Being President of the United States means being constantly criticized and analyzed by all Americans. The President will not be liked by everyone, but in most cases, respected by all. Harry S. Truman stepped into office and had to fill the shoes of a well-respected President during a critical time for the nation. After Americans began to realize that Truman’s ways were drastically different from his predecessor, he underwent much criticism and it was difficult, at first, for him to feel comfortable as President of the United States. Truman has created many opposing forces by making one of the most controversial decisions in the history of the United States of America. After the incident at Pearl Harbor, it became apparent to the United States that Japan was not interested in civilized warfare. The atomic bomb allowed the United States to once again take control of World War II. Just four months into Truman’s presidency, the atomic bomb was dropped onto Hiroshima. With the damage being catastrophic to Japan, people began to retaliate against Truman for his decision. Americans started to believe that maybe this kind of nuclear war was not necessary or just. They began to fear that other countries would develop this kind of weaponry and use it against their own country. They failed to realize that this bomb actually saved American lives and that many soldiers were going to see American soil again. The idea of nuclear warfare continued long after World War II. Nuclear warfare traces back to the Cold War during the arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union. As of right now, Harry Truman was the first and only President to use the atomic bomb. Now, in the present, George W. Bush is being faced with a new war, where nuclear warfare may become detrimental to the United States. Will Bush become the second President to use this deadly weapon or will he find other methods to confront the present conflict in his country? No one really knows the answer to that question, but most Americans fear it. Truman’s decision to drop Zosky 2 the atomic bomb started a whole new kind of war whose effects are still seen in today’s world and in “the new war” on terrorism. As Harry S. Truman stepped into office and became President of the United States, it was as if he was stepping into a world of the unknown. He was going to have to quickly fill the shoes of Franklin D. Roosevelt and immediately take control, especially with World War II continuing. His predecessor had left to him many policies and a long line of executives of which Truman was not familiar. Going against Truman was the fact that he was not well known and that he was blatantly a very different person from Roosevelt. One of the first things Truman did when he took over as President was set up a staff with his own people in office. Along with keeping some of the current members of the presidential staff, he assigned certain offices to government officials from the vice-president’s office, along with a high school classmate and a National Guard comrade. Being that he was decisive and not tentative, he acted immediately to fully understand all circumstances that had involved Franklin Roosevelt and the United States. He did this by having daily meetings with the chief White House aides, weekly meetings with cabinet members, and regular meetings with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, National Security Council, and the Council of Economic Advisors. Truman also made the decision to change his cabinet, and within six months of becoming President, he was left with only three of the original ten cabinet members (McCoy 16-19). These actions were crucial to getting the kind of recognition that Truman deserved. It is not so easy to step up and assume the kind of responsibility that was laid before Truman. His swift actions proved that he was ready and willing to take on that kind of responsibility. It was difficult for Americans to become used to such a dynamic President. Zosky 3 In order to catch the attention of others and to verify his brisk diplomatic character, three days after becoming President, Truman announced at a congressional session that he planned to support and continue Roosevelt’s ideas. He also announced that the nation would achieve a speedy victory over Japan and Germany and gain unconditional surrender. At his first news conference, Truman began to discuss certain programs in which he planned to enact to benefit the nation. Although very different from Roosevelt, Truman showed that he had intentions of following in the footsteps of his well-liked predecessor. By doing this, I believe that Truman was attempting to gain support from the citizans of the United States. Within a month of becoming President, Truman was able provide good news to the nation, including that German forces in Italy had surrendered, the confirmed death of Adolf Hitler, and on his sixty-first birthday, the complete surrender of Germany. Shortly after Germany surrendered, plans were enacted to stabilize the world financially and peacefully. It would seem that the early weeks of Truman’s presidency were going very well, but there was still a huge threat to the United States of America. Now that peace agreements had been made with Germany and Italy, all the focus of the United States was concentrated on the empire of Japan. Truman announced on May 8, 1945 that Japan must declare unconditional surrender. Deciding how to get Japan to unconditionally surrender was the major issue. There were various ways in which Truman could end the war with Japan. These options included a war of attrition or a direct invasion of Japan. No matter what ideas Truman and his administration came up with, they all seemed to be tedious and at a high cost of dollars and lives. The last possibility considered was the dropping of a weapon so powerful onto Japan’s soil that it would seem they would have no other choice but to surrender. Zosky 4 This highly secretive catastrophic weapon was the atomic bomb. Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr were two of the many scientists who worked on the bomb. The Secretary of War, Henry L. Stimson, informed Truman of this deadly weapon shortly after he was inaugurated. Because of the uncertainty of all concepts that surrounded such a weapon, it was very hard to decide on an action as to whether it would be put into use or not. Therefore, a committee was formed in order to discuss things such as continued research. This seemed necessary so that all circumstances involving such a disastrous weapon could be fully and intently analyzed. Because of this committee, Truman had become well aware of the effects of the nuclear weapon. It was then decided that the atomic bomb would be used. Truman had many reasons for making his decision on dropping the atomic bomb. He feared an invasion because of how costly it would be, in lives and financially. He stated at a June 18 meeting that, “he did not want another Okinawa from one end up Japan to another.” The death count at Okinawa was a devastating 13,000. Truman wanted anything but to see a figure like that again. Another thing that drove Truman to drop the atomic bomb was that Japan’s vice minister of war stated that if another invasion would occur on Japan, then all of the prisoners of war would be killed. This would have led to a death total of nearly 100,000. After reviewing all options in approaching Japan, it seemed as though the dropping of the nuclear weapon was the most reasonable (Ferrell). On July 26, an ultimatum was offered to Japan. In this ultimatum was the statement, “We call upon the government of Japan to proclaim now the unconditional surrender of all Japanese forces and to provide proper and adequate assurances of their good faith in such action. The alternative for Japan is prompt and utter destruction” (McCoy 36). Utter destruction is what followed. After Japan rejected the ultimatum to surrender, the first atomic bomb was dropped Zosky 5 on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. Three days later, a second bomb was dropped onto Nagasaki. The casualties were unimaginable. There were approximately 100,000 dead and 100,000 injured Japanese soldiers and citizens. Truman made many comments on how he felt after the destructive weapon had been dropped. He stated, “It occurred to me that a quarter of a million of the flower of our young manhood were worth a couple of Japanese cities, and I still think they were” (Donovan 97). Although Truman believed that the dropping of the atomic bomb was necessary, he did not like having to make this decision. After the bombings, Truman had given an order that no more bombs were to be used (Ferrell). Many did not share in Truman’s idea that the dropping of such a phenominal weapon was necessary. Many Americans believed that Truman did not give enough careful consideration in deciding to drop the bomb. Some thought that the Japanese were not given enough warning and that the targets were not primarily military, as Truman had once stated. Others believed that enough time was not given to Japan to reply to the ultimatum. Most believed that there were other ways in which the United States could have caused the Japanese to surrender at a lower cost of lives. American citizens were not the only ones questioning Truman’s actions. Secretary of War, Henry Stimson later in his life, stated that, “It is possible, in the light of the final surrender, that a clearer and earlier exposition of American willingness to retain the Emperor would have produced an earlier ending to the war.” Stimson believed that the United States might have prolonged the war (Long). As you can see, making this very controversial decision caused many criticisms and accusations against Harry Truman. Even after these criticisms, Truman has stated. “I was there. I did it. I would do it again” (Ferrell). Although his confidence about the weapon projected through his words, it seemed as if the Zosky 6 question of whether or not he should have chosen to drop the bomb bothered him until the end of his life. This is evident in the fact that near the end of his life, he laid in a hospital in Kansas City. When the Attorney General and the Associate Justice of the Supreme Court visited him, he wanted to talk about the atomic bomb. During their discussion, the former President talked about his reasons for dropping the bomb, in attempts to justify his actions (Ferrell). Despite all of the doubts, the atomic bomb did its job. Japan announced on August 10, 1945 that they would surrender on Allied terms. Americans failed to realize how wrong they were about critisizing the President. When they elected Franklin Roosevelt as President of the United States, they were also choosing Harry S. Truman, knowing that he could quite possibly take office. Americans gave him the power to run the country. Americans may have been in the dark about all the circumstances surrounding World War II and the atomic bomb, but President Harry S. Truman was enlightened shortly after taking office. He made a decision based on everything that he knew. His decision was made in order to save lives and not prolong a war. That is exactly what had occurred. Americans lost faith in their President, and in his intelligence. They overreacted to the events involving the atomic bomb. Shortly after the conclusion of World War II, Americans feared an atomic war. Unsteady relations with the Soviet Union trace back to World War I. The tensions between the two countries escalated after World War II peace agreements. From 1945 to the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Cold War took place. This competition between the United States and the Soviet Union was different from a normal war. It had many different fronts such as political and economic fronts. There were some occurrences of military action, but the biggest threat was that Zosky 7 of nuclear war. Since the United States had discovered the atomic bomb, the Soviet Union had been trying to create one of their own. The arms race and nuclear weapons dominated the Cold War. It was during this time in American history when the idea of the bomb shelter was popular. Americans feared for their lives and were constantly worried that a nuclear war would break out. Never in the forty-six years of the Cold War was an atomice bomb dropped, although it had come close. Since then, it seems that nuclear weaponry has not been in concern until the terroristic attacks on our nation on September 11, 2001. The President then and now is George W. Bush. Looking closely, many similarities can be seen between Bush and Harry S. Truman. Both took office without a proper approval from the electorate. Both had to deal with opposition in Congress, and both had to deal with major national security issues soon after taking office (Mann). Now that Bush is faced with a foreign attack just as Truman was, will he choose the same fate for the attacker? Will he destroy the country by using nuclear weapons? Let us hope not. Shortly after the September 11 attack, many Americans feared a nuclear war. After seeing the destruction that an atomic bomb can cause, it is frightening to think that the United States might engage into a nuclear war, seeing as how many nations have developed their own type of nuclear weaponry. As President of the United States, being faced with such a decision like war is very difficult. Considering all the options is crucial. When having to deal with a foreign and uncivilized enemy, nuclear war may seem like a real option, but when all the consequenses of that option are weighed, it is not a clear and rational answer. Whether or not a nuclear weapon will ever be used again is completely unpredictable. After acknowledging all the damage that they can do, it is hoped by that such a weapon Zosky 8 should never be used again. Looking back on Truman’s decision and the circumstances involved at that time, it seems as though his decision was very rational and justifiable. If George W. Bush or any other future President of the United States should ever decide to proceed with the use of the deadliest weapon known to man, it may be likely that a worldwide nuclear war could break out and possibly destroy all human kind. Zosky 9 1. Boller, Paul F. Not so! : Popular myths about America from Columbus to Clinton. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995. 2. McCoy, Donald R. The presidency of Harry S. Truman. Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 1984. 3. Mann, Thomas, E. “What Bush Can Learn From Truman.” The New York Times October 6 2002. 4. Long, Doug. “Hiroshima: Was It Necessary?” 8 October 2003 5. Palchikoff, Nikolay. “The Nuclear August of 1945” The New York Times August 6, 2001. 6. Donovan, Robert J. Conflict and crisis : the Presidency of Harry S. Truman, 1945-1948. New York: Norton, 1997. 7. National Archives and Record Administration. “Truman Presidential Museum and Library.” 8 October 2003 < http://www.trumanlibrary.org/teacher/abomb.htm> 8. Ferrell, Robert Hugh. “Harry S. Truman: The Man.” 8 October 2003 < http://www. navy.mil/ homepages/cvn75/history.html> 9. Goozner, Merrill. “Hiroshima: No place for morality speedy end to war dominated Truman’s historic decision.” Chicago Tribune August 6, 1995. 10. Ferrell, Robert Hugh. “President Harry S. Truman and the bomb.” National Forum 75 (1995): 22. The Controversial Decision Term Paper Section # Number 02 December 2003