Let's discuss the Harry Truman readings. Truman is the President whose reputation is most improved over the last 30 years. There will not be a quiz so if for any reason you can't get the readings to open don't worry about it. They are entertaining, I think.
For Friday we will review for the midterm. Also, if you submit questions you think would appropriate for the exam and I use them I will give you extra credit. Be thinking about things you would like to ask about Friday.
7 comments:
Journal #6 (Truman Interview)
After reading the Truman chapter on Israel, I believe that Truman might have been a little hasty in his decision on giving Israel to the Jewish people. From this chapter, Truman never spoke with the Arabs living in the area to discuss what they thought about the situation. He never gave them a chance to say their side of the story. Now, I understand that there was a lot of pro-Jewish homeland due to the Holocaust, but that does not give Truman the right to give the Jews a homeland and basically remove the Arab claim to that area.
I also feel that Truman may have given Israel to the Jewish people because of his religious beliefs being closer nit to the Jewish belief. He discusses at long length his love of reading of the bible, so maybe, he felt closer to the Jews. He may also have given the Jews the state because he believed they have a better chance at industrializing the nation and making it more modern. Although the president was receiving a massive influx of Zionist support from various sources, he should have been more aware of the Arabic claim to the lands.
On a lighter note, I found it very funny that the president would go get a drink or two in the early hours in the morning as a way to refreshing himself and getting ready for very important conversations.
“The Bomb”
One of the events that has marked Truman’s presidency was the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki which ended the WWII. In this chapter, it was stated that, “Mr. Truman had never lost any sleep over that decision” because soldiers on both sides would be injured or die as a result of an invasion. I think one motive behind his decision, which was not stated, would be money. Sacrificing the lives of our soldiers has never been a problem for politicians because they are very quick to send them to places such as Germany, Vietnam, etc. We had already spent enough money on the war and billions more were to be spent repairing the damages done in Europe, so economically the best idea would be to end the war as soon as possible. My question is how does this not sit in Truman’s mind when he lies to bed at night? He killed millions of innocent people by bombing major cities and this does not bother him? Personally I could not have dropped the A-bomb knowing that it would kill millions and still be able to sleep at night.
The Truman readings helped me better understand the character of the former President. Truman appeared to be confident and sure-spoken; he had a commanding presence and easily intimidated others with his direct, unblinking stare. With his personality the way it is, I understood why he was adamant about the existence of Israel and the dropping of the atom bomb. He allowed his personal beliefs or ideas to guide his decisions, and because he is sure-spoken and such, he made sure he thought he was doing the right thing before he announced a decision. It is this confidence that caused him to sleep soundly over his decision to drop the atom bombs. This decision was a good one in that soldiers’ lives were saved, but the amount of innocent lives that had to be sacrificed in order to save soldiers’ lives [soldiers who already knew that they ran the risk of dying while fighting for their country] makes me disagree with Truman’s determination to end the war quickly.
His religious beliefs weighed in heavily when deciding to advocate the Zionists’ call for the state of Israel. The readings didn’t indicate that he had even considered the claim that Arabs had on the Holy Land, which isn’t very smart. If he’s the President, he should exercise a more rational method of decision-making where it is needed. I believe his decision to whole-heartedly support the Zionist cause was too rash. The rationality principle can definitely be applied to Truman’s Presidency; he considered situations through a personal scope; sometimes the decision [as in that of Israel] did not involve a lot of logical consideration, and sometimes it involved too much logical consideration [killing a smaller amount of civilians as opposed to a larger amount of soldiers]. Perhaps Truman expanded the power of the President’s office simply because he considered decisions like that by himself.
That was my fifth comment.
The chapter on "The Bomb", caught eye and really surprised me because I didn't know a lot of the behind the scene stuff that took place besides that we dropped the bomb on Hiroshima. For example, I didn't know that had made the decision to drop the bomb all by himself, no one else was around when he made the decision. It was surprising to me that Truman never felt sorry or guilty for dropping the bomb. However, it does make since in that by dropping the bomb he said many live would be saved in the since that we wouldn't lose solders by going over and fighting a war. But how could he not feel quilt for dropping the bomb and taking and wounding so many lives, even if they were our enemies? I can't imagine how hard a decision like that would be to make. When you know that what ever you decided, lives will be lost, and whether they're your sides lives or your enemies rest on your shoulders and judgment. I can understand and respect Truman for standing behind his decision to drop the bomb and never saying that it was a bad decision and that we shouldn't have dropped it, because I believe a man should stand behind what he believes in. However, I just can't understand how he can lay in bed at night, and it just never cross his mind that it was his decision that cost millions there lives.
From the chapters that I have read on President Truman, I found the chapter on the bomb to be most interesting. To make a decision like that is very hard to do and most people can say that’s a hard decision to make. The decision to either drop the bomb or invade, would lead to people dieing and suffering. Millions of soldiers on both sides would have died or been injured. If we would have invaded, who knows how long the war would have lasted. It probably would have even had an effect on our country. Dropping the bomb was how Truman felt was the best decision to make. He didn’t think twice about his decision, and didn’t lose any sleep over it. I know this is something that affected the rest of his life since so many were killed and injured from the bomb. This was an action that Truman put a great deal of thought into. He was a firm believer in that you should stick to the decision that you make. People tend to question his decision, but if they were the president what would they have done? Truman was a man, that once he made his decision that was final. Being president of the United States, he must make the decision that is best for his country as well as for others that it might affect. There was no turning back in the decision that he made, and it seem to have worked out the best for our county.
Like the others before me, I believe that the most interesting part of the reading was the dropping of th bomb on Hiroshima. Over the years I have heard about this particular act many times, mostly in my history classes. I would have to say that I know it was a difficult decision to make but a choice had to be made. I also support Truman when he said that many lives would be saved by dropping this bomb. Only God knows how many of our troops would have died if he decided to invade. In his acts of not feeling guilty, I would have to say that I understand and dont understand at the same time. I understand the fact that these were our enemies the dropped a bomb on our troops, but at the same time I don't understand because there were innocent people there. I know that innocent people die everyday but I just wouldn't be able to sllep know that I controled the taking of an innocent life. Like I said, I do understand why he did this, do not blame him for anything. I really believe that he was doing what he thought was best for his country.
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