The Power of the Atomic Bomb in Shaping the Post-War World

In this essay, the author

• Explains that the declaration on liberated europe, especially in the way that it applied to poland, agreed to a government formed from all major factions in poland. stalin and molotov accepted the free election provisions.
• Analyzes how byrnes concluded that roosevelt made the concessions as a result of military concerns during the yalta conference.
• Analyzes how truman was concerned about building trust with the soviet union in the post-war era.

• Explains that the declaration on liberated europe, especially in the way that it applied to poland, agreed to a government formed from all major factions in poland. stalin and molotov accepted the free election provisions.
• Analyzes how byrnes concluded that roosevelt made the concessions as a result of military concerns during the yalta conference.
• Analyzes how truman was concerned about building trust with the soviet union in the post-war era.
• Explains that truman consulted with davies on the best course to take with the soviets during the polish crisis and the imbroglio over lend-lease.
• Analyzes how truman wanted to resolve the issues surrounding the soviet failure to follow the declaration on liberated europe, but lacked the talent, experience, and patience to deal with them at potsdam in the tradition of roosevelt.
• Analyzes how truman's importance on the bomb in furthering diplomatic goals is evident in the timing of the potsdam conference.
• Analyzes how truman and byrnes opposed a modification of terms that may have brought surrender without the use of the atomic bomb at the potsdam conference.
• Explains that the use of the atomic bomb could force japanese surrender before the soviet declaration of war. byrnes and truman no longer needed or wished to accept soviet help in the far east.
• Analyzes how truman's desire to prevent soviet entry is clear in american attempts to stall the negotiations between china and the soviet union over the implementation of soviet control of concessions.
• Opines that the existence of the bomb encouraged byrnes to rewrite the protocol on german reparations.
• Analyzes how the us's desire to cooperate with the soviet plan for post-war germany was based on fdr’s belief that us popular opinion would not support a military presence in europe.
• Argues that the bomb would allow the us to rebuild germany as an economic ally without concerns for future german resurgence, which would in turn aid the recovery of western europe.
• Explains how byrnes vehemently opposed the soviet plan for reparations that used $20 billion as a basis for discussion. the impasse was broken by the zonal reparation plan.
• Opines that the atomic bomb was a panacea for the perplexing problems of the post-war world.
• Explains that cline, ray s. washington command post: the operations and planning division in world war ii.
• Explains feis, herbert, the atomic bomb and the end of world war ii, princeton university press, 1966.
• Explains morton, louis, and kent roberts greenfield's command decisions.
• Presents arnold a. offner's "president truman, the potsdam conference, and the origins of atomic diplomacy" at the international conference "fifty years after: the close of the pacific war re-examined".
• Explains sherwin, martin j., a world destroyed: hiroshima and the origins of the arms race.
• Explains sigal's book fighting to the finish: the politics of war termination in the united states.
• Explains skates, john ray, the invasion of japan: alternative to the bomb. columbia, sc: univesrity of south carolina press, 1994.
• Explains stoff, michael b., the manhattan project: a documentary introduction to the atomic age, new york: mcgraw-hill, 1991.
• Explains that few men in washington understood the role the atomic bomb could play in ending world war ii and shaping the peace.
• Explains that the conventional bombing and blockade option was the less attractive option for ending the war. army critics asked why not use the same amphibious resources to deliver a decisive strike to the heart of japan
• Explains that the army plan for invading kyushu was the most costly option in terms of lives, but it was based on a directive to end the war within 12 months of v-e day.
• Explains that stimson was beginning to think of the atomic bomb as a way to solve the many problems associated with conventional options to end the war.
• Explains that army chief of staff marshall knew about the possibility of the atomic bomb. he expressed concern that deteriorating us-soviet relations could make invasion plans problematic.
• Explains that the armed services recognized the problems of their war-ending strategies, and tried to ameliorate them by recommending a clarification of unconditional surrender.
• Explains that the original draft of the invasion plan was completed by the jcs in january of 1945. it did not include the kyushu or honshu landing as an inevitability.
• Analyzes how the polish crisis made soviet presence in east asia less desirable. the navy used these tensions to push their blockade and bombardment strategy accompanied by a clarification of terms.
• Explains that truman approved the plan for olympic, the invasion of kyushu, but faced conflicting and unclear advice.
• Explains stimson's concern about introducing soviet influence in the east asian region was foremost in his mind, along with the atomic bomb.
• Analyzes how truman wrote in his diary that it would be undesirable for him to see stalin before the bomb was tested.
• Explains that the war department tried to lessen the costs of soviet assistance inherent in their plan by stating that no further concessions at potsdam would be necessary to bring the ussr into the war.
• Explains that stimson assured the president that planning for olympic would take time so he could pursue diplomatic initiatives in the meantime.
• Explains that the president expressed his desire "to make decisions on the campaign with the purpose of economizing to the maximum extent possible the loss of american lives."
• Analyzes how the jcs was defending against civilian meddling in their decision-making. admiral ernest j. king and deputy chief of staff of the us army air force were critics at the meeting.
• Analyzes how truman's contradictory behavior at the potsdam conference with relation to soviet entry can be partially explained by the unanswered questions about how the war was to be ended.
• Analyzes how stimson's views on the use of the bomb shifted dramatically before the president left for the potsdam conference.
• Analyzes stimson's carrot formula for atomic diplomacy, which allowed him to be flexible in his thinking on the use of the bomb on japan.
• Analyzes how truman appears to have slowly killed stimson's draft warning to the japanese.
• Analyzes how stimson declined as an adviser to the president, at least on atomic bomb matters. his age and health played a large part in the decline of his influence, as it limited the hours he could work and travel.
• Analyzes how truman's selection as fdr’s running mate was a political compromise between the conservatism of byrnes and the liberalism of henry wallace.
• Analyzes how byrnes was a mentor to truman in the senate. he possessed great influence over the president's decision making because he had some experience in foreign policy.
• Explains that fdr asked byrnes to accompany him to yalta because of his knowledge of the domestic economy. he was reluctant to leave the us for such a long time.
• Explains that a knowledge of the yalta agreements is vital to understanding the events at potsdam and the use of atomic bomb.