Why Did the Truman Administration Decide to Drop the Atomic Bombs on Japan in 1945?

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made by him on 6 August 1945, the day of the Hiroshima bombing, “Japan started the war at Pearl Harbor; she has been repaid many times over”. This argument also raises questions over the traditionalist argument that Truman dropped the bomb as a means to prevent further loss of life as his language certainly contradicts his “humane feeling” towards the Japanese. Consequently, although the attack on Pearl Harbor officially caused the Second World War in the case of America and Japan it can also be viewed as a motive behind dropping the atomic bomb, perhaps the last act of vengeance which would finish the war definitively.

Lastly, another plausible reasoning behind Truman and his administrations’ decision to drop the bombs is that the development of the atomic bomb was already underway before he became President. Bernstein argues that “Roosevelt initiated the atomic bomb project” which Truman did not put an end to. This is a reference to the Manhattan Project 1940, worth $2 billion, involving thousands of scientists and technicians carrying out research into nuclear fission in order to produce the atomic bombs. By 1944, Roosevelt realised Japan had to be the target as the war with Germany, their enemy, would end before it was expected to be produced. Thus when Truman entered office after Roosevelt’s death he inherited the assumption and policy that the atomic bomb should be used. On top of this, Truman’s aides, Byrnes and Stimson, who also served under Roosevelt, “shared the same faith” so it was unlikely that Truman would turn against the idea of using the bomb. Lastly due to the huge cost of the Manhattan Project, not dropping it would have been a waste. It can be strongly argued that the use of the bomb as a diplomatic tool resonated from Roosevelt as well. Martin Sherwin in particular agrees with this. He states that Roosevelt felt “that the bomb could be used effectively to secure post-war diplomatic aims” with the Soviet Union, which carried over to Truman. This is sustained by the fact that Roosevelt kept the bomb a secret from the Soviet Union up until his death as perhaps a means of securing concessions after the war if America needed to. To sum up then, Truman decided to drop the bomb on Japan to maintain the wishes of Roosevelt, who also felt that the atomic bomb should be used.

To conclude, it is clear that there were a number of reasons that could have led to Truman and his administration to decide to drop the atomic bombs on Japan. It is positively reasonable to argue that Truman wanted to bring the war to an end quickly as it clearly was going to continue for years longer, causing the deaths of a vast number of Americans and Japanese. Truman may well have seen it as a plausible act of revenge due to the unexpected atrocities committed by Japan in the war and also as the maintenance of Roosevelt and his aide’s wishes. However, in this case, for me, the chief goal for Truman and his administration was to prevent Soviet influence from spreading anywhere else in the world due to the fear of Communism which has been evident in American history before this. This fear culminated into the Cold War.

Bibliography

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