President Truman's decision to use atomic weapons proved to be one of the most controversial decisions in American history. the years have passed, the controversy has intensified. Many people have condemned both President Truman and America for that decision.
It was only the dropping of atom bombs that allowed the emperor and the so-called peace faction in the Japanese government to negotiate an end to the war. As hard as it may be to accept, Japanese loss would have been far greater without the bombs.
Seeing the absolute devastation and carnage that the atomic bomb was capable of in a real war environment with real people was the cruel lesson that the earth needed to learn, from the sheer horror that we witnessed that day. As a species we understood exactly what a weapon of that caliber is capable of, thus we haven't dropped one since.
If America hadn't nuked Japan, then the cold war would've likely been the end of the world.
It was a horrific tragedy, but, it was an important lesson. The result of suffering is experience. The further removed you are from history, the easier it is to judge. Truman had three choices. First, invade Japan at the cost of Allied and several million Japanese lives. Second, blockade Japan, and continue heavy aerial bombardment, and literally starve millions of Japanese to death, and prolong the war another year or two. Third, drop the bombs and finally end the war quickly.
Truman's use of the bomb should be seen as him choosing the least awful of the options available to him. Given the alternatives, what would any moral person have done in Truman's position?
Truman is like the modern-day Hamlet. In Truman’s case, his devil was the responsibility he had. He faced one of the greatest dilemmas a man can face.
President Truman's decision to use atomic weapons proved to be one of the most controversial decisions in American history. As the years have passed, the controversy has intensified. Many people have condemned both President Truman and America for that decision.
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