Is the Atomic Bomb Helpful or Harmful There was a time in America when the name "Atomic Bomb" seemed fictitious to some, nonexistent to others, and seemed like just a dream to those in the world of science. That time is long gone. The day that changed all ideas and opinions about what war was and what it has become was August 6, 1945. President Truman had decided to drop the atomic bomb to end the war and save as many lives as possible. The United States had dropped the bomb on Hiroshima to almost instantly end the war and avoid a bloody invasion, thus saving both American and Japanese lives. Whether or not to drop the atomic bomb was President Truman's decision, faced with this decision Truman researched and asked advisors to share their ideas about the bomb and then made the best decision for the American and Japanese people. “In an invasion of Japan, the fighting would have been wilder and the number of lives lost on both sides would have been tragic.” (O'Neal 35) The atomic bomb was essential in helping to end the war and save lives. The decision to drop the atomic bomb was made by President Truman. In his decision he states: “The only right thing to do for the American and Japanese people was to end the war through the use of the atomic bomb.” (O'Neal 36) Why all this controversy about the bomb? Historians and people today continue to ask this question along with others. Were the Japanese seriously considering surrendering before the bomb was dropped, and the only way to end the war was through the bomb? The atomic bomb saved lives on both sides and served its purpose of helping to end the war. The fact remains that the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima killed many civilians, but if the war had continued to go on it would have killed many more. When President Truman entered the White House he had problems and decisions before him that he had to face. he knew little about it. In the first days of briefings by the advisors and the committee he had said: "I have to decide the Japanese strategy: will we invade Japan proper or will we bomb and blockade?" This is my hardest decision to date, but I will make it when I have all the facts. “(Takaki 26) As you can see Truman had no intention of making uneducated decisions and was in no hurry to bo... middle of paper... the atomic bomb was being assembled at the time and was to be dropped on Tokyo, that bomb was not was never used. The 500,000 lives saved in the bombing of Hiroshima compared to the 100,000 who died in the bombing demonstrate that Truman, in fact, made the best decision when lives were at stake. Bibliography: Alperovitz, Gar. The use of the atomic bomb. Chicago: D.C. Heath and Company, 1974. Blow, Michael. The history of the atomic bomb. New York, New York: American Heritage Publishing and Company Inc., 1968. Feis, Herbert. The atomic bomb and the end of World War II. Chicago: Princeton University Press, 1866.Kurzman, Dan. The Day of the Bomb. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1986. Nardo, Don. Modern Japan. California: Lucent Books, 1995. O'Neal, Michael. President Truman and the atomic bomb. San Diego, California Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1990. Takaki, Ronald. Hiroshima. Canada: Little Brown and Company Limited, 1995. Wheeler, Keith. Books about life during the Second World War. Virginia: Time Life Books Inc., 1983. Wyden, Peter. First day before Hiroshima and after. New York: Simon and Schustler, 1984.