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.
Therefore, the US created unconditional terms of surrender, knowingly going against the Japanese ethic of honour and against the institute of the emperor, whom most Americans probably wanted dead. Consequently, the use of the atomic bomb became a way to avenge America's fallen soldiers while also keeping the USSR in check in Europe. The Japanese civilian casualties did not matter in this strategy. Also, it did not prevent the Cold War, as the USSR was just a few years behind on a-bomb research. At the time, revenge, geopolitics and an expensive project that could not be allowed to simply rust away, meant the atomic bomb had to be hastily deployed “in the field” in order to see its power and aftermath – though little was known about radiation and its effects on humans.
Evaluate the view that the United States had no option but to use the atomic bomb in 1945. The United States clearly had no option but to use the atomic bomb in 1945 since it was the only way they could end the war. Due to the failure of conventional warfare, the US needed to resort to the use of the atomic bomb since it was the only viable means of ending the war. There was also a need to avoid a land invasion which would come at the cost of thousands of lives, particularly due to the existing military strength of Japan. Furthermore, Japan’s rejection of the Potsdam declaration meant there was the possibility of a conditional surrender and Soviet involvement in the post-war administration of Japan – both of which were consequences the US did not want to face.
After Hiroshima, who announces they made their own atomic bomb? The Soviet Union 39. Why do the Soviet Union, Great Britain and the U.S. decide not to test anymore atomic bombs in the air? Because Japanese fisherman become sick and one of them died 40. How much money has the U.S paid for bombs, missiles, and beakers?
Although Kahn adamantly disputed the theories claiming that the U.S. knew of the impending attack because of intelligence, if the theories were true it would support the idea that the U.S. needed an excuse to enter the war without attacking first and so they let the Japanese attack happen without putting up a strong defense. On the other hand, Kahn made the point that “even if Roosevelt had wanted war, he would not have wanted to enter it with his fleet badly weakened” (169). If the U.S. really knew about the incoming attack and wanted to use it as an excuse to enter the war, there would have been some defensive preparations to stop the destruction of the majority of the Pacific Fleet. Adkison 6 In the end, although the attack on Pearl Harbor was devastating, it lit a fire under Americans to join together and fight for victory, not only in the Pacific War, but the war in Europe as well. In Akira Iriye’s Pearl Harbor and the Coming of the Pacific
On April 6, 355 planes were in kamikaze missions. This Told the United States that they were not going to give up. The United States offered Japan to surrender and have a peace treaty. They were both denied by Japan. The United States didn’t want that to happen so they could end the war fast.
In World War two there were many battles fought. One of the most controversial issues for the United States was not even a battle though. It was the use of the atomic bomb on two Japanese cities. I believe that the US was right in using the atomic bombs on Japan. The Japanese planned a secret attack on the United States.
The only real problem that prevented the Japanese from surrendering was the unconditional surrender the Americans demanded. The Japanese thought the emperor to be descended from the sun god and would protect the emperor at any cost. If President Truman had agreed to leave the emperor alone and taken more time to negotiate Japan’s surrender, they probably would have. Instead, after the testing of the first atomic bomb, it was decided after a few days that Japan would be bombed. Even if Truman had decided to use the bomb, there was no reason to bomb Hiroshima.
Without a warning hundreds of thousands of Hiroshima residents were instantly killed by an atomic bomb the size of a small home, devouring the entire city. Being the first nuclear weapon in history, President Truman claimed the results were not intended to be so powerful and destructive as they proved to be. Truman believed that by dropping the bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the war would end. Although it did just that, there were many other peaceful ways of resolving this war. Both countries wanted the
If you had been an advisor to Truman in the discussions leading up to the decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan, what would you have advised him and why? "The atom bomb was no 'great decision'“ -President Harry S. Truman. July 16th 1945-the day the Manhattan Project had accomplished its primary goal; building an Atomic Bomb. The theory for the Atomic Bomb was that the atoms in plutonium would rid themselves of billions of neutrons which, in turn, would split other atoms causing a massive chain reaction. This immeasurable release of energy would be the cause of the destruction of two Japanese cities, and perhaps America’s worst offensive move in the history of war.