Why did USA drop the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
... The traditional belief that dominated the 1950s and 60s - put forth by President Harry Truman and Secretary of War Henry Stimson - was that the dropping of the atomic bombs was a solely military action that saved as many as a million lives from the upcoming invasion of Kyushu. ... Trumans decision to drop these bombs was born out of a complex background. Pressure to drop the bomb stemmed from three major categories: military, domestic and diplomatic. ... Hiroshima was a major military staging point, with a convoy staging area, army headquarters, railway sidings and an industrial port. ... Kokura arsenal, the primary target, was covered by cloud when the aircraft arrived overhead, the pilot chose the only secondary target within range, the city of Nagasaki. The second major source of pressure on Truman and his advisors to drop the atomic bombs came from domestic tensions and issues of re-election, along with a collective American feeling of hatred towards the Japanese race.