Truman: Atomic Bomb Announcement

President Harry Truman made this anouncement to the American people in a nationwide broadcast 16 hours after the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. In the broadcast he informed the United States of the dropping. He explained that "With this bomb we have now added a new and revolutionary increase in destruction to supplement the growing power of our armed forces." He is saying that this new developed weapon is so destructive that it is harnessing the power of the universe. He doesn't explain however the possible consequences of this decision. He doesn't tell the public that there is a chance other countries might get this same technology and use it against them. This massive power he compares to the power of the son isn't strictly for America.
Truman says, "We have spent $2 billion on the greatest scientific gamble in history--and won." The real question is have they won however? They killed over 150,000 people with the dropping of the two bombs and started an atomic war that will change the course of the world forever. Have they infact won on this gamble? Maybe short term Truman can convince the people that this is a victory however once the atomic race began it was very clear how badly this gamble went. Truman says at the end of his speech that congress must controll the creation of the atomic power in order to maintain worldwide peace. He thinks that with the power of the atomic bomb congress will still be able to control it with other countries. Looking back at this speech its so hard to think how he ever thought this would be possible.
http://www.worldhistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display.aspx?categoryid=33&entryid=325580&searchtext=atom+bomb&type=simple&option=all

"Harry Truman: Hiroshima atomic bomb announcement (1945)." World History: The Modern Era. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 1 Feb. 2010.