Research paper- Atomic bomb
President Truman decided to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima because he wanted to end World War II as quickly as possible. “His reasoning was that innumerable allied lives would be saved while delivering all people who were currently under Japanese rule” (Koehler). Of course, President Truman gave Japan a chance to surrender, but they declined, so Truman proceeded with the plan to drop the bomb called “Little Boy”. Since World War II started on 1939, and it was 1 945 that America dropped the atomic bomb, it had already been six years of war, and, for this reason, President Truman wanted to end t.
By dropping the atomic bomb, Japan surrendered and World War II ended. President Truman wanted to impress the Soviets by dropping the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. The main reason was because the Americans wanted to show the Soviets how strong they were, and also to limit the Soviet expansion into Asia. From U. S. History in Context, it can be clearly understood that “The atomic bomb was meant both to prevent Soviet expansion into the Pacific and to demonstrate to Joseph Stalin that the United States possessed a weapon which could destroy any city in the world” (Press).
The atomic bomb was also dropped because after the surrender of Germany, “the Soviets were pledged to join the war against Japan, the United States had sought to end the Pacific war quickly before Soviet forces could move into East Asia” (Press). Without the atomic bomb, the Soviets would continue to expand even toward Asia. “Japan surrendered because the Soviet Union began an invasion a few days after the Hiroshima bombing, not because of the atomic bombs themselves, says Snick” (Edwards). Without the atomic bomb, it was hard to stop the Soviets from expanding to other countries.
Also, by dropping Little Boy, America showed the Soviets that they could not be underestimated. The decision to drop the bomb on Hiroshima was also a response to Pearl Harbor. On December 7th 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor because they were tired of negotiations with the United States. When Japan dropped the bomb on Pearl Harbor, it completely destroyed several American battleships. “Behind them left chaos, 2403 dead, 188 destroyed planes and a crippled Pacific Fleet that included 8 damaged or destroyed battleships” (“Pearl Harbor’).
Of course, America responded quickly, “The day after the attack, before a joint session Of Congress, president Roosevelt made his famous speech that labeled December 7 as ‘a date which will live in infamy (Curtis). It was a huge surprise that Japan could carry so many troops that far to another part of the globe and attack them without anyone knowing it. However, even if America had already responded to it immediately, they still couldn’t forget the humiliation from Japan, and that is why America dropped the atomic bomb. There were many reasons President Truman dropped the atomic bomb on
Hiroshima. He wanted to end the war as quickly as possible, to show the Soviet Union how strong America was, and to respond to the attack of Pearl Harbor. However, even though there were many reasons for America to drop the bomb, President Truman still thought it was the most difficult decision he made as President. President Truman stated, “it seems to be the most terrible thing ever discovered, but it can be made the most useful… ” (Koehler). By dropping the atomic bomb, approximately 70,000 died and 140,000 were injured. It would be hard for anyone to make such an important decision like his.
