1. 1884-1972 Harry S. Truman

2. Biography (Sparknotes version) Harry Truman was born in Lamar, Missouri in 1884 Was a captain in the field artillery during World War I and served primarily in France He was elected to be a judge of the Jackson County Court in 1922 and became a Senator in 1934. Was responsible for investigating waste and corruption during WWII, as a leader in the Senate Most famous for making the decision to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki after Japan’s refusal to surrender in the final stages of WWII

3. Role in WWII As of 1941, Truman was indecisive about which side to support in the war He attended the Potsdam Conference in 1945 as President It was Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in order to force Japan’s surrender and effectively end WWII Truman defends this decision by claiming that he has spared (American) lives, shortened the war and enacted revenge on the Japanese

4. Significance The most notable significance of Truman’s role in history is the ongoing debate regarding Hiroshima and Nagasaki Many feel that the bombings were unnecessary and killed more people than the continuation of war would have Others feel that the bombings were completely necessary and spared the countries involved (except Japan) more hardships than they had already experienced Many historians believe that Truman “wrecked” the good work done by Roosevelt since 1933 Following World War II, many of Truman’s foreign policy initiatives failed; he was mainly faced with the task of “balancing the budget”

5. Truman’s Decision to Use Atomic Bombs The debate over whether it was “right” to drop atomic bombs on Japan is a continual one; still a major ethics topic today Many feel that the bombings were unnecessary and killed more people than the continuation of war would have Others feel that the bombings were completely necessary and spared the countries involved (except Japan) more hardships than they had already experienced His decision to use this kind of weaponry cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, and many question the necessity of this action, when estimated losses of American troops by the military was only 20 000