Truman's Decision to Drop the A-Bomb

1. Who was Harry S. Truman's Secretary of War?      
Henry L. Stimson

2. Who was Truman's Chief of Staff?       
Admiral William D. Leahy

3. Why did Truman believe nuclear bombs needed to be used?    
Truman believe that nuclear bombs needed to be used in order to force the Japanese to surrender unconditionally, therefore ending all fighting.

4. Why did Admiral Leahy believe nuclear bombs didn't need to be used?      
Leahy did not believe nuclear bombs should be used because he thought that the sea blockade and normal bombing of Japan was enough to defeat them and that they have would surrendered.

5. Why did Supreme Allied Commander and future president Dwight D. Eisenhower believe they didn't need to be used?      
Eisenhower thought that Japan was already defeated, so there was no reason to use the bomb.

6. Critics of Truman fall into two camps. One was that he acted rashly because of his "inferior foreign policy skills" when compared to FDR. What is the other major criticism?     
The other major criticism is that, since America had spent a lot of money to create the bomb, Truman was just using it so that the money would not have been spent in vain.  The criticism is that so many people should not be killed so that America can get the value out of their money.

7. Key critics of Truman's use of the bomb weren't on the "historical fringe," but were who?      
Stimson and Admiral Leahy

8. Truman began to soften on his stance for unconditional surrender but something occurred that changed his mind for good. What was that?     
The Trinity test of the atom bomb, because it was successful and, therefore, offered an alternative of how to end the war.

9. Besides defeating Japan what was Truman's other possible motivation for using the nuclear bombs on Japan?    
 The Soviet Union was going to fight against Japan 90 days after Germany was defeated.

10. At Yalta Stalin promised to enter the war against Japan once Germany was defeated. Conventional thinking said this if the Soviets began fighting against Japan.     
  That the Japanese would be defeated and surrender.

11. The four-power surrender ultimatum to be presented to Japan was to be written and decided upon where?    
  The Potsdam Conference

12. What did the Washington Post editorialize about "unconditional surrender"?     
  The Washington Post stated that unconditional surrender would never actually work.

13. What is the significance of Paragraph 12 in the draft copy of the Potsdam Proclamation prior to Truman setting sail on the USS Augusta? (More detail is needed for this question)     
  The significance of Paragraph 12 in the draft copy is that it was a bit of conditional surrender.  This paragraph was promising to not harm the emperor and even give him power in the new form of government.  This promise to protect the emperor would not have been there if the proclamation was calling for unconditional surrender.  Therefore, this shows that Truman was planning on calling for conditional surrender when he left for the Potsdam Conference.



14. What changed when the Proclamation was publicly announced on July 26?       
  When the Proclamation was publicly announced, Paragraph 12 no longer promised to protect the emperor and include him in the new government.

15. According to the author, what might have changed Truman's mind to alter the wording in Paragraph 12? (More detail is needed for this question)      
  According to the author, the change in Paragraph 12 was partially due to the success of the Trinity test.  Since America now had the atom bomb, which could easily make Japan surrender, there was no need to protect the emperor under conditional surrender.  The atom bomb could hurt Japan so much that they would surrender under unconditional surrender and America would look very powerful.


16. Regarding his diary entry of a conversation with Winston Churchill (who is call "P.M." in the entry) what does the author suggest about Truman's attitude with the bomb despite learning what he does from Churchill?      
Truman wants to do more than make Japan surrender, he wants to use the bomb to prove that America is superior.

17. What does his caption on the back of the photo of Stalin and Truman suggest about the use of the bomb?      
This caption suggests that Truman was using the bomb to show off the power of America and boast to other countries.

18. "From a foreign policy perspective" what two accomplishments were made by dropping the bomb?    
  The first accomplishment was defeating Japan and the second was displaying to power of America to the Soviet Union, thus starting the Cold War.

19. To give credit to Truman, why didn't he know what FDR's intentions were with the bomb?    
  He did not know what FDR's intention were with the bomb because he was not told about the bomb when he was senator or vice-president, so he did not know it existed until after FDR died.

20. How did the discrepancy between the loss of 1 million U.S. soldiers lives versus 20,000 to 40,000 if Japan's mainland would have been invaded, affect the understanding of their use?           
    When Americans thought one soldiers would be lost, they understood that the bomb should be used, but since twenty to forty thousand is a much smaller number, they may not have been understanding about the use of the bomb.


21. Based on your readings, this reading, and discussion in class, in a paragraph or two, answer the following: To what extent was President Truman's decision to drop bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki justified?     
  President Truman's decision to drop the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was mostly justified.  IT was justified for many reason.  Since Truman never knew about the bomb when FDR was alive, he could have only assumed that, since FDR had wanted such a weapon produced, he had also wanted to use it.  Therefore, Truman would have thought that he was doing what FDR wanted.  Also, although the estimation that one million America soldiers would be lost was later proven wrong, Truman only knew the figure of one million men.  Since he had a weapon that could end the war and spare all of those lives, how would the American people feel if they found out that one million lives could have been saved, but the government chose not to save them.  Another reason the usage of the bomb was justified was how it prevented Japan from getting their way.  Unconditional surrender was guaranteed with the use of the atom bomb.  This meant that the people who had killed so many Americans would not be walking away unaffected.  However, there is one major reason the atom bomb was not justified.

  There were many civilian lives taken by the usage of the atom bombs.  This alone is a major point that does not justify the use of the atom bombs.  Yet if the atom bomb had not been used, a land war might have taken place that would have also killed civilians. Either way, the civilian deaths is the one point that makes Truman's decision not completely justified.

The Potsdam Conference

1. Read Source 17 (p 68). At Yalta, Churchill and Roosevelt had agreed with Stalin that eastern Europe would be a Soviet ‘sphere of influence’. Do you think Source 17 is what they had in mind?    
  Source 17 is not what Churchill and Roosevelt had in mind when they agreed that the eastern part of Europe would be a soviet "sphere of influence".  Roosevelt and Churchill had only wanted the USSR to watch over this area with troops or other government people.  However, Source 17, Stalin, is stating that any region where a country has their troops is a region it controls.  This would mean that the USSR would have direct control over eastern Europe since its troops were there.  Since this control was not what Roosevelt and Churchill had in mind, Source 17 is not what they had in mind.




2. Would they agree with Stalin’s views expressed in Sources 17 and 18? Explain your answer.       
  Roosevelt and Churchill would nto agree with Stalin's views in Source 17 and 18.  Source 17 states Stalin's view that any country that has troops in a region controls this region.  Since this would mean that the Soviet Union would have direct control over eastern Europe and this was not what they wanted, they would not agree with Source 17.  Source 18 states that Great Britain relies on Greece for its security and the Soviet Union does not, so the Soviet Union stayed out of the discussion about the type of government that was to be established there.  It also states that the Soviet Union relies on Poland for its security and America and Great Britain do not.  This is Stalin inferring that Great Britain and America should not interfere with the discussion about what type of government should be set up in Poland.  Since this would mean that only the Soviet Union would be in the discussion, Poland would become Communist.  Roosevelt and Churchill did not want a Communist Poland, so they would not agree with Stalin's views expressed in Sources 18 either.  




3.  Explain how each of the three developments described in the text might affect relationships at Potsdam.      
  The facts that Stalin had troops in most of eastern Europe, America had a new president, and an atomic bomb had been developed.  The fact that Stalin had troops in most of eastern Europe was threatening to Truman and Britain because they did not want communist governments being set up in countries that had just been freed.  This was, however, what Stalin wanted and was pushing for.  Therefore, there was tension between the two and Stalin.  The new president, Harry Truman, also added to the tension between America and the Soviet Union because he hated communism and was suspicious of Stalin.  He thought that all Stalin wanted to do was make eastern European countries communism and was very against this.  This made Stalin feel mistrusted and Truman not trust Stalin.  The third development, the atomic bomb that America possessed, made both Britain and the Soviet Union not trust America.  This is because America was supposed to be their ally, but was the only one that possessed such a weapon.  This also might have made America feel superior to the other two.  This is how the three developments affected relationships at Potsdam.

Origins of the Cold War: Yalta Conference

1. Choose two points of agreement from the list and explain why they were significant for the future peace of Europe.      

First Point:     

  The Big Three agreed to join the United Nations Organization and this group would go on to try to maintain peaceful relations between countries.  This was important for the future peace of Europe because, with the leadership and joining by the Big Three, this group would help ensure peace in between countries, including countries in Europe.

Second Point: 
  The agreement that the Big Three would track down war criminals involved in concentration and death camps was significant for the future peace of Europe.  This is because it was one way to ensure that Britain and the Soviet Union stayed allies, so there would at least be peace between those two countries.  Also, this would keep such camps from being started or attempted in other countries.  This would hopefully decrease the anti-Semitism that could wreck the peace in Europe.


2. Read Sources 2 - 11 on pages 320 and 321. What is your overall impression of the Yalta Conference based on these sources?        
  Based on these sources, although they were allies, America, the USSR, and Britain never really trusted each other.  The Soviet Union always felt as if Britain and America were trying to steal its money and would not let it take over more countries and land.  Meanwhile, Britain and America were afraid that the Soviet Union would end democracies and so they did not want it to expand.  Also, America was nervous that Britain would be pro-Soviet Union.  This was the more serious part of the Big Three not trusting each other.  There were lighter parts, such as Churchill and Stalin teasing each other, but underneath the alliance there was no trust.

America Enters World War II

1. What impact did the outbreak of war in Europe have on U.S. foreign and defense policy?   
  The outbreak of war in Europe had many impacts on U.S. foreign and defense policy.  To start with, the war forced America to revise the neutrality act that had been put in place in 1935.  Also, a "cash-and-carry" policy was put into place.  This allowed America to sell war goods to nations at war as long as they took the good on their own ships and paid cash.  The debate over this also created another neutrality act in 1939.  Also, the war in Europe scared America, so the amount spent on defense was raised by Congress in 1940 and a law, which was the first of its kind, was created to draft men even though it was a time of peace.  This was called the Selective Training and Service Act.  The outbreak of war clearly made the U.S. less isolated and forced them to prepare for war.


2. Why did Roosevelt take one “unneutral” step after another to assist Britain and the Soviet Union in 1941?    
  Roosevelt took one "unneutral" step after another to assist Britain and the Soviet Union in 1941 because he wanted to protect the United States without going to war. He first justified lending weapons to Britain under the Lend-Lease Act because he felt that the Axis powers would have no opposition if Britain was defeated and this would lead to the Axis powers taking over the world.  Roosevelt also justified helping the Soviet Union by stating that the Soviet Union was an enemy of the Axis powers and so was America.  Therefore, the two should help each other.  Clearly, these unneutral steps were taken to keep the Axis powers at bay so that America would not be threatened and not have to enter the war directly.  Roosevelt wanted the Axis powers defeated, so he helped the Soviet Union and Britain because he thought that they would defeat the Axis powers.


3. Why was the Atlantic Charter important?   
 The Atlantic Charter was important for many reasons.  The Atlantic Charter was a document signed by Winston Churchill and Roosevelt and promised that the two nations, Britain and America, would work together to make sure the Axis powers did not take away the freedom of other countries.  This was really when Roosevelt promised to fight the Axis powers, so it was important in that respect, as well as the document that ensured that the two nations were allies.  The last important aspect of the Atlantic Charter is the fact that it would be the document from which "A Declaration of the United Nations" would be created and that document was the start of the United Nations.  Clearly the Atlantic Charter was very important.


4. Why did the United States enter into an undeclared shooting war with Germany in fall 1941?   
  The United States entered into an undeclared shooting war with Germany in the fall of 1941 because Germany submarines were bombing U.S. destroyers.  Roosevelt had given the orders that, if Germany attacked, they must be instantly taken down.  So, when a U-boat hit fired at Greer, a U.S. destroyer, those on the ship were ordered to shoot at every German submarine that was there.  A similar incident occurred with the U.S. destroyer Rueben James and a merchant ship, Pink Star.  These attacks further provoked shooting because, between the two incidents, 110 lives were lost.  All of the lives lost and the orders from Roosevelt were why the U.S. entered into an undeclared shooting war.


5. How was oil a source of conflict between Japan and the United States?   
  Oil was a source of conflict between Japan and the United States.  This is because Japan wanted to "unite East Asia" by taking over all the countries in East Asia, but the U.S. did not want them to do this. Therefore, the U.S. stopped trading with Japan and this was a problem because the U.S. provided Japan with oil and the Japanese needed oil to run the machines needed to take over other countries and have a war.  The only way for Japan to obtain oil would be to make peace with the U.S. or take control of oil fields in the Dutch East Indies.  The Japanese chose to act against the wishes of the U.S., thus causing a conflict that led to a war.


6. What problem would the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor solve for Roosevelt? What new problems would it create?  
  The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor solved problems for Roosevelt, but it also created problems.  The problem it solved was whether or not to go to war.  After Pearl Harbor was attacked, there was no question that the U.S. should go to war so Roosevelt was easily able to make the Congress declare war.  Also, the awful reports from Pearl Harbor probably helped the American public realize that the Axis powers were a threat and that the war needed to be fought.  They themselves also felt threatened, so that would make them want to fight.  However, two new problems were created.  The first was that American could no longer hold onto its isolationism.  America was now part of the war and involved.  The second problem was that America had to full on go to war and on two sides of the country.  There were fights to be made across both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.  This was going to be difficult because the U.S. Air Force and Navy were not very strong, so they would need to grow in order to win the war.  Another problem is also the fact that a harbor in U.S. territory was attacked so U.S. property was destroyed.  Those were the problems created, but the problem that was solved by Pearl Harbor was also very important.

Dictators Threaten World Peace

1. Why did the new democracies set up after World War I fail? (And yes, I am aware the answer is in the reading so make sure your answer is in your own words.)      

The new democracies set up after World War I failed for many reasons.  In many of the countries where democracies there was no tradition of democracy so the people in the country did not know what to expect in a democracy or how to run one.  Therefore, these governments were not working.  Also, countries such a Germany were upset about having lost land and were angry about the Treaty of Versailles.  They wanted to reverse this treaty because the treaty took away there property and blamed them.  The democracies also failed because of the economic depression and devastation after the war.  It was difficult to keep people happy when many were starving and it was also difficult to run a government when the economy was doing very badly, so it was easy for the governments to fail. Also, the strong nationalism in the country left the countries wanting something more like an empire.  That was why the new democracies failed.

2. What are the characteristics of a totalitarian state?     
  There are characteristics of a totalitarian state.  In such a state, there cannot be any opposition to the government and the individuals in the society have no rights.  In a totalitarian state the government has complete control of the citizens.


3. What factors led to the rise of Fascism in Italy?     
  There were many factors that led to the rise of Fascism in Italy.  The Italians really felt the need for stronger leadership due to the fact that there were large unemployment and inflation rates. This was blamed on Communism, so Benito Mussolini, who established the Fascist Party, was able to make people want a strong leader by using their fears of Communism to his advantage.  He made people want the nationalism and stability that he claimed Fascism offered and those were the factors that led to the rise of Fascism.


4. What were the key ideas and goals that Hitler presented in Mein Kampf ?      

  The key ideas and goals that Hitler presented in Mein Kampf were related to Nazism.  This was a political philosophy that included fascism with extreme nationalism.  Another idea was racial purification, which was the idea that the Aryan race of blue eyes and blonde hair was the "master race" and that this race was to be served by inferior races such as Jews and Slavs.  Another idea was Germany needed to expand in order to succeed, so it basically had to take over other countries or just take their land.  Those were the three main ideas and goals in Mein Kampf.

5. Why did Japan invade Manchuria?     
Japan invaded Manchuria because they wanted Japan to expand.  The leaders of Japan were mainly militaristic, nationalists, so they believed in spreading Japan and having ways to do so.  Therefore, these Japanese leaders led an invasion of Manchuria in order to take the country's natural resources and land.  This would allow for the expansion Japan thought it needed.


6. What foreign countries were involved in the Spanish Civil War?     
There were many foreign countries involved int he Spanish Civil War.  The Americans created the Abraham Lincoln Battalion and that would be used to fight Fransisco Franco.  The Soviet Union also sent equipment and advisors.  Yet Hitler (Germany) and Mussolini (Italy) sent help to Franco. These two countries would later become alies.  However, many democracies in the west did not take a side.  Clearly more countries than just Spain were involved in the war.


7. What factors contributed to America's growing isolationism?      
There were many factors that contributed to America's growing isolationism.  The main factor was that there was a large antiwar feeling in the country.  During the 1930s, many books had been published stating that the US involvement in World War I was only for the benefit of bankers and those who sold weapons.  Since many people had died in this war, this cause that everyone was believing angered people.  Even the Girl Scouts changed in order to be less militaristic.  In order to keep the people happy, the government did not want to be involved with another war, so America kept to itself.