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Welcome to FloridaStudents.org, your source for Student Tutorials and Resources. This website is freely available to Florida public schools and login is integrated with all districts. Inside this website you will find resources to support your learning in language arts, mathematics, science, civics, and U.S. History.

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Free gamified quizzes on every subject that students play in class and at home. Pick an existing quiz or create your own for review, formative assessment, and more.

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Hi, I'm John Green. This is Crash Course U.S. History and today we're going to talk about a topic so huge to history buffs that we could only discuss a tiny little fraction of it. I am of course referring to paratroopering. No, World War II. World War II is the only historical event that has like, its own cable channel. Well I should say it used to have its own cable channel. These days the history channel is, of course, devoted primarily to lumberjacks and oh-my-gosh-is-that-guy-really-going-to-shoot-an-alligator? Who knew how nostalgic we could be for documentaries about Joseph Stalin.

Mr. Green! Mr. Green! Finally we get to the good stuff like Patton and Rommel and Churchill and Eisenhower! Stalingrad! Gomer Pyle!

Aw, I'm sorry to disappoint you me-from-the-past but while Patton and Eisenhower were Americans, Rommel was a German (or General Monty Montgomery's dog). Regardless, they were both from the green parts of not-America. Also no Americans fought at the Battle of Stalingrad. Although we did talk about that in Crash Course World History. And Gomer Pyle was a television character played by Jim Neighbors. I believe that you mean to refer to journalist, Ernie Pyle.

(Intro)

So here at Crash Course we like to focus on causes and effects of wars rather than strategy and tactics. But given the importance that World War II has in the American imagination, we're gonna discuss those a bit to today.

We're gonna defy Maria von Trapp and start before the very beginning because America's ideas about foreign policy were shaped by two things: The Great Depression and World War I.

After the experience of World War I it's not surprising that Americans were just a smidge gun shy about involvement in foreign affairs. Seriously Stan? A gun pun? Now? No.

Now America actually came out of World War I stronger than ever but man did a lot of people die for not much change. I mean, I guess the Treaty of Versailles sort of remade Europe but it didn't make it better. And the League of Nations was a flop. And generally there was a lot of disappointed idealism. The period of time between 1920 and the U.S. entry into World War II has been called an Age of Isolationism, although that isn't 100% accurate. I mean, for one thing the U.S. sponsored a series of arms reduction negotiations that resulted in the Washington treaties limiting the number of battleships that a country could possess. But of course those negotiations led to a fat lot of nothing because the idea of a nation limiting it's battleships was a bigger joke even than the League of Nations which I will remind you we invented and then did not join.

Another way that the U.S. was less than isolationist was our pursuance of the Good Neighbor policy with Latin America. So called because we were not a good neighbor. Our idea was to be less intrusive in Latin American politics and we did remove troops from the Dominican Republic and Haiti, which was something, but good neighbor is a bit of an exaggeration. I mean, we continued to support repressive dictators like Samosa and Nicaragua and Batista and Cuba. You know, we've never really been great neighbors. However we were isolationist in the sense that the United States was much less involved in world trade. Largely because of the Depression. You know, that meant that there wasn't much world trade. But also because of tariff policies. But there was also something isolationist about the formal actions of Congress, like after Europe and Asia began to become belligerent in the 1930s with Japan's invasion of China and Italy's invasion of Ethiopia. And the rise of fascist dictators in Spain and of course Germany, Congress responded by passing a series of neutrality acts which banned the sale of arms to belligerents. Even if they were really nice, tea drinking belligerents who we were pals with. And that points to another reason why people tend to regard this as a time of isolationist sentiment, our old friend Eurocentrism. We were generally neutral in terms of foreign intervention when it came to Europe. Popular groups like America First with celebrity members from Charles Lindbergh to E.E. Cummings cautioned against involvement in foreign affairs. But they mostly meant European affairs. The U.S. didn't officially get involved in the war until two years after Hitler invaded Poland. But America was deeply in the European war before we actually sent troops. F.D.R. really wanted to help the allies, especially the Brits, who after the French surrendered in 1940, were the only ones actually fighting the Nazis until 1941 when there were a whole lot of Russians also fighting them. Even Congress recognized that the Nazis were a threat and in 1940 it agreed to allow cash and carry arms sales to Great Britain.

By the way, Cash and Carry is the name of a liquor store near Stan's house. But anyway, the sale of arms were cash sales meaning that they were not paid for with loans or IOU's and the carry part meant that the British would carry their own arms over you know, to Britain.

It's the difference between buying a pizza at a grocery store and getting it delivery except it's not like that at all and...I just want pizza.

Then in September 1940, Congress created the nation's first peace time draft taking the next step toward involvement and that was a huge deal because you know, you don't muster an army with no desire to eventually use it. By 1941, in spite of all our neutrality FDR had pretty clearly sided with the Allies. America became the arsenal of democracy with the Lend Lease Act authorizing military aid to countries that promised to pay it back somehow after the war we promised we'll figure it out. So this essentially gave billions of dollars' worth of arms and war materials to Britain and after the Nazis invaded in June of 1941 to the USSR as well. And the US also froze Japanese assets here and basically ended all trade between America and Japan. But of course the event that pushed us fully into the war happened on December 7th, 1941 when Japanese pilots attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. 187 aircraft were destroyed 18 naval vessels were damaged or destroyed and more than 2,000 American service men were killed. FDR asked Congress for a declaration of war which they granted voting 477 to 1 and the day after that Germany declared war on the United States and World War II officially became a world war.

We almost always start the American story of World War II in Europe because, you know, Hitler. So I'm gonna start in the Pacific where until 1944 there were actually more American personnel deployed than in Europe. Things didn't start well in the Pacific. Let's go to the thought bubble.

Perhaps worse than Pearl Harbor was the surrender of 78,000 American and Filipino troops at Bataan. This was the largest surrender by American troops in history and it resulted in thousands dying on the Bataan Death March to prisoner of war camps where thousands more would die. But in May 1942 we protected Australia from the Japanese fleet by winning the battle of the Coral Sea and then in June we won a huge victory at Midway Island, midway between Hawaii and Japan I guess, and probably named by historians. The US strategy in the Pacific has been called Island Hopping and it involved taking Japanese controlled islands one at a time to be used as bases for bombers that could then be used against Japan itself. It was a slow process and the fighting over these jungle-y South Pacific islands was fierce and extraordinarily costly. The battle at Guadalcanal went from August 1942 to February 1943 and they didn't freeze like in Stalingrad but conditions weren't much better and now let's switch to the European theatre. We call this the European war because we were fighting against Europeans and it ended in Europe but the first US to fight against Nazis actually did so in North Africa so it's kinda a misnomer. American weaponry was pretty poor but after our initial invasion in North Africa in 1942 we got into it and by 1943 we and the British defeated Rommel in the desert and we were ready to invade Europe which should have made Stalin happy because up to this point Russians had been doing the bulk of the dying in the war. But Stalin wasn't happy. First because he was a mean and nasty person and those kinds of people are rarely happy and secondly because rather than invading France and striking at Germany more directly the Allies invaded Sicily and Italy where we fought for most of 1943 and much of 1944 until finally on June 6, we joined some Brits and Canadians in invading Normandy on D-Day. And that was the beginning of the end for the Nazis. Thanks Thought Bubble.

Oh it's time for the mystery document already? Alright. The rules here are simple. I read the mystery document and usually I get it wrong and I get shocked.

"They seemed terribly pathetic to me. They weren't warriors. They were American boys who be mere chance of fate had wound up with guns in their hands, sneaking up a death-laden street in a strange and shattered city in a faraway country in a driving rain. They were afraid, but it was beyond their power to quit. They had no choice. They were good boys. I talked with them all afternoon as we sneaked slowly along the mysterious and rubbed streets, and I know they were good boys. And even though they weren't warriors born to the kill, they won their battles. That was the point."

Man that is some good writing Stan, by famous war correspondent Ernie Pyle. Pchkow! That was me being a warrior. Pchick! Pchick! I can't even make finger guns. That's how much of a not warrior I am. I'm a worrier. I knew it was Ernie Pyle for two reasons. First he's talking about cities so it's the European theatre. Secondly he's the best European theatre American writer in World War 2, by far.

So while Americans did liberate Paris and were part of the final assault on Germany and also liberated a number of concentration camps, Russians did most of the fighting in Europe, losing at least twenty million people and in the end it was the Russians who captured Berlin. Although the Nazis never really had a chance to win the war after they started fighting the Russians and the Americans entered into it. It didn't actually end until May 8th or 9th, 1945. Depending on when you got the news. And the war in the Pacific continued until August. Japan surrendered unconditionally after the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6th and Nagasaki on August 9th. We don't celebrate the end of World War 2 in the United States and I guess this is because we would have to decide whether to celebrate the end of the war in Europe or in Japan or maybe it's just difficult to celebrate the use of atomic weapons.

Atomic bombs were developed through the Manhattan project so called because the bombs were partly invented in Chicago and then built and tested in New Mexico, trickery. That was the sort of covert thing the US used to do really well before we developed the internet. Although we weren't that good at it. Since the Soviets did steal our technology and build a nuclear bomb like three years later.

The two atomic bombs that were eventually dropped were the most destructive weapons the world had ever seen. The one dropped on Hiroshima killed 70,000 people instantly, and by the end of 1945 another 70,000 had died from radiation poisoning. The bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki also killed 70,000 people; in fact, the death toll from those two bombs was greater than the number of American fatalities in the entire Pacific war. And that leads to one of the most hotly debated questions in recent history. Was the use of atomic bombs justified or ethical? Those arguing against their use often point out that the Truman administration had good evidence that Japan would surrender if they were allowed to keep their Emperor on the throne. And some also point out that the primary targets were not military, although there were 40,000 troops stationed in Hiroshima. Others argue that the real reason the United States dropped the bomb was to threaten the USSR and prevent them from taking more territory in the East. And then there's the argument that using such a destructive weapon was morally reprehensible because it was so destructive as to be qualitatively different from other weapons. For a couple centuries our weapons had had the theoretical capability of eliminating all humans, but never before had it been so easy.

But other reply that dropping the bombs helped save American lives, some of Truman's advisers worried that invasion of Japan would result in 250,000 American deaths, and at least that many Japanese deaths. And that's important to note because if there was one thing truly horrible innovative about World War 2, it was bombing. Sure there was radar and jets, but they weren't nearly as significant as aerial bombardment and by the time the A-Bombs dropped the idea of precision bombing only military targets, wasn't an option; in part because incredibly risky to planes and pilots. And by 1945 it was an acceptable and wide spread strategy to target civilians as part of a total war. In World War 2, perhaps 40% of the estimated 50 million people killed were civilians. Compare that with World War 1 where it was only 10%. We should be horrified that 140,000 people were killed in Hiroshima but we should be horrified by all the civilian attacks in World War 2. 25,000 people died in Dresden, more than 100,000 died in the firebombing of Tokyo in March of 1945.

Thinking about Truman's decision to drop the atomic bombs is important because it forces us to consider our understanding of history. Part of why we say that using atomic bombs was worse than conventional bombing, is because we know what came after; the Cold War, the threat of nuclear annihilation. From the present the dawn of atomic warfare is indeed terrifying. But people living at the time were living amid a different kind of terror, and they couldn't have known that there would be a nuclear arms race that threatened all of humanity. The Japanese didn't look like they were going to give up, and people on both sides were dying every day. So before we pass judgment, let's try to put ourselves in the shoes of both the soldiers who were fighting who didn't have to fight on mainland Japan and the civilians who were killed by the bombs.

There's no answer to be found there but the opportunity of studying history is the opportunity to experience empathy. Now of course we're never going to know what it's like to be someone else, to have your life saved or taken by decisions made by the allied command. Studying history and making genuine attempts at empathy helps us to grapple with the complexity of the world not as we wish it were, but as we find it. Thanks for watching, I'll see you next week.

Crash Course is made through the combined efforts of all of these nice people, and it exists because of you and your support through subbable.com. Subbable is a voluntary subscription service that allows you to support Crash Course directly so that we can keep this show for free forever for everyone. You can check out our Subbable by clicking right there or there's also a link in the video info. There are lots of great perks, but the greatest perk is knowing that you are making this show possible. Thank you so much, Thanks for watching and as we say in my hometown. Don't forget to be awesome.

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Nerdfighteria Wiki - World War II Part 1: Crash Course US History #35

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Hi, I'm John Green. This is Crash Course U.S. History and today we're going to talk about a topic so huge to history buffs that we could only discuss a tiny little fraction of it. I am of course referring to paratroopering. No, World War II.

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Crash Course US History is made by all of these nice people [John Green, Stan Muller, Raoul Meyer, Rosianna Halse Rojas, Stan Muller, Meredith Danko] and it exists because of you and your support through Subbable.

Here at Crash Course, we like making educational content that's free for everyone forever. And we can do that because many people subscribe on a monthly basis through Subbable.com to Crash Course. There are lots of cool perks like signed posters over at Subbable, but the biggest perk is that you get to keep watching this show! So thank you for making it possible, thanks for watching, and as we say in my hometown, don't forget to be awesome...

[in captions on video only:] Boom. Oh god. That went worse than I expected.

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Nerdfighteria Wiki - World War II Part 2 - The Homefront: Crash Course US History #36

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Crash Course US History is made by all of these nice people [John Green, Stan Muller, Raoul Meyer, Rosianna Halse Rojas, Stan Muller, Meredith Danko] and it exists because of you and your support through Subbable. Here at Crash Course, we like making educational content that's free for everyone forever.

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Impact of WWII on Women and African Americans

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Impact of WWII on Women and African Americans

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Minorities in World War II Reading and Chart

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Minorities in World War II Reading and Chart

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Loyal American: Fred Korematsu | BRI's Homework Help Series

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Printable Version

Executive Order 9066: Ordering Internment
Digital History ID 44

Author: Franklin D. Roosevelt
Date:1942

Annotation: President Roosevelt authorized the internment of tens of thousands of American citizens of Japanese ancestry and resident aliens from Japan.

Document: Executive Order 9066 February 19, 1942

Whereas, the successful prosecution of the war requires every possible protection against espionage and against sabotage to national-defense material, national-defense premises and national defense utilities as defined in Section 4, Act of April 20, 1918, 40 Stat. 533, as amended by the Act of November 30, 1940, 54 Stat. 1220. and the Act of August 21, 1941, 55 Stat. 655 (U.S.C.01 Title 50, Sec. 104):

Now therefore, by virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States, and Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, I hereby authorize and direct the Secretary of War, and the Military Commanders whom he may from time to time designate, whenever he or any designated Commander deems such action to be necessary or desirable, to prescribe military areas in such places and of such extent as he or the appropriate Military Commander may determine, from which any or all persons may be excluded, and with respect to which, the right of any persons to enter, remain in, or leave shall be subject to whatever restriction the Secretary of War or the appropriate Military Commander may impose in his discretion.

The Secretary of War is hereby authorized to provide for residents of any such area who are excluded therefrom, such transportation, food, shelter, and other accommodations as may be necessary, in the judgment of the Secretary of War or the said Military Commander, and until other arrangements are made, to accomplish the purpose of this order. The designation of military areas in any region or locality shall supersede designations of prohibited and restricted areas by the Attorney General under the Proclamation of December 7 and 8, 1941, and shall supercede the responsibility and authority of the Attorney General under the said Proclamations in respect of such prohibited and restricted areas.

I hereby further authorize and direct the Secretary of War and the said Military Commanders to take such other steps as he or the appropriate Military Commander may deem advisable to enforce compliance with the restrictions applicable to each military area herein above authorized to be designated, including the use of Federal troops and other Federal Agencies, with authority to accept assistance of state and local agencies.

I hereby further authorize and direct all Executive Departments, independent establishments and other Federal Agencies, to assist the Secretary of War or the said Military Commanders in carrying out this Executive Order, including the furnishing of medical aid, hospitalization, food, clothing, transportation, use of land, shelter, and other supplies, equipment, utilities, facilities and services.

This order shall not be construed as modifying or limiting in any way the authority heretofore granted under Executive Order No. 8972, dated December 12, 1941, nor shall it be construed as limiting or modifying the duty and responsibility of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with respect to the investigations of alleged acts of sabotage or the duty and responsibility of the Attorney General and the Department of Justice under the Proclamations of December 7 and 8, 1941, prescribing regulations for the conduct and control of alien enemies, except as such duty and responsibility is superseded by the designation of military areas hereunder.

Franklin D. Roosevelt The White House February 19, 1942

Source: Franklin D. Roosevelt The White House February 19, 1942

Copyright 2021 Digital History

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Printable Version Executive Order 9066: Ordering Internment Digital History ID 44 Author: Franklin D. Roosevelt Date:1942 Annotation: President Roosevelt authorized the internment of tens of thousands of American citizens of Japanese ancestry and resident aliens from Japan.

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1. Drag the marker to wherever you'd like to target.

Note that you can drag the target marker after you have detonated the nuke.

Created by Alex Wellerstein, 2012-2023.
For more about the nuclear past and present, follow @wellerstein on Twitter, and read Restricted Data: The Nuclear Secrecy Blog.

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NUKEMAP is a mapping mash-up that calculates the effects of the detonation of a nuclear bomb.

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First Hand Account of the Bombing of Hiroshima

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First Hand Account of the Bombing of Hiroshima

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Printable Version

Account of the bombing of Hiroshima
Digital History ID 1185

Author: Michihiko Hachiya
Date:1995

Annotation: A Japanese physician offers a first-hand account of the bombing of Hiroshima.

Document: The hour was early; the morning still, warm, and beautiful. Shimmering leaves, reflecting sunlight from a cloudless sky, made a pleasant contrast with shadows in my garden as I gazed absently through wide-flung doors opening to the south.

Clad in drawers and undershirt, I was sprawled on the living room floor exhausted because I had just spent a sleepless night on duty as an air warden in my hospital.

Suddenly, a strong flash of light startled me - and then another. So well does one recall little things that I remember vividly how a stone lantern in the garden became brilliantly lit and I debated whether this light was caused by a magnesium flare or sparks from a passing trolley.

Garden shadows disappeared. The view where a moment before had been so bright and sunny was now dark and hazy. Through swirling dust I could barely discern a wooden column that had supported one comer of my house. It was leaning crazily and the roof sagged dangerously.

Moving instinctively, I tried to escape, but rubble and fallen timbers barred the way. By picking my way cautiously I managed to reach the roka (an outside hallway)and stepped down into my garden. A profound weakness overcame me, so I stopped to regain my strength. To my surprise I discovered that I was completely naked How odd! Where were my drawers and undershirt?

What had happened?

All over the right side of my body I was cut and bleeding. A large splinter was protruding from a mangled wound in my thigh, and something warm trickled into my mouth. My check was torn, I discovered as I felt it gingerly, with the lower lip laid wide open. Embedded in my neck was a sizable fragment of glass which I matter-of-factly dislodged, and with the detachment of one stunned and shocked I studied it and my blood-stained hand.

Where was my wife?

Suddenly thoroughly alarmed, I began to yell for her: 'Yaeko-san! Yaeko-san! Where are you?' Blood began to spurt. Had my carotid artery been cut? Would I bleed to death? Frightened and irrational, I called out again 'It's a five-hundred-ton bomb! Yaeko-san, where are you? A five- hundred-ton bomb has fallen!'

Yaeko-san, pale and frightened, her clothes torn and blood stained, emerged from the ruins of our house holding her elbow. Seeing her, I was reassured. My own panic assuaged, I tried to reassure her.

'We'll be all right,' I exclaimed. 'Only let's get out of here as fast as we can.'

She nodded, and I motioned for her to follow me....

We started out, but after twenty or thirty steps I had to stop. My breath became short, my heart pounded, and my legs gave way under me. An overpowering thirst seized me and I begged Yaeko-san to find me some water. But there was no water to be found. After a little my strength somewhat returned and we were able to go on.

I was still naked, and although I did not feel the least bit of shame, I was disturbed to realize that modesty had deserted me. On rounding a corner we came upon a soldier standing idly in the street. He had a towel draped across his shoulder, and I asked if he would give it to me to cover my nakedness. The soldier surrendered the towel quite willingly but said not a word. A little later I lost the towel, and Yaeko-san took off her apron and tied it around my loins.

Our progress towards the hospital was interminably slow, until finally, my legs, stiff from drying blood, refused to carry me farther. The strength, even the will, to go on deserted me, so I told my wife, who was almost as badly hurt as I, to go on alone. This she objected to, but there was no choice. She had to go ahead and try to find someone to come back for me.

Yaeko-san looked into my face for a moment, and then, without saying a word, turned away and began running towards the hospital. Once, she looked back and waved and in a moment she was swallowed up in the gloom. It was quite dark now, and with my wife gone, a feeling of dreadful loneliness overcame me. I must have gone out of my head lying there in the road because the next thing I recall was discovering that the clot on my thigh had been dislodged and blood was again spurting from the wound.

I pressed my hand to the bleeding area and after a while the bleeding stopped and I felt better Could I go on?

I tried. It was all a nightmare - my wounds, the darkness, the road ahead. My movements were ever so slow; only my mind was running at top speed.

In time I came to an open space where the houses had been removed to make a fire lane. Through the dim light I could make out ahead of me the hazy outlines of the Communications Bureau's big concrete building, and beyond it the hospital. My spirits rose because I knew that now someone would find me; and if I should die, at least my body would be found. I paused to rest. Gradually things around me came into focus. There were the shadowy forms of people, some of whom looked like walking ghosts. Others moved as though in pain, like scarecrows, their arms held out from their bodies with forearms and hands dangling. These people puzzled me until I suddenly realized that they had been burned and were holding their arms out to prevent the painful friction of raw surfaces rubbing together. A naked woman carrying a naked baby came into view. I averted my gaze. Perhaps they had been in the bath. But then I saw a naked man, and it occurred to me that, like myself, some strange thing had deprived them of their clothes. An old woman lay near me with an expression of suffering on her face; but she made no sound. Indeed, one thing was common to everyone I saw - complete silence.

All who could were moving in the direction of the hospital. I joined in the dismal parade when my strength was somewhat recovered, and at last reached the gates of the Communications Bureau.

Copyright 2021 Digital History

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Printable Version Account of the bombing of Hiroshima Digital History ID 1185 Author: Michihiko Hachiya Date:1995 Annotation: A Japanese physician offers a first-hand account of the bombing of Hiroshima. Document: The hour was early; the morning still, warm, and beautiful.

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The Atomic Bomb
Digital History ID 3829

Document:
The Atomic Bomb Interpreting Primary Sources

Nuclear bombs cannot possible remain a "secret weapon" at the exclusive disposal of this country for more than a few years. The scientific facts on which their construction is based are well known to scientists of other countries. Unless an effective internal control of nuclear explosives is instituted, a race for nuclear armaments is certain to ensue following the first revelation of our possession of nuclear weapons to the world....In the war to which an armaments race is likely to lead, the United States, with its agglomeration of population and industry in comparative few
metropolitan districts, will be at a disadvantage compared to nations whose population and industry are scattered over large areas.

We believe that these considerations make the use of nuclear bombs for an early unannounced attack against Japan inadvisable. If the United States were to be the first to release this new means of indiscriminate destruction upon mankind, we would sacrifice public support throughout the world, precipitate the race for armaments, and prejudice the possibility of reaching international agreement on the future control of such weapons.

Scientists' petition against use of the atomic bomb, June, 1945

I realize the tragic significance of the atomic bomb. Its production and its use were not lightly undertaken....But we knew that our enemies were on the search for it. We know now how close they were to finding it. And we know the disaster which would come to this nation...to all civilizations, if they had found it first....

Having found the bomb we have used it. We have used it against those who attacked us without warning at Pearl Harbor, against those who have starved and beaten and executed American prisoners of war, against those who have abandoned the pretense of obeying international laws of warfare. We have used it in order to shorten the agony of war, in order to save the lives of thousands and thousands of young Americans.

President Truman defends his decision to drop the atomic bombs, August, 1945

Questions To Think About

1. What political and military factors led President Truman to order the atomic bombing of Japan?

2. What alternatives were available to him?

3. On what grounds do Truman's critics question his decision?

4. In your opinion was the decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan correct?

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The Atomic Bomb Digital History ID 3829 Document: The Atomic Bomb Interpreting Primary Sources Nuclear bombs cannot possible remain a "secret weapon" at the exclusive disposal of this country for more than a few years. The scientific facts on which their construction is based are well known to scientists of other countries.

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President Truman's Diary of the Atomic Bomb

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President Truman's Diary of the Atomic Bomb

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Printable Version

Truman's Diary on the Atomic Bomb
Digital History ID 1186

Author: Harry S. Truman
Date:1945

Annotation: In 1945, Harry S. Truman faced one of the most difficult decisions a President has ever had to make. Franklin D. Roosevelt's death in April 1945 had made Truman President. Nazi Germany had been defeated, and now the new chief exective had to decide how best to end the war with Japan. "I have to decide Japanese strategy," he wrote in his diary, "--shall we invade Japan proper or shall we bomb and blockade."

Truman was told that Japan was prepared to fight to the end rather than surrender. Some officials believed that U.S. bombing raids, which had already killed hundreds of thousands of people, would defeat Japan. Others felt that the United States would have to invade Japan at the cost of tens of thousands of casualities. Then, less than two weeks after becoming President, he was informed about a secret project to develop an atomic bomb. On July 16, 1945, Truman learned that the weapon with the power of thousands of tons of TNT had been successfully tested.

The United States and Britain gave Japan an ultimatum: surrender or face total destruction. When the Japanese government failed to respond, Truman authorized the use of the bomb. When asked to give his formal approval, he wrote without hesitation: "Suggestion approved. Release when ready."

Document: We have discovered the most terrible bomb in the history of the world. It may be the fire destruction prophesied in the Euphrates Valley Era, after Noah and his fabulous Ark.

Anyway we "think" we have found the way to cause a disintegration of the atom. An experiment in the New Mexico desert was startling - to put it mildly. Thirteen pounds of the explosive caused the complete disintegration of a steel tower 60 feet high, created a crater 6 feet deep and 1,200 feet in diameter, knocked over a steel tower 1/2 mile away and knocked men down 10,000 yards away. The explosion was visible for more than 200 miles and audible for 40 miles and more.

This weapon is to be used against Japan between now and August 10th. I have told the Sec. of War, Mr. Stimson, to use it so that military objectives and soldiers and sailors are the target and not women and children. Even if the Japs are savages, ruthless, merciless and fanatic, we as the leader of the world for the common welfare cannot drop that terrible bomb on the old capital or the new.

He and I are in accord. The target will be a purely military one and we will issue a warning statement asking the Japs to surrender and save lives. I'm sure they will not do that, but we will have given them the chance. It is certainly a good thing for the world that Hitler's crowd or Stalin's did not discover this atomic bomb. It seems to be the most terrible thing ever discovered, but it can be made the most useful.

Copyright 2021 Digital History

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Printable Version Truman's Diary on the Atomic Bomb Digital History ID 1186 Author: Harry S. Truman Date:1945 Annotation: In 1945, Harry S. Truman faced one of the most difficult decisions a President has ever had to make. Franklin D. Roosevelt's death in April 1945 had made Truman President.

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Crash Course Questionnaire: World War II Part I

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Crash Course Questionnaire: World War II Part I

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Start studying America in World War II. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools.

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U.S. Involvement in World War II Graphic Organizer Review

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U.S. Involvement in World War II Graphic Organizer Review

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McGraw-Hill Reading Guide: Origins of World War II

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McGraw-Hill Reading Guide: Origins of World War II

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McGraw-Hill Reading Guide: America in World War II

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McGraw-Hill Reading Guide: America in World War II

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Fighting in Europe vs. Fighting in the Pacific

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Fighting in Europe vs. Fighting in the Pacific