President Truman and the Atomic Bomb

            On the 6th of August 1945, a modified B-29 bomber dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Only three days later, a second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. Two-thirds of Hiroshima was destroyed and 155,200 people were killed by the first bomb, including deaths from radiation within one year (The Guinness Book of Records). Despite their massive death tolls, the decision to drop the bombs was made by Harry S.Truman. They brought an end to the second World War. This essay looks into the reasons behind Truman's decision, and the series of events that led to it, including the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the Arms Race, and the need for peace. Truman's decision, though with many oppositions, did end the war. It also proved the United State's strength. Unfortunately, it also started the nuclear age, where the survival of humanity was put in jeopardy.
             The United State's isolationism in the 1930s, ended in 1941. This was when the United States declared war on Japan, following the bombing of the Pearl Harbor. This caused quite a stir. After the atomic bombs were dropped, Harry Truman responded to a letter from Irv Kupcinet of the Chicago Sun Times. He wrote: "I knew what I was doing when I stopped the war that would have killed half a million youngsters on both sides if those bombs had not been dropped. I have no regrets and I would do it again" (Harry S. Truman. Harry Truman). In his letter, he also claimed that the Japanese deserved it since the bombing of Pearl Harbor destroyed 3 battleships, and killed 6,000 Americans (Harry S. Truman. Harry Truman). He believed he did the world a favor, by ending the war and preventing any more deaths. Although Truman said this, there were people who saw the dropping of the bombs as unnecessary. "It is my opinion that the use of this barbarous weapon at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was of no material assistance in our war against Japan. The Japanese were already defeated and ready to surrender because of the effective sea blockade and the successful bombing with conventional weapons" (Admiral William D.