President Truman’s Use of Atomic Bombs Against Japan, Essay Example

An evaluation of the factors that motivated President Truman to drop atomic bombs against Japan shows that the Nagasaki and Hiroshima bombs were motivated by personal implications, politics and the military. It is argued that political factors prevailed over humanitarian and military considerations in making decisions to drop the bombs at Nagasaki and Hiroshima. There were increased concerns among top American leaders concerning the future of the Soviet Union. These had a significant influence on the president’s decision about dropping the bombs in Japan. It is thought that the president ordered the dropping of the bombs in order to demonstrate the military superiority of America. This is because of the increased concerns of top American leaders that Manchuria would be occupied by the Soviet Union. Therefore, the Soviet Union would have shared the occupation of Japan with the United States (Majerus, 2013). President Truman would have also been influenced by the belief that dropping the bombs would strengthen the position of the U.S in future interactions with the Soviet Union regarding the other field of influence in Eastern Europe.

History reveals that President Truman’s decision to drop the bombs on Japan was the most controversial act of policy in the history of the United States. The other reason that has been given concerning the use of bombs in Japan is the shock effects that the bombs would have had on the foreign policy circle of the Japanese. The shock effect caused authors to speculate that it would have been the motivation behind the president’s decision to use atomic bombs (Wainstock, 1996).

Other authors have argued that Truman’s decision to use atomic weaponry was linked to some of the diplomatic problems associated with the Soviet Union. Critics illustrate that the president’s decision to use atomic weaponry in Japan was meant to ensure the Soviet Union adhere to the viewpoint of the Americans on the post-war world. Many authors indicate that the decision to use atomic bombs was meant to end the war before the Soviet Union occupied Manchuria. It is thought that the decision to use the bombs would have intimidated the Soviet Union from taking a step towards the cold war (Majerus, 2013).

Other critics have indicated that the president’s decision to drop the bombs might have been influenced by the ulterior motives of some of the American diplomats. Since the Soviet Union had joined the war against Japan, launching atomic bombs was a strong message meant to warn the Soviet Union to tread lightly. These decisions caused the United States to be considered the only country that had used such nuclear weapons on another nation (Hallenberg, 2003).

Critics have indicated that the decision made by the president was barbaric and led to some long-term negative consequences on the United States. Such people have linked nuclear terror to the dangerous arms of race. However, President Truman in defense indicated that his decisions to drop the bombs were purely military. It is evident that the Normandy-type amphibious landing would have led to millions of casualties. President Truman argued that he resolved to use the bombs because some of the lives would be saved. The president argued that prolonging the war was not his option because the Japanese kamikaze raids had also caused great destruction and contributed to the death of many Americans.

References

Hallenberg, J. (2003). The demise of the Soviet union: Analysing the collapse of a state. Aldershot: Ashgate.

Majerus, J. (2013). Decision to employ nuclear weapons at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. S.l.: Anchor Academic Publishing.

Wainstock, D. D. (1996). The decision to drop the atomic bomb. Westport, Conn. u.a.: Praeger.