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Atomic bomb use
Upon becoming president, Truman was quickly briefed on the Manhattan Project, and informed that the atomic bomb would be ready in a few months. Truman sought ways to end the war with Japan without a ground invasion, which was expected to take a high toll on American troops. Options included continued and intensified bombings and blockades, or waiting for the Soviets to join the war, though these options had many disadvantages. The Japanese, in a dire situation, showed some willingness to negotiate a surrender, with the sticking point being whether or not the emperor Hirohito would be retained. There was debate within the Truman administration on that point. The "Committee of Three", consisting of his Secretary of War Henry Stimson, Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal, and Acting Secretary of State Joseph Grew, advocated for an alternative approach for getting the Japanese to surrender, other than use of the atomic bomb. They suggested language for the Potsdam Declaration that would allow Japan to maintain its emperor as a "constitutional monarchy." Truman's adviser, James F. Byrnes, showed concern about political consequences of changing the unconditional surrender policy which was popular among Americans. He also thought that use of the atomic bomb would give the Soviets pause in their supposed expansionist plans. Truman remained committed to a unconditional surrender, and use of the atomic bomb. After Japan rejected the Potsdam Declaration which demanded an unconditional surrender, Truman authorized use of atomic weapons against the Japanese.

On the morning of August 6, 1945, the B-29 bomber Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Two days later, having heard nothing from the Japanese government, Truman let the U.S. military proceed with its plans to drop a second atomic bomb. On August 9, Nagasaki was also devastated. Truman received news of the bombing while aboard the heavy cruiser USS Augusta on his way back to the U.S. after the Potsdam Conference. When On August 14, the Japanese agreed to surrender. The atomic bombings were the first, and so far only, instance of nuclear warfare. By the end of 1945, an estimated 140,000 died from the bombing in Hiroshima, and 74,000 in Nagasaki. <

The decision to use nuclear weapons was not politically controversial at the time, either in the U.S. or among its allies. At the Potsdam Conference, Soviet leader Josef Stalin was aware of the U.S. government's possession of the atomic bomb. In the years since the bombings, however, questions about Truman's choice have become more pointed. Supporters of Truman's decision to use the bomb argue that it saved hundreds of thousands of lives that would have been lost in an invasion of mainland Japan. Eleanor Roosevelt spoke in support of this view when she said, in 1954, that Truman had "made the only decision he could," and that the bomb's use was necessary "to avoid tremendous sacrifice of American lives." Others, including historian Gar Alperovitz, have argued that the use of nuclear weapons was unnecessary and inherently immoral.