Knowing the historical background is essential in understanding the decision to use atomic weapons against Japan in World War II.
At the time, Japan was a formidable adversary, fiercely determined and refusing to surrender.
The invasion of Japan would have cost an estimated one million American lives and countless more Japanese lives.
Given this, President Harry S.
Truman and his advisors believed that the use of atomic weapons might bring a swift end to the war and save lives.
Additionally, the Manhattan Project, a top-secret research program, had successfully developed the atomic bomb, opening up a new era of warfare.
Although morally controversial, the decision to drop the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 ultimately led to Japan's surrender, effectively ending World War II in the Pacific.