2014 Reports

Truman’s Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb Against Japan in WWII

Blake, Danielle J.

This paper compares Harry Truman's own accounts of the decisions made in 1945 to the accounts of other key players in the decisions surrounding the use of atomic weapons, particularly Secretary of War Henry L Stimson. The paper reveals that Truman had little involvement in choosing to use the weapons, but that political gains were nonetheless achieved.