During WWII there was one major discovery that not only changed history then, but also continues to change how wars are fought to this day. Yes, this discovery was the atomic bomb. Harry Truemen is credited with saying, “It’s (referring to the atomic bomb) production and its use were not lightly undertaken by this government.” To the general public this might seem like a typical wartime statement. He goes on (in document H) to say that since we had the technology we used it to decimate Japan and stop them from attacking the U.S, but is that all the bomb was used for? From an astounding amount of examples against the idea that the U.S. only used the bomb to attack japan the answer is no. The bomb was used also, to intimidate the Soviet Union. In document H, as stated before Truman talks about why we must use the bomb to stop japan, but everything he says could also be applied to a future war, one with the Soviet Union. Truman, being the president at the time, saw that the Soviet Union was becoming more powerful and advanced and needed to flex his muscles, so to speak, by destroying Japan to show Russia that we were not to be messed with. This can be seen when he says, “We have used it… in order to save the lives of thousands and thousands of young Americans.” He is to the normal person only talking about the present war, but to keen listeners, also talking about a potential war with Russia. Since he was the president; however, he could not just come out and mention a new war because it would freak out the already tired of war Americans who were finally getting out of WWII. This is just one document supporting this claim. Document B and Document F state that we were set to win the war with japan in a matter of months.
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The difference between them; however, is how they present the idea of why we would use the atomic bomb in this circumstance. Document B, leaves the ending more open, letting the reader infer why we would drop the bomb. The author, a commander in the air force, would have known the true reasons, but yet again, like Truman, does not want to scare the public. He ends his argument in saying that “atomic bomb or no atomic bomb, the Japanese were already on the verge of collapse.” He wants the reader to understand what he is saying, which is that the U.S.A. was strictly doing this to scare Soviet Russia. Document F on the other hand, written by a physicist states this fact blatantly, that we need to do this to scare the Soviet Union. He comes right out in saying this because he has no ties to the government and can come right out, without fear, to say what others can’t, we must stop the influence of Communism by the Soviet Union now, to prevent problems later. Document C written by Dwight D. Eisenhower reports that the soviets were preparing to go to war against the Japanese. Eisenhower being a military leader, says, “we ought to not put ourselves in the position of requesting or begging for Soviet aid.” He, being a military genius would know our best chance to not only win the war, but also to prevent war. He is implicitly implying that we must not ask soviets for anything, we must only appear strong to them to intimidate them. He comes right out and says this in this line because he is in private with Truman and trying to instruct him on the implications of what asking the Soviets for help could do. If we appear weak to them in this war, in the future they may start a war with us due to the previously conceived notion. This is part of the reason why Truman decided to drop the A-Bomb, Eisenhower’s advice. Document E supports this claim by exclaiming that “the United states do not at the present time desire Russian participation”. This is written by Winston Churchill, so it is a reliable source, and he would have no such reason to lie about this topic. The only possible reason why the United States would not want the help of
The difference between them; however, is how they present the idea of why we would use the atomic bomb in this circumstance. Document B, leaves the ending more open, letting the reader infer why we would drop the bomb. The author, a commander in the air force, would have known the true reasons, but yet again, like Truman, does not want to scare the public. He ends his argument in saying that “atomic bomb or no atomic bomb, the Japanese were already on the verge of collapse.” He wants the reader to understand what he is saying, which is that the U.S.A. was strictly doing this to scare Soviet Russia. Document F on the other hand, written by a physicist states this fact blatantly, that we need to do this to scare the Soviet Union. He comes right out in saying this because he has no ties to the government and can come right out, without fear, to say what others can’t, we must stop the influence of Communism by the Soviet Union now, to prevent problems later. Document C written by Dwight D. Eisenhower reports that the soviets were preparing to go to war against the Japanese. Eisenhower being a military leader, says, “we ought to not put ourselves in the position of requesting or begging for Soviet aid.” He, being a military genius would know our best chance to not only win the war, but also to prevent war. He is implicitly implying that we must not ask soviets for anything, we must only appear strong to them to intimidate them. He comes right out and says this in this line because he is in private with Truman and trying to instruct him on the implications of what asking the Soviets for help could do. If we appear weak to them in this war, in the future they may start a war with us due to the previously conceived notion. This is part of the reason why Truman decided to drop the A-Bomb, Eisenhower’s advice. Document E supports this claim by exclaiming that “the United states do not at the present time desire Russian participation”. This is written by Winston Churchill, so it is a reliable source, and he would have no such reason to lie about this topic. The only possible reason why the United States would not want the help of