When Stalin agreed to join a partnership with the Americans, officials were having second thoughts. Stalin was considered a troublesome ally. When news of the successful Alamogordo test reached Potsdam, top American officials began to view the atomic bomb as a way to avoid the need for Soviet involvement in the Pacific War, rather than viewing Soviet involvement as a way to avoid the need for the Bomb. Secretary of State James Byrnes was eager to “get the Japanese affair over before the Russians got in” and felt that knowledge of America’s new weapon would make the Soviets more manageable. Ways to avoid dropping the atomic bomb were never really a matter of discussion.
A strategy was already devised to defeat Japan "without reliance upon the atomic bomb, which had not yet been tested in New Mexico." (Document A) From a report of a Scientific Panel, a moderate consensus was stated that "the opportunity of saving American lives by immediate military use, and believe that such use will improve the international prospects, in that they are more concerned with the prevention of war than with the elimination of this special weapon," helped bring support for the cause to use the bomb to end the war quickly. (Document G) But the United States seemed not to be concerned so much with the defeat of the Japanese which as General H. H. Arnold, Commander of the American Army Air Force stated: "atomic bomb or no atomic bomb, the Japanese were already on the verge of collapse," (Document B), but instead with Soviet involvement in the war. The United States and Britain felt threatened by Russia. They knew that Russia was bitter from their loss of territory and dignity after Japan defeated them in 1904.
After multiple ideas along with deep thought, Truman along with the chiefs decided the most efficient, least costly and less bloody approach would to be dropping the atomic bombs on the Japanese home land. The essay states “evidence points to the conclusion that he acted for the reason he said he did: to end a bloody war that would have become even bloodier had invasion proved necessary” pg 175 Readings in United States History. The writer’s purpose of this essay is to educate the readers about the difficulty of this decision. I believe the writer did a fine job explaining the whole process. The Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombing are two greatly important milestones in the United States history, and the essay “The Biggest Decision: Why We Had to Drop the Bomb,” by Robert James Maddox is a perfect essay to be read over and discussed in a class like this.
Dropping the Atomic Bomb By Raymond Wisniewski The United States decision to drop the bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was a decision to end the war the war faster. The bombs were against the Japan by the United States. The decision by President Harry Truman was the biggest decision the United States had ever made. Before Truman, Franklin Roosevelt has let a team of the Army Corps the task of creating the bomb. The project was headed by Major Leslie R. It became known as “The Manhattan Project”.
Yamamoto’s leniency in giving Nagumo authority to make crucial decisions was not a good idea. Had Yamamoto headed the actual attack instead of Nagumo, a possible third wave strike could have been unleashed to destroy all missed targets, thus changing the position of the U.S. military to ‘crippled’ after Pearl Harbour. However, Nagumo and the fleet arrived back on Japanese soil after the attack and instead of an expected applause and praise from Yamamoto, he received the opposite as the Americans were not defeated. Yamamoto knew that Japan needed to be in a position of strength in order to negotiate with America and have the upper hand. Nagumo managed to withdraw from Pearl Harbour before securing a complete victory that was so close to his grasp.
The Attack on Pearl Harbor “The Day of Infamy” Prior to 1941, World War II saw little American military intervention. As the nation was just recovering from the Great Depression, with confidence in the horizon the American people really had no desires to involve themselves in foreign wars. However President Franklin Roosevelt was aware of the actions taking place in Europe and Asia, and could anticipate the United States necessary danger to the free world if the United States didn't take a stand in the war. While Americans favored neutrality the United States administration knew that it would only be a matter of time until the United States would enter the war. The convenient timing of Pearl Harbor allowed Roosevelt's open pursuit of his interventionist
Pearl Harbor Address December 8th, 1941 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt attempted to incite action into a nation of troubled Americans after a sudden Japanese onslaught. In his address to congress given the day after the Japanese bombings was a request for a declaration of war upon Japan. Roosevelt created a speech that was dramatic, sufficient, and to the point therefore, understandable to the nation of worried Americans. The purpose of his speech was to clearly present the details of the attack, reveal the Japanese threat along the Pacific, and to thrust America into military action, which successfully led to the United States declaring war with Japan. Throughout the United States, American citizens were still reeling from the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Attack on Pearl Harbor On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor. This attack caused the United States to declare war on Japan and enter World War
Describe two recent discoveries of transuranic elements explaining how they were produced. Firstly what is a transuranic element? Transuranic elements are elements with an atomic number above that of uranium with atomic number Z= 92. All transuranic elements are radioactive. The process of changing one element into another is called transmutation.
Through the Yalta Conference, in February 1945, the US successfully gained Soviet support for the Pacific War and invasion of the Japanese empire. However, the US was reluctant to share the post-war administration of Japan with the Soviet Union, meaning it needed to gain victory before Soviet entry into the war during mid-August. Only the atomic bomb would allow this to occur since it could destroy vital military targets, therefore making it the only option available to the