Hiroshima and Nagasaki: Re-Evaluating the Atomic Bomb and the Last Days of WWII – clip

Jeffrey Engel / Southern Methodist University

Everyone knows the debate: did “the bomb” end World War II? More specifically, were the Japanese already on the verge of calling it quits, or did the United States need to destroy yet more Japanese cities in August of 1945 to force Japan’s surrender? Put another way: Did newly sworn-in U.S. President Harry S. Truman make the right call?