...Truman During his few weeks as Vice President, Harry S Truman scarcely saw President Roosevelt, and received no briefing on the development of the atomic bomb or the unfolding difficulties with Soviet Russia. Suddenly these and a host of other wartime problems became Truman's to solve when, on April 12, 1945, he became President. Truman was born in Lamar, Missouri, in 1884. He grew up in Independence, and for 12 years prospered as a Missouri farmer. He went to France during World War I as a captain in the Field Artillery. Returning, he married Elizabeth Virginia Wallace, and opened a haberdashery in Kansas City. Active in the Democratic Party, Truman was elected a judge of the Jackson County Court in 1922. He became a Senator in 1934. During World War II he headed the Senate war investigating committee, checking into waste and corruption and saving perhaps as much as 15 billion dollars. As President, Truman made some of the most crucial decisions in history. Soon after the war against Japan had reached its final stage. An urgent plea to Japan to surrender was rejected. Truman, after consultations with his advisers, ordered atomic bombs dropped on cities devoted to war work. Two were Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japanese surrender quickly followed. The first use of an atomic bomb in warfare took place on August 6, 1945. The weapon was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima by the U.S. bomber Enola Gay, instantaneously destroying four square miles in the middle of the population...
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...History 1302.03 3/10/17 President Truman’s Moral Dilemma President Truman’s Decision of dropping the Atomic Bomb brought much controversy to the U.S and other countries that were involved in the war, controversy which can be argued to be both good and bad. The U.S was the very first country to develop an atomic bomb, and their focus was to use it and show the world they had it. This action saved and took many lives around the entire world. The question on whether such a powerful attack was necessary to end the war has often been asked. Harry S. Truman became president after Theodore Roosevelt had died of a brain hemorrhage in April 1945. Roosevelt sadly passed away while World War II was still going on. The death...
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...Harry S. Truman was born on May 8, 1885. His home was Lamar Missouri. He later soon moved to Indpendence, Missouri, in 1890. HIs grandparents, Solomon Young and Anderson Shipp Truman, moved from Kentucky to Missouri way back in the 1840’s. Truman’s middle initial of “s” may come from the name Shipp. This name, of course, comes from his grandparents. Truman, as an adult, worked two weeks in a mail room called the Kansas City Star. This event took place in 1902 when he was seventeen years old. Throughout his lifetime, he was always intrested in politics. Before becoming president in 1945, he was a judge in his local courthouse, but even before that, was also a soilder in the Great War. Truman was considered the main contributer to the end of...
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...Harry S. Truman was born on May 8th, 1884 in Missouri and spent most of his childhood on his family’s farm. His name was chosen after his mother’s brother. He had a brother and a sister. Their names were john Vivian (1886-1965), and Mary Jane (1889-1978). His father’s name is john Anderson Truman (1851-1914), and his mother’s name is Martha Ellen young Truman (1846-1916). John was a livestock dealer. Harry and his family moved to a farm near harrisonville when he was 10 months old. They went on to live in Belton and in 1887 they moved to his grandparent’s 600 acre farm in Grandview. When he was 6 years old his family moved into a small town called independence, so he could attend a Presbyterian Church Sunday school. Harry did not go...
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...During World War II in August 6, 1945 America dropped worlds first atomic bomb on Hiroshima in Japan. This atomic bomb was given a nickname "Little Boy". On August 9, 1945 three days after the first bomb was dropped United States dropped the second bomb on the Nagasaki. This bomb was given a nickname "Fat Man". Together these two bombs killed over 90,000 people immediately and it demolished the cities. The decision by President Harry S. Truman and his advisors to drop the atomic bomb on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II was a military necessity. The first reason the bombing of Japan was military necessity because four years ago Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. According to document A bombing of pearl harbor killed 2,400 American .So Americans hated the Japanese, they wanted revenge from Japan. According to document B, on the poster it was written that " stay on the job until every MURDERING JAP is wiped out!". Americans were angry at Japan. They were encouraging other Americans by posting posters to take strong action against Japan. Also, Japanese Kamikaze attacked on United States ships in the Pacific Theater, these were the suicidal attacks on ships....
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...History of the A-Bomb In early August 1945 atomic bombs were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These two bombs quickly yielded the surrender of Japan and the end of American involvement in World War II. By 1946 the two bombs caused the death of perhaps as many as 240,000 Japanese citizens1. The popular, or traditional, view that dominated the 1950s and 60s – put forth by President Harry Truman and Secretary of War Henry Stimson – was that the dropping of the bomb was a diplomatic maneuver aimed at intimating and gaining the upper hand in relations with Russia. Today, fifty-four years after the two bombings, with the advantage of historical hindsight and the advantage of new evidence, a third view, free of obscuring bias and passion, can be presented. First, the dropping of the bomb was born out of complex infinite military, domestic and diplomatic pressures and concerns. Second, many potentially viable alternatives to dropping the bombs were not explored by Truman and other men in power, as they probably should have been. Lastly, because these alternatives were never explored, we can only conjecture over whether or not Truman’s decision was a morally just one, and if indeed it was necessary to use atomic energy to win the war. The war in Asia had its roots in the early 1930s. Japan had expansionist aims in Eastern Asia and the Western Pacific, especially in Indochina2. In July of 1940 the United States placed an embargo on materials exported to...
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...The Atomic Bomb by Alexander Vaughn Alexander Vaughn Professor Marshall Hist–2110–356 The Atomic Bomb: The Beginning of the Cold War Era By Alexander Vaughn ‘Total Annihilation’ was the farthest concept going through the mind of President Harry S. Truman during his discussions with USSR leader Joseph Stalin and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill at the Potsdam Conference, in July of 1945. As quoted from Truman’s Diary at Potsdam, “I have told the Sec. of War, Mr. Stimson, to use [the atomic bomb] so that military objectives and soldiers and sailors are the target and not women and children...” (1) However, as the days grew closer, the President was under continuous scrutiny from both sides: from senators wanting vengeance for the attack...
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...2/23/2014 Business Ethics Truman’s Decision Should the United States drop the atomic bomb, or should they invade Japan on foot in order to end World War II? Is it okay to kill innocent people as a means to reach a justifiable end? These were the questions that President Harry Truman was faced with near the close of World War II. More than 10’s of millions of people had already lost their lives during this war, and Japan was refusing to surrender even though it was clear to not only us, but also Japan themselves, that their defeat was inevitable. The president was under tremendous pressure to end this costly war, and a tough decision had to be made. This paper will evaluate from which ethical perspective Truman made his decision to use the atomic bomb, and why I believe it was ethically okay for him to choose the option that would cost the lives of over 200,000 Japanese civilians. The two ethical perspectives examined are utilitarianism and Kantianism. First, utilitarianisms fall under the school of ethics called consequentialism. It says that the moral status of the actions you take should be judged by the consequences of those actions. This ethical perspective can be used to answer the question proposed at the beginning of the paper, is it okay to kill innocent people as a means to reach a justifiable end? Supporters of utilitarianism would say that as long as the outcome contributes to the greater good of the greatest amount of people, then yes the act can be justified...
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...In a speech given by Harry S. Truman, announcing the usage of the A-Bomb in Hiroshima, he informs the people of the United States what has happened and why it happened. The speech was given sixteen hours after the bomb was dropped. Harry Truman then explains why the American airplane dropped the bomb in the first place, “The Japanese began the war from the air at Pearl Harbor. They have been repaid…”(Truman, Paragraph 2). Truman then goes on the explain the bomb and why it was so effective. He explains how powerful this bomb actually was and how it was a new weapon of war. “That bomb had more power than 20,000 tons of T.N.T. It had more than two thousand times the blast power of the british ‘Grand Slam’ which is the largest bomb ever yet used in the history of warfare”(Truman, Paragraph 1) Largest is what Truman explains the bomb as. That means that the military...
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...The Atomic Bomb: A Necessity or a Desire Tanmay Bhanushali Year 10 Historical Paper “Great power imposes the obligation of exercising restraint” Leo Szilard - Hungarian-born Physicist and main scientist to oppose the atomic Bombings This was spoken in an interview titled “President Truman did not Understand”. This was between a US news reporter and Leo Szilard the key figure among the scientists opposing the use of the bomb. The interview was in August 15, 1960. Why was their so fierce Opposition? In what Way did Truman Not Understand? These answers lie in the depths of the controversy about the Atomic Bomb. Introduction The atomic bomb was a topic of major controversy but the main debate was about the necessity of the atomic bomb. Many say that the atomic bomb was dropped because it would save millions of American lives. However at that period the Japanese were also at the point of surrendering. Huge amounts of incendiary bombs were used in large-scale cities against japan. Many of the scientists in the Manhattan Project were disturbed about it. The incendiary bombs reduced much morale from the Japanese army and crippled the will power. However this small cripple made Japan even angrier because these incendiary bombs were used on innocent civilians and not the Japanese army. Many think that it was necessary to use the Atomic Bombs because Japan attacked America first and not the other way around. It is a fact that when Hitler attacked...
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...Harry S. Truman led the United States through the end of World War II. His choices during the war influenced countless other presidents' decisions. It all started when Harry S. Truman was born in the small town of Lamar, Missouri on May 8, 1884. In 1890 Harry’s Parents, John and Martha moved the family to independence Missouri. He was a very hard working student who graduated high school in 1901. He wanted to attend West Point, but because of financial issues he could not. Instead he attended a business college in Kansas City, but he was later forced to drop out because he could not afford tuition. In 1906 Truman started to work on the family farm with his father and brother. Truman worked on the farm for many years and then joined the national...
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...After further review of the script for the upcoming World War II 70th anniversary atomic bomb exhibit, I have come across a few glaring flaws. One concluding point references that the decision to use the atomic bombs was one to “purely to end the war.” In addition, it claims that the targets of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were “two vital military targets”. To cap it off you prevent potential museum goers from attempting to counter these statements by asserting that the arguments are “little more than ideological theories” that can’t be supported by reason or hard evidence. I’m afraid this is simply not true. The decision to use the atomic bombs was much more complex than the simple reasoning of quickly ending the war. Hiroshima and Nagasaki themselves were also not truly vital military targets. In order to avoid having the display become overly simplified, I have outlined some necessary revisions. The decision by former President Harry S. Truman to use the atomic bombs on Japan went far beyond the simple rational of producing a speedy end to the war. Yes, Truman desired a rapid end to the Pacific theater....
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...Most of the blame of this event is placed on the United States president at the time, Harry S. Truman. Truman violated all of the same articles that Robert Bales did yet did not suffer any consequences. Truman is guilty of committing multiple war crimes that are equivalent to the crimes that Bales committed in Afghanistan. Firstly, Truman infringed upon article 80 because he attempted and successfully dropped the atomic bombs on Japan. He also violated article 118, murder, because by dropping both bombs, Truman killed over 200,00. Finally, Truman disregarded article 128 by assaulting the whole country of Japan. Truman is ultimately guilty of war crimes by dropping the bombs and should have faced...
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...People’s Republic was established in the south. In 1948 Soviet troops left North Korea and in 1949 American troops left the South. •North Korea attacks: June 24, 1950. On Sunday, June 24, 1950, North Korean troops invaded South Korea with little warning. At the time, the U.S. Army had fewer than 600,000 soldiers and half of those were based in the states. •Truman’s response to the Korean invasion: June 25-30, 1950. On June 27, 1950, President Harry S. Truman announces that he is ordering U.S. air and naval forces to South Korea to aid the democratic nation in repulsing an invasion by communist North Korea. The United States was undertaking the major military operation, he explained, to enforce a United Nations resolution calling for an end to hostilities, and to stem the spread of communism in Asia. •China joining the Korean War. Because General MacArthur, against the orders of President Truman, pushed the North Korean forces to the Yalu River, which separates China and North Korea. Communist China felt threatened by the act and sent the PLA across the Yalu and routed the UN forces, forcing them to retreat far south. •Truman’s refusal to allow direct conflict with China. Bombing China would likely have resulted in a full-scale war and Russia might have intervened on China's side. In short, it might have started a third World War over something that was of no clear and present danger to life in America. •Negotiation over POWs and stalemate. Negotiations were initially hampered by...
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...Modern History Conflict in the Pacific 1937-1941 Due: Thursday 28th of August, 2008 Alyce Wearne Task: Evaluate the argument that America was justified in using atomic weapons against Japan in 1945. As one of the most significant and consequential decisions in the history of the world, President Harry Truman’s allowance of atomic weapons towards the end of World War II, of which he himself understood would cause both mass devastation and indignation, is still one of the most controversial and heavily debated topics in today’s society. This was partially due to the adverse underestimation and seemingly ignorant approach the American’s had towards their latest development of mass destruction; almost oblivious to the immense aftermath of physical injury, civilian death and emotional torment it would produce for those involved. This decision, ultimately made by one man, affected not only America and Japan, but the world. Dispute over this was, and continues to be highly generated, the event causing anger and infuriation to millions across the world. This resentment did not just accumulate from the lack of awareness and slaughter of innocent life, but from the graphic images shown in newspapers, the casualties, and the torturous amount of death underwent as a result of the bomb. As a Japanese survivor documented: “The appearance of people was . . . well, they all had skin blackened by burns. . . . They had no hair because their hair was burned, and at a glance you...
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