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Why Truman Chose to Drop the Atomic Bomb

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Why Truman Chose to Drop the Atomic Bomb
America's decision to use the atomic bomb on Japan was only done to assert our position over the Soviet Union, and Japan's surrender was only an extra accomplishment of the attack. During the years 1939 to 1947, numerous conferences were held to discuss diplomatic matters, and the strive towards getting Japan to accept an unconditional surrender. The Japanese had already been weakened, and the military predicted that they would eventually be forced to surrender in a short amount of time. Even the scientists who worked on the atomic bomb agreed that it was unnecessary to drop the bomb on Japan, since their surrender would be evident in the near future. Therefore, the United States' decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan had nothing to do with forcing the Japanese to surrender; it was only done to intimidate the Soviet Union.
Eisenhower met with Truman in July of 1945 to convince him that the Soviet Union would not accept anything besides a full Japanese surrender. (Doc.C) This strengthens the idea that the United States only dropped the bomb because it was a necessary precaution to keep Soviet forces out of the war in Japan. During WWII, it was necessary to form a temporary alliance with the Soviet Union in order to defeat Germany. Both sides knew that the other couldn't be trusted, yet they needed to defeat their common enemy: Adolf Hitler. However, after the Potsdam Conference, Truman announced that the atomic bomb was complete, and ready to be used. (Doc.E) No longer would the United States need aid from Russia for protection against German forces. The completion of the atomic bomb ultimately put the United States in the top diplomatic position out of the Great Powers. The Soviet Union wasn't actually informed about the completion of the bomb, yet they still found about the Manhattan Project through espionage. Subsequently, in August of 1945, during a radio address, Truman justified his own reasons for dropping the atomic bomb on Japan. (Doc.H) He concluded
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