With the sudden death of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 12th April 1945, Harry S. Truman was sworn into presidency months before the end of the Second World War. As the war in Europe draws to an end, the raging war in the pacific theatre shifts the focus towards Japan. On individual isolated islands, the Japanese held out on meager fighting conditions, forcing the United States to engage in brutal attrition warfare in order to flush them out. At the cost of 75,000 American lives, the islands of Iwo Jima and Okinawa were captured after months of ferocious fighting that left 100,000 of the 114,000 Japanese soldiers dead. Using the tenacity of the Japanese island defenders as a gauge of the main island, the military estimated that Operation Downfall which was …show more content…
Samuel Walker explores both perspective of the decision by Harry Truman to use the Atomic bomb on Japan. Walker provides the evolution of argument and its development through the decade with the release of classified material. Using collected evidence from various sources, Walker seeks to establish a middle ground for the use of atomic weapons on Japan. Doing so, Walker allows the reader to fully understand the circumstances and decisions that Truman was placed in. By understanding the different options that Truman was presented with, Walker goes on to evaluate the likely consequences of such actions and what he viewed as the most effective method. This source helps shed a more neutral perspective in a topic that is highly polarized to allow for a comprehensive evaluation of Truman’s decision to use the weapon on Japan. Casey-Maslen, Stuart, Louise Doswald-Beck, Annie Bersagel, Torbjørn Hugo, Nobuo Hayashi, Cecilie Hellestveit,, Daniel Joyner,, Erik Koppe, Martina Kunz, Don MacKay, Daniel Mekonnen, Jasmine Moussa, Gro Nystuen, Simon O’Connor, Marco Roscini, and Jorge Viñuales. Nuclear Weapons Under International Law. International Law and Policy Institute, 2014. Web. 29 Oct.
In Prompt and Utter Destruction, J. Samuel Walker provides the reader with an elaborate analysis of President Truman’s decision behind using the atomic bomb in Japan. He provokes the reader to answer the question for himself about whether the use of the bomb was necessary to end the war quickly and without the loss of many American lives. Walker offers historical and political evidence for and against the use of the weapon, making the reader think critically about the issue. He puts the average American into the shoes of the Commander and Chief of the United States of America and forces us to think about the difficulty of Truman’s decision.
Decisions are the hardest thing to make, especially considering how Harry Truman decided to drop the US Atomic bombs onto Okinawa and Iwo Jima. The role of ending the war with Japan was in his hands, but it would require releasing the most horrendous weapon ever known. However, there was some controversy over Truman’s decision. Some people say that it was unnecessary to use the Atomic bombs, such as the Federal Council of Churches and the Christian Faith. They stated that: “As American Christians, we are deeply penitent for the irresponsible use already made of the atomic bomb.
bombers initiated the first bombing of the island. The bombings by the Japanese continued until December 23, when under continuous shelling, the Americans, under U.S. Navy Commander Winfield Scott Cunningham, were finally forced to surrender. Although the Japanese finally took the island, they incurred heavy losses. Three cruisers and one transport sustained heavy damage, two destroyers and one patrol boat were sunk, while 820 Japanese soldiers were killed, with another 333 wounded. In contrast, American military casualties included 120 killed, 49 wounded, with two missing in action.
...ar the use of weapons of this magnitude, the American idea of the Japanese people has changed, and we now have set up preventions in the hope of avoiding the use of nuclear weaponry. John Hersey provides a satisfactory description of the atomic bombing. Most writers take sides either for or against the atom bomb. Instead of taking a side, he challenges his readers to make their own opinions according to their personal meditations. On of the key questions we must ask ourselves is “Are actions intended to benefit the large majority, justified if it negatively impacts a minority?” The greatest atrocity our society could make is to make a mistake and not learn from it. It is important, as we progress as a society, to learn from our mistakes or suffer to watch as history repeats itself.
Last and biggest of the Pacific island battles of World War II, the Okinawa campaign (April 1—June 22, 1945) involved the 287,000 troops of the U.S. Tenth Army against 130,000 soldiers of the Japanese Thirty-second Army. At stake were air bases vital to the projected invasion of Japan ("Battle of Okinawa," 1996). The Battle of Okinawa remembered more for its iconic photograph of US Marines raising the US flag on Okinawa more so than any other war or battle ever fought. Okinawa the largest of the Ryukus islands played a major role in the American forces overall strategic efforts to advance to the mainland’s of Japan.
Following the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1945, Vice President Harry S. Truman was next in line to take over presidency. He was automatically faced with one of the most challenging decisions a President has ever had to make. Adolf Hitler’s Nazi empire has been defeated, and now the new chief executive had to come up with a plan to end the war with Japan. Often people come to the conclusion that Truman decided to drop the bomb, but like Davidson and Lytle state, there were many factors and many people that influenced the development and dropping of the atomic bomb. In order to really get a good grasp of how and why the bomb was dropped, and whether it was a justified decision, we must know the background of the events that took
It has often been asked what was behind the dropping of the atomic bomb. Was it greed in the fact that nations would be captured and brought under the regime of another? Was it a precise move in the ultimate game of chess in which the execution was the “check mate” needed to highlight the country which possessed this power? It may never be known as fact to why President Truman gave the green light on a technology which he was well aware would...
The Revisionists and the orthodox views are different opinions on President Truman’s decision to use the atomic bomb. The revisionists believed that Truman’s decision was wrong and there could have been alternatives. They say that the Bomb was unnecessary and it was only used as a “diplomatic tool” and to show the power of th...
This investigation assesses President Harry Truman’s decision to drop atomic bombs on both Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It will determine whether or not his decision was justified. This investigation will scrutinize the reasons that made Harry Truman feel inclined to drop atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Preventing further casualties along with the desire to end the war are two argumentative points that will be analyzed to determine if they were strong enough to justify the dropping of the atomic bombs. Excerpts from Truman’s memoirs and a variety of different titles were consulted in order to undertake this investigation. Section C will evaluate two sources for their origins purposes values and limitations. The first is a book titled The Invasion of Japan written by John Stakes in 1955. And the second is a book titled Prompt & Utter Destruction written by J. Samuel Walker.
Upon reading “Prompt and Utter Destruction: Truman and the Use of Atomic Bombs Against Japan” by J. Samuel Walker, a reader will have a clear understanding of both sides of the controversy surrounding Truman’s decision to drop atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II. The controversy remains of whether or not atomic bombs should have been used during the war. After studying this text, it is clear that the first atomic bomb, which was dropped on the city of Hiroshima, was a necessary military tactic on ending the war. The second bomb, which was dropped on Nagasaki, however, was an unnecessary measure in ensuring a surrender from the Japanese, and was only used to seek revenge.
When it come to be publicly acknowledged that the United States government planned on using atomic bombs to fight the war against Japan, a group of scientists who had worked on the atomic bomb for many years, felt the need to protest the idea. Leo Szilard who was a head of the group of scientists came up with a petition for the president for his associated scientists to look over. In his petition he asked the President “to rule that the United States shall not, in the present phase of the war, resort to the use of atomic bombs” (Szilard, par. 1). Szilard’s thoughts mentioned in the petition sought the strength and persuasion needed to sway the President that the use of the atomic bomb was uncalled for because of the shortage of facts presented, their poor reasoning found in the writing, and the failure to communicate the significance that their arguments held in the decision.
To fully examine the factors that led to the United States to drop an atomic bomb on the city of Nagasaki, one can look at the event as a result of two major decisions. The first decision concerned the use of newly developed nuclear weapons in lieu of other military techniques to secure a timely Japanese surrender. The second decision was to use several of these weapons instead of only one. Although the Truman administration displayed little hesitation or ambivalence over the decision to use atomic weapons (Walker, 51), it is important to examine what factors contributed to these swift actions.
The United States entered WW II immediately following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The U.S. entry was a major turning point in the war because it brought the strongest industrial strength to the Allied side. The Americans helped the Allies to win the war in Europe with the surrender of Germany on May 7, 1945. However, the war in the Pacific continued. The war with Japan at this point consisted primarily of strategic bombings. America had recently completed an atomic bomb and was considering using this weapon of mass destruction for the first time. The goal was to force the “unconditional surrender” of the Japanese. Roosevelt had used the term “unconditional surrender” in a press conference in 1943 and it had since become a central war aim. Truman and his staff (still feeling bound by FDR’s words) demanded unconditional surrender from the Japanese. Consequently on July 26, 1945 Truman issued an ultimatum to Japan. This ultimatum stated that Japan must accept “unconditional surrender” or suffer “utter devastation of the Japanese Homeland”. This surrender included abdication of the throne by their emperor. Japan was not willing to surrender their dynasty and ignored the ultimatum. On August 6th and August 9th, atomic bombs were dropped on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki respectively.
The Battle of Iwo Jima In the early morning of 19 February 1945, United States Marines assigned to the 3rd, 4th and 5th Marine Division led the initial assault on the Japanese controlled island of Iwo Jima, with the objective of capturing and securing the island. This was the beginning of one of the fiercest and bloodiest and, more decisively, the most strategically important battles fought during World War II. After the dust had settled, and the smoke had cleared, the casualties and losses were astounding. 6,821 U.S. Marines along with 18,844 members of the Imperial Japanese Army had paid the ultimate sacrifice.
Maddox, Robert. “The Biggest Decision: Why We Had to Drop the Atomic Bomb.” Taking Sides: Clashing View in United States History. Ed. Larry Madaras & James SoRelle. 15th ed. New York, NY. 2012. 280-288.