Potsdam Conference/Declaration
After the defeat of Germany in May 1945, newly appointed President Truman, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and USSR dictator Josef Stalin gathered in Potsdam Germany to settle various issues regarding the end of the war in Europe, and the future of Japan. The conference lasted from July 17 - August 2, 1945. At Potsdam, Truman informed his allies that the U.S. had a new devastating super weapon that they could use to end the war quickly if Japan refused to surrender soon. The allies agreed to the deadly proposition and sent it's regards to Japan. The Potsdam Declaration was Japan's last chance to surrender unconditionally to the allies before "the inevitable and complete destruction of the Japanese armed forces and just as inevitably the utter devastation of the Japanese homeland." The Japanese ignored the threat, unaware of the lethality of the Potsdam Declaration and the ruin the secret weapon would inflict on the Japanese homeland.
Hiroshima & Nagasaki
The uranium triggered bomb, satirically nicknamed "Little Boy," weighed about 9,700 lbs and was scheduled to be delivered by the Enola Gay, a modified American B-29 bomber. It's target was Hiroshima, a major manufacturing center in Japan. On August 6, 1945, at 8:15 AM, Little Boy was dropped/parachuted from the Enola Gay. The explosion wiped out approximately 90% of the city and instantly incinerated about 80,000 people; unknown effects of radiation exposure and radioactive fallout would kill tens of thousands more in later years. Three days later, after the Japanese refused to surrender, a second atomic bomb was unleashed on Japan. This new target was Kokura, but due to weather and clouds, the pilot substituted Kokura for nearby Nagasaki. The Nagasaki bomb, a plutonium triggered bomb nicknamed "Fat Man," killed an estimated 40,000 instantly, and like the Hiroshima bomb, would later cause many deaths due to extreme radiation exposure. Japan finally agreed to an unconditional surrender on August 15, 1945. The Japanese emperor described the atom bomb as "a new and most cruel bomb." The two bombs killed nearly 200,000 people when it was all said and done. The Hiroshima & Nagasaki atomic bombings showed the world the potential of nuclear weapons and it's ability to wage apocalyptic wars.
Truman's Decision
"Truman's Decision," as it is famously known, was Truman's controversial decision as Commander-in-Chief to drop the atomic bomb on Japan. President Truman's justification to use the atomic bomb against Japan was to avoid a bloody mainland invasion that would cost too much American blood and treasure. Truman's decision carried through despite moral reservations by some of Truman's cabinet and many of the Manhattan Project scientists. The decision to use nuclear weaponry against other human beings was extremely controversial and it is still a hotly debated topic by experts today. Some experts agree with Truman, and that the atomic bomb ended up saving lives by avoiding a gruesome allied invasion of the Japanese homeland. Also, many experts agree that the bomb saved Japan from communist Russia's new vast influence, which it attained after the war in many of the lost eastern European countries. However, on the other side of the spectrum, experts argued that the bomb was barbaric and unnecessary since Japan was already on the verge of collapse. The American government was even accused on the grounds of racism since the bomb was dropped on a non-white population. Despite the controversy, it is evident that Truman's decision not only affected American history, but it also became a pivotal point in human history.