Causes
The US was engaged in war against Japan for about 3 1/2 years after the attack at Pearl Harbor. Hundreds of thousands of lives were lost. During this time, the US designed and built bombs under the codename "Manhattan Project" initially intended to be used against Germany. However, the Battle of Okinawa, resulted in over 100,000 Japanese casualties, and over 72,000 US casualties. If the US were to try to end the war by invading Japan, countless more lives would be lost.
On July 26, 1945, Truman and other allied leaders issued The Potsdam Declaration outlining terms of surrender for Japan. Japan refused. President Harry S. Truman made the decision to use the atomic bomb in an effort to end the war quickly and avoid the expected casualties that would result from invading Japan. Another reason for dropping the bomb was that the United States needed to use the atomic bomb before the Soviet Union entered the war against Japan to demonstrate America's dominance after the war against Japan, as well as obtaining Japan's surrender. This situation would eventually lead the US and the Soviet Union into decades of Cold War. |