![[Abridged] Presidential Histories - 33.B) Truman and the Bomb, an interview with D.M. Giangreco](https://storage.googleapis.com/goodpods-images-bucket/episode_images/6525cc0e1e417ed39f762f8124d08715bf80d60045828e7dbdde538ee5b7f9b9.avif)
33.B) Truman and the Bomb, an interview with D.M. Giangreco
[Abridged] Presidential Histories
07/24/23
•53m
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"16 hours ago, an American airplane dropped one bomb on Hiroshima ... It is an atomic bomb. It is a harnessing of the basic power of the universe. The force from which the sun draws its power has been loosed against those who brought war to the Far East" - President Harry S. Truman, Aug. 6, 1945, in his announcement of the first atomic attack in world history
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When Harry S. Truman unexpectedly became president on April 12, 1945, the United States was still in the midst of World War II - but there were plans to hasten its resolution. Secret plans. Atomic plans. In the following four months, the first atomic bombs would be tested in New Mexico and then dropped on the Empire of Japan. Historian D.M. Giangreco, author of the new book Truman and the Bomb: The Untold Story, discusses what Senator Truman knew about the bomb and when he knew it, the casualty forecasts that Truman weighed in his decision to drop the bomb, and whether dropping the bomb ended World War II.
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“The full impact of the war comes more to me, I think, in some respects than it does to anyone in this country. The daily casualty lists are mine. They arrive in a constant stream, a swelling stream, and I can’t get away from them.” - Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall, June, 1945
Previous Episode
33.A) The Truman Committee: An interview with Steve Drummond
July 17, 2023
•48m
"When people create delays for profit, when they sell poor products for defense use, when they cheat on price and quality, they aren't any different from a draft dodger and the public at large feels just the same way about it." - Senator Harry S. Truman, March 31, 1941
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As American war industry roared to life in 1941, Senator Harry S. Truman began receiving letters from concerned constituents. Money was being wasted. Badly. And all over the place. Truman jumped in his car and travelled thousands of miles to investigate first-hand, then formed the senate investigatory committee that would bear his name - The Truman Committee. NPR executive producer Steve Drummond, author of The Watchdog: How the Truman Committee Battled Corruption and Helped Win World War Two, discusses the origin and impact of the Truman Committee, and some of the truly crazy schemes of corruption it unearthed for the American people.
Next Episode
33.C) Truman and the Pendergast Machine, an interview with Jon Taylor
August 7, 2023
•51m
Before he was president, and before he formed the Truman Committee, Harry Truman was known primarily for one thing: his connection to an infamous Kansas City political machine - the Pendergast Machine. But what was the Pendergast Machine? How did it work? What was it into? Historian Jon Taylor discusses Truman's connection to the infamous operation, and who was helping who in the relationship.
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