Atomic Bomb

On July 16, 1945, in Alamogordo, New Mexico, the world was forced into a new age. With the first successful testing of the atom bomb humanity demonstrated to itself its own horrifying nature. However, it was human nature which dictated the development of such a weapon. WWII was coming to an end. The Nazi administration had been crushed and all that stood before the U.S. and total victory was Japan. Nevertheless, the allies had already seen the horrible effects of an assault against a determined and prepared enemy during its invasion of Normandy. furthermore, the horrific casualty rates suffered on D-Day would, it was estimated, pale in comparison to the invasion of mainland Japan. An approximated one million casualties was expected for taking the Japanese homeland. It was this notion which has led some to consider the Truman administration’s decision to use the atomic bomb as the deciding factor. However, this interpretation of events is misleading.

The victory in Europe was now overshadowed by, to paraphrase the words of Winston Churchill, the iron curtain which had descended over Eastern Europe. The world was now split between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. The two powers were now in direct conflict with each other, capitalism vs. socialism. In examining the use of the atom bomb on Japan, you have to take into consideration the relationship that was developing between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. The atom bomb was a weapon which gave its wielder an obvious advantage over that of its wielder’s counterpart, in this instance shown by peacekeeping between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. The question, “Should the atom bomb have been used?” is really, “Why was the atom bomb used?” Therefore, the idea of the atom bomb’s use is not yes or no but, rather, by the reasons which may have necessitated its use, representing itself in the form of atomic diplomacy or the use of the atom bomb as indirect coercion on the negotiations which were to take place between the victors of the European theatre of war.

The spring of 1945 saw the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. entangled in a web of deception, manipulation, and struggle over Eastern Europe and the, still as yet, undefeated Japanese. The role the U.S.S.R. would play in the pacific and their policies toward Eastern Europe were still unclear. The Truman administration, by successfully testing the atom bomb, wanted to ensure an advantage over the diplomatic negotiations that were to come, specifically the meeting of the big three at Potsdam.

Unfortunately, for the Truman administration, the original scheduled date for Potsdam would not coincide with the completion of the bomb, and therefore, according to Gar Alperovitz, in his historical analysis of the negotiations between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, Atomic Diplomacy: Hiroshima and Potsdam, The Use of the Atomic Bomb and the American Confrontation with Soviet Power, “Truman decided to delay the meeting until he could bring into play ‘the master card of negotiation.’” The Alamogordo testing of the nuclear bomb occurred on July 16, 1945, the originally scheduled date for Potsdam was to occur before this. However, after learning of the bombs scheduled testing date, Truman had the meeting deferred to July 17th, the date on which it did occur. The dates alone should present an implied threat by the U.S. to their Soviet counterparts. At Potsdam, in reference to the effect the bombs testing had on Truman, Churchill retorted: “Now I know what happened to Truman yesterday. I couldn’t understand it. When he got to the meeting after having read this report [of the successful test] he was a changed man. He told the Russians just where they got on and off and generally bossed the whole meeting.”

To many, the actual decision to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki was directly linked with the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union, irregardless of the necessity of an invasion of Japan. Throughout the spring and into July of 1945 the Japanese took several measures which indicated