...You are to take a side and then write an editorial on Harry S Truman’s decision to order the dropping of the atom bomb. HARRY S TRUMAN & THE DECISION TO ORDER THE DROPPING OF THE ATOMIC BOMB Boom! Boom! Seventy thousands Japanese citizens were perished instantly after the first atomic bomb was dropped in Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. Japanese still refused to surrender to Allied forces. On August 9, 1945, with the dropping of the second atomic bomb in Nagasaki, where eighty thousands people were vaporized, Japanese surrendered unconditionally and the World War II ended (“The Decision to Drop the Bomb” 5-6). But was it a right decision of Harry S Truman to end the war with two atomic bombs? Becoming the president of the United States on April 12, 1945 upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S Truman faced with a decision of unprecedented gravity in his life: dropping the atomic bombs in Japan to end the World War II. It was just a matter of opinion whether his decision was right or wrong. But at the time the bombs were dropped, most Americans as wells as Allied forces accepted President Truman’s decision and agreed that the atomic bombs were necessary to end the war quickly before the disastrous invasion of the Japanese mainland could occur. But after that, many people started questioning about President Truman’s decision to order the dropping of the atomic bombs. They believed that dropping two atomic bombs to destroy two cities of Japan helped America generally...
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...Truman During his few weeks as Vice President, Harry S Truman scarcely saw President Roosevelt, and received no briefing on the development of the atomic bomb or the unfolding difficulties with Soviet Russia. Suddenly these and a host of other wartime problems became Truman's to solve when, on April 12, 1945, he became President. Truman was born in Lamar, Missouri, in 1884. He grew up in Independence, and for 12 years prospered as a Missouri farmer. He went to France during World War I as a captain in the Field Artillery. Returning, he married Elizabeth Virginia Wallace, and opened a haberdashery in Kansas City. Active in the Democratic Party, Truman was elected a judge of the Jackson County Court in 1922. He became a Senator in 1934. During World War II he headed the Senate war investigating committee, checking into waste and corruption and saving perhaps as much as 15 billion dollars. As President, Truman made some of the most crucial decisions in history. Soon after the war against Japan had reached its final stage. An urgent plea to Japan to surrender was rejected. Truman, after consultations with his advisers, ordered atomic bombs dropped on cities devoted to war work. Two were Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japanese surrender quickly followed. The first use of an atomic bomb in warfare took place on August 6, 1945. The weapon was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima by the U.S. bomber Enola Gay, instantaneously destroying four square miles in the middle of the population...
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...Harry S. Truman was born on May 8, 1885. His home was Lamar Missouri. He later soon moved to Indpendence, Missouri, in 1890. HIs grandparents, Solomon Young and Anderson Shipp Truman, moved from Kentucky to Missouri way back in the 1840’s. Truman’s middle initial of “s” may come from the name Shipp. This name, of course, comes from his grandparents. Truman, as an adult, worked two weeks in a mail room called the Kansas City Star. This event took place in 1902 when he was seventeen years old. Throughout his lifetime, he was always intrested in politics. Before becoming president in 1945, he was a judge in his local courthouse, but even before that, was also a soilder in the Great War. Truman was considered the main contributer to the end of...
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...History 1302.03 3/10/17 President Truman’s Moral Dilemma President Truman’s Decision of dropping the Atomic Bomb brought much controversy to the U.S and other countries that were involved in the war, controversy which can be argued to be both good and bad. The U.S was the very first country to develop an atomic bomb, and their focus was to use it and show the world they had it. This action saved and took many lives around the entire world. The question on whether such a powerful attack was necessary to end the war has often been asked. Harry S. Truman became president after Theodore Roosevelt had died of a brain hemorrhage in April 1945. Roosevelt sadly passed away while World War II was still going on. The death...
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...During World War II in August 6, 1945 America dropped worlds first atomic bomb on Hiroshima in Japan. This atomic bomb was given a nickname "Little Boy". On August 9, 1945 three days after the first bomb was dropped United States dropped the second bomb on the Nagasaki. This bomb was given a nickname "Fat Man". Together these two bombs killed over 90,000 people immediately and it demolished the cities. The decision by President Harry S. Truman and his advisors to drop the atomic bomb on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II was a military necessity. The first reason the bombing of Japan was military necessity because four years ago Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. According to document A bombing of pearl harbor killed 2,400 American .So Americans hated the Japanese, they wanted revenge from Japan. According to document B, on the poster it was written that " stay on the job until every MURDERING JAP is wiped out!". Americans were angry at Japan. They were encouraging other Americans by posting posters to take strong action against Japan. Also, Japanese Kamikaze attacked on United States ships in the Pacific Theater, these were the suicidal attacks on ships....
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...History of the A-Bomb In early August 1945 atomic bombs were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These two bombs quickly yielded the surrender of Japan and the end of American involvement in World War II. By 1946 the two bombs caused the death of perhaps as many as 240,000 Japanese citizens1. The popular, or traditional, view that dominated the 1950s and 60s – put forth by President Harry Truman and Secretary of War Henry Stimson – was that the dropping of the bomb was a diplomatic maneuver aimed at intimating and gaining the upper hand in relations with Russia. Today, fifty-four years after the two bombings, with the advantage of historical hindsight and the advantage of new evidence, a third view, free of obscuring bias and passion, can be presented. First, the dropping of the bomb was born out of complex infinite military, domestic and diplomatic pressures and concerns. Second, many potentially viable alternatives to dropping the bombs were not explored by Truman and other men in power, as they probably should have been. Lastly, because these alternatives were never explored, we can only conjecture over whether or not Truman’s decision was a morally just one, and if indeed it was necessary to use atomic energy to win the war. The war in Asia had its roots in the early 1930s. Japan had expansionist aims in Eastern Asia and the Western Pacific, especially in Indochina2. In July of 1940 the United States placed an embargo on materials exported to...
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...The Atomic Bomb by Alexander Vaughn Alexander Vaughn Professor Marshall Hist–2110–356 The Atomic Bomb: The Beginning of the Cold War Era By Alexander Vaughn ‘Total Annihilation’ was the farthest concept going through the mind of President Harry S. Truman during his discussions with USSR leader Joseph Stalin and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill at the Potsdam Conference, in July of 1945. As quoted from Truman’s Diary at Potsdam, “I have told the Sec. of War, Mr. Stimson, to use [the atomic bomb] so that military objectives and soldiers and sailors are the target and not women and children...” (1) However, as the days grew closer, the President was under continuous scrutiny from both sides: from senators wanting vengeance for the attack...
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...In a speech given by Harry S. Truman, announcing the usage of the A-Bomb in Hiroshima, he informs the people of the United States what has happened and why it happened. The speech was given sixteen hours after the bomb was dropped. Harry Truman then explains why the American airplane dropped the bomb in the first place, “The Japanese began the war from the air at Pearl Harbor. They have been repaid…”(Truman, Paragraph 2). Truman then goes on the explain the bomb and why it was so effective. He explains how powerful this bomb actually was and how it was a new weapon of war. “That bomb had more power than 20,000 tons of T.N.T. It had more than two thousand times the blast power of the british ‘Grand Slam’ which is the largest bomb ever yet used in the history of warfare”(Truman, Paragraph 1) Largest is what Truman explains the bomb as. That means that the military...
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...2/23/2014 Business Ethics Truman’s Decision Should the United States drop the atomic bomb, or should they invade Japan on foot in order to end World War II? Is it okay to kill innocent people as a means to reach a justifiable end? These were the questions that President Harry Truman was faced with near the close of World War II. More than 10’s of millions of people had already lost their lives during this war, and Japan was refusing to surrender even though it was clear to not only us, but also Japan themselves, that their defeat was inevitable. The president was under tremendous pressure to end this costly war, and a tough decision had to be made. This paper will evaluate from which ethical perspective Truman made his decision to use the atomic bomb, and why I believe it was ethically okay for him to choose the option that would cost the lives of over 200,000 Japanese civilians. The two ethical perspectives examined are utilitarianism and Kantianism. First, utilitarianisms fall under the school of ethics called consequentialism. It says that the moral status of the actions you take should be judged by the consequences of those actions. This ethical perspective can be used to answer the question proposed at the beginning of the paper, is it okay to kill innocent people as a means to reach a justifiable end? Supporters of utilitarianism would say that as long as the outcome contributes to the greater good of the greatest amount of people, then yes the act can be justified...
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...President Harry S. Truman! Project By: Cassandra Marie Hall Dr.Mash American Government 03/22/2011 Harry S. Truman was born Missouri on May 8, 1884, His father and mother were John Anderson Truman and Martha Ellen (Young) Truman. He had also had a brother Vivian Truman and a sister Mary Jane Truman Young Harry attended public schools in Independence, graduating from high school in 1901. After leaving school, he worked briefly as a timekeeper for a railroad construction contractor, then as a clerk in two Kansas City banks. In 1906 he returned to Grandview to help his father run the family farm. He continued working as a farmer for more than ten years. The religious background of President Truman, the 33rd president, was the second Baptist president. Truman did not attend a traditional school until he was eight Truman had three main interests: music, reading, and history, Truman enlisted in the Missouri Army National Guard in 1905, and served until 1911. Truman rejoined the Guard. Before going to France, he was sent to Camp Doniphan, near Lawton, Oklahoma for training. He ran the camp canteen with Edward Jacobson, a Kansas City clothing store clerk. Truman became an officer, and then battery commander in an artillery regiment in France. His unit was Battery D, 129th Field Artillery, 60th Brigade, 35th Infantry Division, known for its discipline problems.[25] During a sudden attack by the Germans in the Vosges Mountains, the battery started to disperse;...
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...The Atomic Bomb: A Necessity or a Desire Tanmay Bhanushali Year 10 Historical Paper “Great power imposes the obligation of exercising restraint” Leo Szilard - Hungarian-born Physicist and main scientist to oppose the atomic Bombings This was spoken in an interview titled “President Truman did not Understand”. This was between a US news reporter and Leo Szilard the key figure among the scientists opposing the use of the bomb. The interview was in August 15, 1960. Why was their so fierce Opposition? In what Way did Truman Not Understand? These answers lie in the depths of the controversy about the Atomic Bomb. Introduction The atomic bomb was a topic of major controversy but the main debate was about the necessity of the atomic bomb. Many say that the atomic bomb was dropped because it would save millions of American lives. However at that period the Japanese were also at the point of surrendering. Huge amounts of incendiary bombs were used in large-scale cities against japan. Many of the scientists in the Manhattan Project were disturbed about it. The incendiary bombs reduced much morale from the Japanese army and crippled the will power. However this small cripple made Japan even angrier because these incendiary bombs were used on innocent civilians and not the Japanese army. Many think that it was necessary to use the Atomic Bombs because Japan attacked America first and not the other way around. It is a fact that when Hitler attacked...
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...Technology in WWII: The Atomic Bomb The most significant way that technology changed in WWII, was with the invention of the atomic bomb. A scientific advancement in the 1930’s made the atomic bomb production possible. The discovery of nuclear fission; the process in which an atom is split, and the realization that the power from this could be controlled to produce mass amounts of energy were elements of what fuelled this development. Once the bombs were made and tested the decision on whether or not they should be used was given to the US president at the time, Harry Truman. Two Japan cities ended up being the main targets for the bombings and suffered great fatalities as a result. The affects of the decision to drop the bombs are still being seen today and it is still debated whether or not Truman made the right decision. Whether it was a justified decision or not, this breakthrough in technology was, and remains to be, a significant turning point in warfare. Looking closer at the decision Truman was faced with we can get a better look at why he decided to drop the bombs. The Allies were still at war with Japan, so the main idea was to drop the bombs on Japan, and weaken them enough so that they would surrender. This was seen as a better solution than the other way that the situation would have been handled – troops forcefully taking over Tokyo – because it wouldn’t be at the cost of countless numbers of soldier’s lives. Also, the bombs could inflict much more damage...
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...Warfare Technology in WWII: The Atomic Bomb The most significant way that technology changed in WWII, was with the invention of the atomic bomb. A scientific advancement in the 1930’s made the atomic bomb production possible. The discovery of nuclear fission; the process in which an atom is split, and the realization that the power from this could be controlled to produce mass amounts of energy were elements of what fueled this development. Once the bombs were made and tested the decision on whether or not they should be used was given to the US president at the time, Harry Truman. Two Japan cities ended up being the main targets for the bombings and suffered great fatalities as a result. The affects of the decision to drop the bombs are still being seen today and it is still debated whether or not Truman made the right decision. Whether it was a justified decision or not, this breakthrough in technology was, and remains to be, a significant turning point in warfare. Looking closer at the decision Truman was faced with we can get a better look at why he decided to drop the bombs. The Allies were still at war with Japan, so the main idea was to drop the bombs on Japan, and weaken them enough so that they would surrender. This was seen as a better solution than the other way that the situation would have been handled – troops forcefully taking over Tokyo – because it wouldn’t be at the cost of countless numbers of soldier’s lives. Also, the bombs could inflict much more damage...
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...Modern History Conflict in the Pacific 1937-1941 Due: Thursday 28th of August, 2008 Alyce Wearne Task: Evaluate the argument that America was justified in using atomic weapons against Japan in 1945. As one of the most significant and consequential decisions in the history of the world, President Harry Truman’s allowance of atomic weapons towards the end of World War II, of which he himself understood would cause both mass devastation and indignation, is still one of the most controversial and heavily debated topics in today’s society. This was partially due to the adverse underestimation and seemingly ignorant approach the American’s had towards their latest development of mass destruction; almost oblivious to the immense aftermath of physical injury, civilian death and emotional torment it would produce for those involved. This decision, ultimately made by one man, affected not only America and Japan, but the world. Dispute over this was, and continues to be highly generated, the event causing anger and infuriation to millions across the world. This resentment did not just accumulate from the lack of awareness and slaughter of innocent life, but from the graphic images shown in newspapers, the casualties, and the torturous amount of death underwent as a result of the bomb. As a Japanese survivor documented: “The appearance of people was . . . well, they all had skin blackened by burns. . . . They had no hair because their hair was burned, and at a glance you...
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...In 1945, Harry S. Truman, the Vice President of the United States, was eminent by means of the unexpected decease of Franklin D. Roosevelt to be the next President of the US. For the duration of Harry S. Truman’s point in time as the President, he faced numerous obstacles, nevertheless created several doctrines as solutions toward these obstacles. His mainly famous involvement to date is the Truman Doctrine, which focused on top of containing the development of communism all over the place. It was meant in a straight line at the Soviets, led by means of Joseph Stalin whom had been a supporter of the United States throughout World War II. Nonetheless, USSR and the USA were alienated by an enormous ideological gap. As a result the single thing that detained the partners mutually was the need to eliminate Adolf Hitler and wipe out his army of Nazis. Knowing their essential differences, Adolf Hitler was at last beaten in 1945. Truman passionately detested communism and felt with the purpose of that it was the US obligation to obstruct the development of those principles. Throughout the Cold War, the US established harmony and detained back the Soviet development in addition to build financial and political solidity in the course of the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan as well as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. This Cold War started for the reason that Stalin started to shatter the agreements among partners that were established at the 1945 meeting at Yalta. The single...
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