Source

State Archives of Florida, Series S576

Description

The first document is telegram from Florida Governor Millard F. Caldwell to President Harry Truman informing the president of public opposition to the terms of Japanese surrender and advocating a resumption of the fighting against Japan until the Japanese accepted surrender unconditionally. On August 14, President Truman, in the midst of waiting for the Japanese announcement of surrender, took the time to reply to Governor Caldwell's telegram. Truman told the governor that by the time Caldwell was reading his reply the Japanese would have agreed to surrender.

Date

1945-08

Creator

Truman, Harry S., 1884-1972
Caldwell, Millard Fillmore, 1897-1984

Format

Letters (correspondence)

Coverage

Florida during World War II (1939-1945)

Topic

Politics And Government

Subjects

Caldwell, Millard Fillmore, 1897-1984
Florida--Governor (1945-1949 : Caldwell)
Truman, Harry S., 1884-1972
United States--President (1945-1953 : Truman)
WWII
World War II
World War, 1939-1945

Geographic Term

Florida

General Note

The nine days of August 6-14, 1945, witnessed the final days of World War II in the Pacific and Japan’s agreement to surrender. Japan’s prior refusal to surrender encouraged President Harry S. Truman to order the dropping of an atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. Three days later, on August 9, the Soviet Union entered the war against Japan by attacking Japanese forces in Manchuria. On the same day, the U.S. dropped a second atomic bomb, this time on the city of Nagasaki. These events led Japanese Emperor Hirohito to urge his military and governmental leadership to accept the Allied terms of surrender as specified in the Potsdam Declaration of July 26, 1945. The terms called for the end of Japanese military power, the occupation of the Japanese home islands, and the trial of Japanese war criminals. Significantly, however, the Potsdam Declaration did not call for the abdication of Hirohito or the end of the monarchy, an institution which the Japanese regarded as divine. On August 10, the Japanese agreed to the terms of the Potsdam Declaration but insisted on Allied assurance that the emperor would remain in power. While not specifically guaranteeing the continued reign of the emperor, the Allied response on August 12 used language that left open the possibility of Hirohito remaining on the throne. Japan finally accepted the Allied response on August 14, and Emperor Hirohito’s recorded speech announced the surrender over radio to the Japanese people, most of whom had never heard his voice. While Americans were anxious for the war to end, many also believed that the Allies should not allow the Japanese to negotiate the conditions of their surrender, especially if it meant the continued reign of Hirohito, whom most Americans believed to be responsible for the war.