historical note taking
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HIST501
Historical Note Taking Assignment
Kimberly Perez
Truman, Harry S.,
1884-1972 Memoirs by Harry S. Truman : Year of decisions (vol. 1)
New York
: Doubleday 1955
Description: A summary of events written in first person by Harry S. Truman.
When Harry S. Truman received the call to report to the White House, he was
immediately thrown into a position he had never sought or wanted. There, Eleanor Roosevelt,
who was the first lady, told him that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt had died.
With World War II going on in the Pacific, the decision of whether or not to drop the atomic
bomb looming, and labor problems at home that didn't seem to have a solution, this
President was handed a heavy load quickly. This book is an important record of Truman's
troubled first year in office, his childhood in Missouri, and his rise in politics. He gives glimpses
of his family life, gives opinions about world leaders like Winston Churchill, Charles De Gaulle,
and Joseph Stalin.
This source is an incredible source of primary information coming as a firsthand account
from the President himself.
In his memoirs, Truman can directly recall the situations, evidence
and influences that catapulted him into ultimately making the decision to drop the first atomic
bomb in world history.
In Truman’s memoirs the reader can see that this decision was not taking
lightly nor was it not without tremendous influence from various nations, people, and groups.
JCS Secretary, “Minutes of Meeting held at the White House, June 18, 1945”
CCS File, RG218,
US National Archives
(1945).
Description: Notes take from a special meeting called by President Truman regarding the current
campaign against Japan in WW2
Location: White House, Washington DC
Summary
The notes from this meeting are critical to my research topic for many reasons. Taken
approximately 7 weeks before the dropping of Fat Man and Little Boy on Hiroshima and
Nagasaki, the meeting clearly gives a firsthand account of what Truman was considering during
the war with Japan. The nation was greatly fatigued from the long war and the President was
calling the professionals to get one last view of the current situation.
In the meeting President
Truman asks several high-ranking military Cabinet members and Chiefs of Staff their opinion on
the options the US had in the current state of the war.
The President turned to these
knowledgeable men for their opinions at this time of need. Present in the meeting was Fleet
Admiral William Leahy, General of the Army G.C. Marshall, Fleet Admiral E.J. King, Lieut
General I.C. Eaker, Secretary of War Stimson, Secretary of the Navy, Forrestal, Assistant
Secretary of War McCloy, and Brig. General A.J. Mc Farland. Meeting Minutes were taken by
Brig. General A.J. McFarland.
It is safe to say that this is a secure and accurate representation of
what went on in the meeting.
Analysis
The meeting is critical to my paper because it appears to be the last stitch effort by
Truman to consider the possibility of ending the war with Japan by using the current
conventional means. Americans were growing tired of the war with Japan and the current loss of
American life was growing weary on the nations psyche.
This meeting outline that the continued
ground efforts with Japan would only increase the loss of American life and that due to the
topography of the country very little could be done to avoid such losses.
Miscamble, Wilson D.
The Most Controversial Decision : Truman, the Atomic Bombs, and the
Defeat of Japan
. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2011.
Description: A secondary source which outlines the influences on President Truman in
relation to using a nuclear weapon to end the war with Japan.
Summary
This book talks about how the U.S. used atomic bombs and how it helped destroy the
Japanese Empire during World War II. It focuses on President Harry S. Truman's decision-
making skills in relation to this most divisive decision of all. This book talks about a
controversial claim that the Truman administration used "atomic diplomacy," which has caused a
lot of debate among historians. The main historical study of the book is expanded to talk about
how moral it was for the US to use these horrible weapons against Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Also, it is an analysis of the relationship between nuclear weapons and the factors that led to the
Cold War.
Analysis
In this book we can break down the factors that influenced Truman’s decision. Not only
was America growing impatient but there was a developing race towards nuclear arms.
This race
influenced the decisions made by Truman. Not only was it important for America to remain a
superpower and to control any nuclear arms but it was also important to prevent our enemies
from achieving this first.
With Russia steps away from joining the US against Japan decisions
like this were critical not only in a wartime sense but from a political one. This book breaks
down that analysis and the influence of the nuclear arms race was an influencing factor in
Truman’s decision and will be helpful in my analysis.
Gordin, Michael D.
Five Days in August How World War II Became a Nuclear War
. Princeton:
Princeton University Press, 2015.
Description: A secondary source that retells the events that led up to the nuclear end of
the war with Japan.
Summary
Most Americans think that the end of the Second World War was because of the two
atomic bombs that were dropped on Japan. Five Days in August boldly gives a different
explanation: that the military did not fully understand the atomic bomb's revolutionary strategic
potential, that the Allies were almost as shocked by the surrender as the Japanese were by the
attack, and that not only did experts plan and fully expect the need for a third bomb, but they
were also skeptical that the atomic bomb would work at all.
Analysis
This is a great resource for my paper since it identifies the complexities around the use of
the first atomic weapon. Did the President really know what the atomic bomb was capable of?
Did he even think it would work? All these questions are important because they emphasize the
influences this had on the decision to use it. Not quite understanding the Pandora’s box it would
unleash is a very important factor to the actual decision itself. This book helps understand this
factor. Just the fact that they believed they needed a third bomb shows the lack of knowledge
everyone had on the subject.
Outline
Research Question:
Was Truman presented with realistic non-nuclear alternatives to nuclear war with Japan
and what were the factors that ultimately influenced his decision?
Key subpoints:
Options presented to Truman, the influence of the current state of the World and the
requirements of the Potsdam Declaration.
1.
A continued ground war attack -General Mac Arthur’s opinion was that a ground
attack was necessary with a significant estimate for loss of American lives. Mac
Arthur, Eaker, Eishenhower and King all agreed that the next move against Japan
would be
more difficult than Normandy
.
i
The calculated casualties on both sides
would be considered politically unacceptable. Facts supported by “Minutes of
Meeting held at the White House, June 18, 1945”
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2.
Unconditional Surrender of Japan. Truman believed that the US troops deserved
full payment for their sacrifices and that Congress refused to cooperate with
dictators. The idea was a complete rebuild of the country was necessary that
would start at the root of its evil. This was made clear at the Potsdam
Declaration. Facts supported by
1884-1972 Memoirs by Harry S. Truman : Year
of decisions
3.
The influence of Russia as an added ally. Was it a good idea that Russia come
into the war which could result in capitulation of the Japanese? Was Russia as the
hero in the best interest of the United States? In addition, was it important for the
US to remain dominant over Russia by showing their military strength with the
atomic weapon? If Russia was successful in ending the war with Japan, they
could potentially become territorial with China and demand certain lands be
returned to them.
“
I was extremely anxious, I told him, to avoid setting up
tinderboxes either in the Far East or in Europe which might cause future trouble
and wars . . .”
ii
Facts supported by
1884-1972 Memoirs by Harry S. Truman :
Year of decisions and Five Days in August How World War II Became a Nuclear
War
.
4.
Race for nuclear arms and the US governments race to be first started with
Roosevelt and Einstein-Szilard letter which convinced Roosevelt that Hitler was
working on the invention of a nuclear weapon. The race to control nuclear arms
started at that moment and continued throughout Truman’s presidency. Facts
supported by
1884-1972 Memoirs by Harry S. Truman : Year of decisions
5.
The influence of the American public opinion, scientists, military leaders, and
Churchill himself all encouraged Truman to use the weapon as they were all
growing weary of war. Facts supported by
1884-1972 Memoirs by Harry S.
Truman : Year of decisions and The Most Controversial Decision : Truman, the
Atomic Bombs, and the Defeat of Japan.
i
JCS Secretary, “Minutes of Meeting held at the White House, June 18, 1945”
CCS File, RG218, US
National Archives
(1945).
ii
Geselbracht, Raymond H.
, The Memoirs of Harry S. Truman : A Reader's Edition
, (edited by
University of Missouri Press, 2020).