed. By focusing on the negative aspects of the atomic bomb dropping, one may overlook the fact that a president’s first priority is to protect and secure the welfare of his/her people and Truman did just that by dropping the bomb. Chief Executive Harry S. Truman fully knew that his decision to drop the atomic bomb would cause damage beyond imagination, but he had no other choice because the Japanese were reluctant and were highly unlikely to surrender. Even with the sea blockade enforced by the United States, the Japanese displayed little to no sign of giving up. President Truman’s decision to drop the atomic …show more content…
If the bomb did not work as planned, General Marshall predicted that in order to do the same amount of damage inflicted by the bomb, they would need over half a million Americans to risk their lives in order for Japan to surrender. President Truman knew very well that the dropping of the atomic bomb would cause an unimaginable amount of damage, but he knew that in order to end the war and save American lives, it was worth the risk of not knowing what would truly happen. Even though Truman could not predict what would follow after the dropping of the atom bomb, he had a good sense of the effects mainly because of the test in New Mexico. Besides that, Truman knew for sure that the bomb would end the war whereas if he were to wait it out with the sea blockade, he would have to run the risk of losing even more Americans. The Secretary of War briefly mentions, “...no indication of any weakening in the Japanese determination to fight.” In addition, Stimson mentions that the military strength of Japan alone would result in more than 1 million casualties to the American forces because they had an estimated 5 million men and 5 thousand suicide aircrafts who were armed and ready to attack. The Japanese’s persistence would result in the death of many Americans and as the President of the United States, Truman was definitely unwilling to risk the lives of millions of Americans when he could just end the war in a timely manner by dropping the
During the Second World War, about 350,000 Americans died compared to the 7 million Russians that were sacrificed. By focusing on the negative aspects of the atomic bomb dropping, one may overlook the fact that a president’s first priority is to protect and secure the welfare of his/her people and Truman did just that by dropping the bomb. Chief Executive Harry S. Truman fully knew that his decision to drop the atomic bomb would cause damage beyond imagination, but he had no other choice because the Japanese were reluctant and were highly unlikely to surrender. Even with the sea blockade enforced by the United States, the Japanese displayed little to no sign of giving up. President Truman’s decision to drop the atomic …show more content…
If the bomb did not work as planned, General Marshall predicted that in order to do the same amount of damage inflicted by the bomb, they would need over half a million Americans to risk their lives in order for Japan to surrender. President Truman knew very well that the dropping of the atomic bomb would cause an unimaginable amount of damage, but he knew that in order to end the war and save American lives, it was worth the risk of not knowing what would truly happen. Even though Truman could not predict what would follow after the dropping of the atom bomb, he had a good sense of the effects mainly because of the test in New Mexico. Besides that, Truman knew for sure that the bomb would end the war whereas if he were to wait it out with the sea blockade, he would have to run the risk of losing even more Americans. The Secretary of War briefly mentions, “...no indication of any weakening in the Japanese determination to fight.” In addition, Stimson mentions that the military strength of Japan alone would result in more than 1 million casualties to the American forces because they had an estimated 5 million men and 5 thousand suicide aircrafts who were armed and ready to attack. The Japanese’s persistence would result in the death of many Americans and as the President of the United States, Truman was definitely unwilling to risk the lives of millions of Americans when he could just end the war in a timely manner by dropping the