Question

Was the US decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan the correct decision?

Answer 1

Truman's decision to use the nuclear bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki resulted from the interplay of his personality and many other factors, including his view of the war goals set by his predecessor, Franklin D. Roosevelt, the aspirations of the American public, the evaluation of the likelihood of a rapid victory by other means, and the dynamic American relationship. While there was some controversy about whether the bombings were ethically acceptable in later decades, nearly all of America's political and military leadership, as well as most of those involved in the nuclear bomb project, claimed at the time that Truman's decision was correct

During World War I, Truman commanded a close-up battery of 75 mm artillery pieces in France and personally experienced the human cost of severe front-line fighting. Upon returning home, he was persuaded that he would possibly have been killed if the war had lasted a few months. At least two of his colleagues in World War I had lost their sons in World War II, and Truman had four nephews in uniform. His first-hand experience of war strongly affected his thoughts of using an atomic bomb.

A second element in Truman 's decision was the legacy of Roosevelt, who had described the nation's goal of ending the war as the enemy's "unconditional surrender," a phrase coined to convince the Soviet Union that Western allies would fight to an end against Germany. It was also an example of the American temperament; the United States used to win wars and to impose peace. Germany surrendered unconditionally amid great rejoicing in the Allied countries on 8 May 1945. The American public's animosity to Japan was much more severe and called for a strong overall victory in the Pacific.