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Was Truman Justified In His Decision To

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Was Truman Justified In His Decision To
Was Truman justified in his decision to drop the Atomic Bomb?

On August 6th, 1945, the United States dropped the first ever Atomic weapon on Hiroshima, Japan. 140,000 people lost their lives, most of which were civilians. President Truman was in charge of this major decision, and he made the correct choice. The alternative solutions were much too costly for the United States, both in expenses and American casualties. Another reason Truman’s decision is justified was due to the declination of the fair ultimatum recieved by Japan. Also it was important to the well being of the world to keep the Soviets out of Japan. Dropping the Atomic Bomb was the most reliable and definite way to end the war.

A key reason for Truman’s decision to drop the Atomic Bomb was the alternative options were not proper solutions. Dropping the bomb wasn’t the only considered option. The main “runner up” was a mass invasion of Japan. This idea was very dangerous. The casualties for the US were projected to be over 1,000,000 soldiers, and 5,000,000 japanese soldiers. One of the other alternatives was the idea of displaying to true power of the atomic weapon to Japan through a test. Such an idea had way too many flaws to be applicable. There was only enough Plutonium and Uranium available to the US for two bombs, (Little Boy, Fat Man). Also this idea was a risk because if the weapon did not detonate, the US would look even weaker to the Japanese. The idea of barricading the Japanese was also a considered solution, using Naval vessels to trap the Japanese in until the US “starved them out”. The fault in this idea was the unreasonable amount of time and resources it would consume. After weighing the options, and thinking it through carefully, President Truman made the correct choice to drop the bomb.

Another reason that Truman would be justified for his decision to drop the Atomic Bomb would be the type of enemy he was up against. The Japanese were some of the most notoriously stubborn

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