| The early cold war years have regularly been discussed by historians. Nonetheless, most works seem to concentrate on the origins of the cold war and fail to discuss the importance the use of atomic weapons played into the foreign policy decisions of the Truman Administration. What appears to be missing from most historical accounts and analyses, and what this thesis will pinpoint, is how and why President Truman created a United States foreign policy that advocated the use of atomic weapons to end World War II in 1945 but then developed a more balanced approach based on economics, military preparedness, and his own determination and emotions in order to protect the nation from the Soviet threat through 1949. |
