On April 12, 1945, Franklin Roosevelt’s ceaseless struggle with the crippling effects of polio finally ceased. His death occurred very near to the end of WWII a mere twenty-five days before Germany surrendered. Japan, however, refused to surrender and continued opposing allied victory. A world at war, a restless nation, thousands of American lives overseas, this was the situation that vice president Harry S. Truman found himself cast into whenever he rose to the position of President. His immediate and most pressing matter was that of ending the Pacific war with Japan. Truman had three options: present a treaty to Japan, Invade Japan using allied troops, or use recent nuclear technology to create a bomb that would bring Japan to her
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To invade or to bomb, Truman needed to make a decision. He knew that an invasion could likely end with millions of dead Americans and Japanese, but a bomb could theoretically kill less Japanese and no Americans. Immediately he ordered the military to begin preparations. On August 6, the B-29, Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb, Little Boy, on Hiroshima. Roughly four and a half square miles of Hiroshima was completely destroyed, causing between 60,000 and 80,000 instantaneous deaths. At this time, the USSR declared war on Japan and began invading some cities. Although many members of Japan’s council wanted to accept the Potsdam treaty, there was no majority; therefore, Japan still did not surrender. President Truman realized that another bomb would have to be dropped soon so that Japan would not have time to recover from Hiroshima. He also wanted to strike quickly so that Japan would assume that America owned a large amount of nuclear weapons, when in reality, America only had two. Fat Man was the name given to the second atomic bomb which was dropped on Nagasaki on August 9, a mere three days after the first bomb was dropped. This bomb killed roughly 75,000 Japanese. On the morning of August 10, Japan finally accepted the Potsdam Treaty, then Japan began paying the price for the war. Meanwhile in America, Truman was praised as a hero and was elected for a second term. Truman certainly made many difficult decisions over the span of a short time, but his intentions never changed. Protect American lives and end the
To invade or to bomb, Truman needed to make a decision. He knew that an invasion could likely end with millions of dead Americans and Japanese, but a bomb could theoretically kill less Japanese and no Americans. Immediately he ordered the military to begin preparations. On August 6, the B-29, Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb, Little Boy, on Hiroshima. Roughly four and a half square miles of Hiroshima was completely destroyed, causing between 60,000 and 80,000 instantaneous deaths. At this time, the USSR declared war on Japan and began invading some cities. Although many members of Japan’s council wanted to accept the Potsdam treaty, there was no majority; therefore, Japan still did not surrender. President Truman realized that another bomb would have to be dropped soon so that Japan would not have time to recover from Hiroshima. He also wanted to strike quickly so that Japan would assume that America owned a large amount of nuclear weapons, when in reality, America only had two. Fat Man was the name given to the second atomic bomb which was dropped on Nagasaki on August 9, a mere three days after the first bomb was dropped. This bomb killed roughly 75,000 Japanese. On the morning of August 10, Japan finally accepted the Potsdam Treaty, then Japan began paying the price for the war. Meanwhile in America, Truman was praised as a hero and was elected for a second term. Truman certainly made many difficult decisions over the span of a short time, but his intentions never changed. Protect American lives and end the