Essay Sample on Truman’s Justification

At the end of WWII President Trueman decided to use atomic bombs against the Japanese. Which began a debate between historians whether he was justified or not. Although some sources say that President Trueman was unjustified they are wrong. Truman had only used nuclear weapons because it was a viable military weapon, it kept the Russian out of the war, and saved American lives. 

First off during the war, Americans needed a quick way to end the war and strong new weapons would seem to do the trick. After he had taken a chance to talk to his advisers Truman said, “ On the other hand, the scientific advisors of the committee reported that no technical demonstration they might propose, such as over a deserted island, would be likely to bring them to an end” (Doc A). This shows how president Truman had valued the nuclear bombs as a quick easy weapon that could be used against the Japanese. In addition, after the Trinity test, which is where they had tested one of the nuclear bombs which had caused mass destruction, President Truman was certain that the bombs were a good quick weapon. Many people argued about how the bomb should be used and what casualties would result from this. However, Truman did not care how the bomb was used or the Japanese lives at stake. Later the American History Textbook states, “President Truman wrote that he regarded the bomb as a military weapon and never had any doubts that it should be used” (Doc I).  This shows that no matter the number of Japanese casualties or the way the bombs were used President Truman had only viewed the bombs as a strong Military advantage against the Japanese. One of the main reasons Truman had such little care for the Japanese was the attack on Pearl Harbor, which had caused lots of Americans to lose theirs lives and many military resources. We see this hate for the Japanese when they are put into intermittent camps.

Furthermore, President Truman was justified by using the bombs because he had kept the Russians from becoming involved in the war. During the Japanese war, the Americans needed a way to end the war quickly before the Russians would get involved. So their use of the atomic bombs was to end the war quickly and intimate at the true military power of the U.S. Later in 1948, Eisenhower said, “It was my personal opinion that no power on earth could keep out of that war unless victory came before they could get in” (Doc G). This shows that the Americans had feared that the Russians would enter the war. So Americans had to think of a fast and quick way to end the war. Modern research findings clearly show that from April 1945 on, top American officials said that using the atomic bomb would enormously increase US diplomacy in relation to the Soviet Union in negotiations over both postwar Europe and Asia.