FDR and Truman. Continuity and Context in the A-Bomb Decision
Abstract
The 50th anniversary of the American dropping of atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which forced the surrender of Japan and the end of World War II, has occasioned much comment, introspection, and controversy. The discussion and acrimony surrounding the National Air and Space Museum's exhibit of the Enola Gay, the B-29 that dropped the bomb on Hiroshima, heightened the controversy and intensified the spotlight on President Harry S Truman's decision to employ the atomic bomb against Japan. Context has often been neglected in the enormous outpouring of commentary on the rationale behind Truman's decision. The two crucial contexts surrounding the Truman decision are the evolution of American strategic bombing policy and the situation in the Pacific war in the spring and summer of 1945 as seen by both Truman and the Japanese. Perhaps the most important element to be remembered in the long evolution of strategic bombing policy is that strong continuity existed between the Roosevelt and Truman administrations. Long before the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR), outraged at the savagery of the Japanese Imperial Army's onslaught in China and at Nazi Germany's offensive in Europe, had requested that the US Army Air Corps, headed by Maj Gen Henry H. ("Hap") Arnold, begin preparations to build a massive American air force. Roosevelt, a former assistant secretary of the Navy, astutely determined that airpower would constitute a decisive element in any forthcoming conflict between the Western democracies and totalitarianism. Long harboring a sympathetic view towards the suffering of the Chinese people at the hands of the Japanese military, FDR thought that in the event of war with Japan, it would be most important that the United States have the capability to strike the Japanese home islands and urban areas with long-range, landbased bomber aircraft.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1995
- Accession Number
- ADA529476
Entities
People
- Herman S. Wolk
- Richard P. Hallion
Organizations
- Air University