One of the most difficult decisions President Truman had to face during the early days of his Presidency was the decision to use the atomic bomb against Japan. In the wake of the country losing Franklin Roosevelt in the middle of his fourth term as leader of the United States was difficult enough but the war was dragging on and there was no end in sight for the allied forces (Walker, 1990). This is one of the main reasons why historians and other academics question whether or not Truman’s decision to use such a powerful weapon of mass destruction was necessary. Following are five major reasons why the decision Truman made was necessary in order to win the war against Japan.

First, Truman was looking for a way to end the war as quickly and cost effectively as possible. According to Walker (1990), the war on two fronts was costly and dragging on with no end in sight. In some ways, the President was not thinking of using the atomic bomb as a means of destroying the enemy in such a complete manner, but rather was looking at it as a cost effective tool in putting an end to the war that was not going to end anytime soon.

Second, according to Hubbard (1998), the cost of the Manhattan Project, which was the secret project which built the atomic bomb, was getting out of control and there was no way to justify to Congress why so much funding was being given to develop a weapon that would not be used. To the objections of the scientists who knew the destructive power of the bomb, Truman did make the life-altering decision to use it in Japan. Even though the scientists knew the consequences of the atomic bomb, the President and his military advisors did not heed what they were saying (Walker, 1990).

Third, given the confrontational attitude Truman had with the Soviet Union during this stage of the war, some historians speculate that he wanted to show them the potential destructive power of the atomic bomb (Walker, 1990). By allowing the Soviets along with the rest of the world to see what the atomic bomb was capable of, any Communist country would think twice about inciting any type of conflict with the allies. This line of thinking was evident in several communications between Truman and other parties whose concern was to contain the spread of Communism.

Fourth, according to Hubbard (1998), there was a noticeable lack of incentive to no drop the bomb on Japan. As previously mentioned, the war was dragging on and there was no foreseeable end in sight. Truman, who was backed into a corner so soon after Roosevelt’s death, wanted to find a fast end to the conflict and bring the United States on top as the victor against the forces of destruction. It was also insinuated that German scientists were working on their own atomic bomb, so it was also considered a race against time to drop the bomb before Germany did (Hubbard, 1998).

Finally, Truman felt that by dropping the bomb in Japan that it would be a suitable answer for the destruction caused by the invasion of Pearl Harbor in 1941 (Walker, 1990). He felt that since Japan had caused so much destruction and chaos in Hawaii it was only just they have a taste of what they did to America. In war sometimes the best way to defeat the enemy is to give them a taste of what destruction they caused originally. It is these five reasons that gave Truman the motivation to decide to drop such a deadly weapon of mass destruction.