Glossary
Atomic
Diplomacy-(n)
Attempt to use the threat of nuclear warfare to achieve
diplomatic goals
Monopoly-(n) Exclusive control of the supply or trade in a commodity or
service
Concession-(v) To allow or give up often to end conflicts or disagreements
Atomic Bomb-(n) A bomb that derives its destructive power from the rapid release
of nuclear energy by fission of heavy atomic nuclei, causing
damage through heat, blast, and radioactivity
Soviet Union-(n) Communist country in eastern Europe and northern Asia
Casualties-(n) a relationship between two events where one event is affected by
the other
Espionage-(n) Practice of spying or using spies
Atomic
Diplomacy
● The United States was the first country to discover the atomic bomb, the first
successful test of the atomic bomb was 1945. The U.S. were considering all the
benefits that would derive from the American nuclear monopoly.
● During World War 2 the United states used two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and
Nagasaki in hopes of bringing a quick end to the war with Japan.
● President Franklin Roosevelt decided that the United States shouldn’t inform the
Soviet Union of the technological development of the atomic bomb.
● After Roosevelt’s death, President Harry Truman decided to inform Soviet Premier
Joseph Stalin of the atomic bomb during an allied meeting at Potsdam, though he
did not go into any specifics.
● The Soviet Union entered the war in the Pacific, therefore they would have
influence on the balance of power.
● The U.S. wanted the Soviets to make concessions in Asia or Europe. The U.S. didn’t
threaten the Soviet Union because they believed that the existence of the atomic
bomb alone would be a threat to them.
● People believed that the nuclear weapons used on the Japanese cities were
intended to gain a stronger position for diplomatic bargaining with the Soviets and
the weapons weren’t needed for the Japanese to surrender. Others believed that the
nuclear weapons were necessary for Japan’s surrender.
● The American nuclear monopoly gave confidence to Truman to obtain more
compromises with the Soviets.
● The U.S. hoped that the threat of the atomic bomb would lower Soviet resistance,
but instead it made the Soviets more protective of their borders.
● Instead of seeking help from the Soviet Union, Western Europe relied on the
United States for protection due to their possession of nuclear weapons.
● Other countries started discovering the atomic bomb for themselves, the Soviet
Union had its first successful test in 1949, the Uni...
