Not even remotely true, but thanks for playing. This misconception largely occurs because of the famous Stimson article that was featured in Harpers’ magazine.
Of course, he didn’t actually WRITE the thing and, though it presents itself as a fireside chat between two people it was actually a heavily engineered document, and almost every fact cited was knowingly wrong by the government at the time (declassified documents - read ‘em). But hey! What better source for info!
That’s neither here nor there though since Japan tried to surrender before we dropped the bomb.
Yes, Japan tried to surrender. Once through Russia, once through Switzerland, once through the Vatican of all places, and many times appealing directly to Truman. We turned them down because of the stipulation that we were not allowed to touch their emperor, a concession the US was not willing to make at the time.
“Foreign Minister Shigemitsu has instructed Ambassador Sato [in Moscow] to find out whether Russia is willing to assist in bringing about a negotiated peace. Shigemitsu’s instructions, although cautiously worded, clearly imply that he has in mind a move by Russia to initiate peace discussions between Japan and the Anglo-Americans… [I]t seems hardly likely that he would have taken such a step without having consulted at least some of the more important members of the new Japanese cabinet… This is the first time that the Japanese have been willing to suggest to Russia directly that they are ready for peace.”
-“Japanese Consider Peace Possibilities” War Department MAGIC reports of intercepted messages: EYES ONLY for President and closest advisers
“I learn from a very reliable source that in important civilian circles in Japan the peace problem is being discussed with increasing anxiety. A speedy German collapse is expected and it is not believed that Japan can then continue the war. It is therefore considered necessary to get peace as soon as possible before the country and towns are destroyed… If any willingness appeared to exist in London the Japanese would be ready for preliminary discussions through Swedish channels. Behind the man who gave me this message stands one of the best known statesment in Japan and there is no doubt that this attempt must be considered as a serious one.”
-Telegram from Swedish minister in Tokyo given from the British Ambassador to the United States
“…It seems probably that very far-reaching conditions would be accepted by the Japanese by way of negotiation… Exchange of the Japanese constituted must also be considered as excluded. The Emperor must not be touched. However, the Imperial power could be somewhat democratized as is that of the English King”
-Report from Swedish minister in Tokyo sent to US State Department
AND EVEN LATER THEY GAVE THOSE CONDITIONS UP
“…Stated that he had been asked by Masutaro Inoue, Counsellor for the Japanese Legation in Portugal, to contact United States representatives. Source quoted Inoue as saying that the Japanese are ready to cease hostilities, provided they are allowed to retain possession of their home islands… On 19 May [1945], the OSS representative reported Inoue again had repeated to source his desire to talk with an American representative. On this occasion Inoue declared that actual peace terms were unimportant so long as the term ‘unconditional surrender’ was not employed.”
-OSS Representative report directly to Truman
Of course, we did anyway. But that’s not important.
Because the bomb wasn’t about Japan.
In Derry and Ramsey’s Memo to Groves (May 12, 1945) when picking a target for the atomic bomb, one of the primary listed reasons for picking a target was:
“making the initial use sufficiently spectacular for the importance of the weapon to be internationally recognized when publicity on it is released.”
In fact, they ranked targets - AA to B. Know what got the lowest ratings? Military targets. The ones that got the highest ratings were civilian ones.
Japan was currently researching wooden planes. WOODEN PLANES. They had attempted to give up, we said no. They had already lost the war when we dropped the bomb. They knew this - hell, they tried to surrender.
So why did we drop the bomb, then?
A close reading of the memo tells all. It was to make an impact on the international community.
Do you know how Truman was first informed about the Manhatten Project and the bomb? It was in a discussion with the Secretary of State in regards to negotiations with Russia after the war.
Truman kept delaying the “Big Three” discussions, the most important political talks in recorded history, until basically the day AFTER the Trinity Tests - he wanted to wait until he knew he had the bomb as a political piece. Stalin and Churchill were VERY angry at him pushing the date back with little to no reason given (they knew, of course, because of spies and intelligence).
The Secretary of War, and MOST of the army was against dropping the bomb. They wanted to give the option of doing a demonstration and giving Japan an option of total surrender (that we get to do whatever we want with the Emperor) or of giving Japan time to evacuate the civilian population before bombing a city.
Oh, and there’s this from Stimson’s Memo of Talk with Truman (June 6, 1945)
“I told [the President] that I was anxious about this feature of the war for two reasons: first, because I did not want to have the United States get the reputation of outdoing Hitler in atrocities; and second, I was a little fearful that before we could get ready the Air Force might have Japan so thoroughly bombed out that the new weapon would not have a fair background to show its strength. He laughed and said he understood.”
An estimated 500,000 people died between Nagasaki and Hiroshima if you count deaths by radiation poisoning and long-term cancer.
And Truman could only laugh because he was worried the bomb might not be noticeable amongst the wreckage of Japan.
The reason for dropping the bomb was to give America a better condition amongst the international population, particularly Stalin and Russia, in the coming years. It was to make Russia afraid to invade Japan (and from there, the fear was, the rest of Asia) when they knew America had interests in it. They dropped the bomb to give them an advantage when negotiating in the future and to give them a start when everyone began arming (a situation tons of scientists warned everyone about in The Franck Report).
But don’t pretend it was about Japan. And don’t you dare pretend it was about peace.
500,000 people died and all Truman could do was laugh.
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