hen faced with a full-scale invasion of Japan or the dropping of atomic bombs, newly-appointed President Harry S Truman immediately realized the full weight of his office. After the first successful explosion of the new atomic weapon in July 1945, President Truman decided to use its destructive force on Japan, hoping to bring the war to a speedy conclusion and save American lives. The United States dropped two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, resulting in Japan’s unconditional surrender and the official end of World War II. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki brought the world into the nuclear age and displayed the devastating consequences of nuclear weaponry.