Background information. This passage comes from
the memoirs of Admiral William Leahy, one of President
Truman's top advisers.
Use the highlighting tool to identify text that shows
Admiral Leahy's opinion of the atomic bomb.
Which phrase from the passage gives Admiral Leahy's
opinion of the atomic bomb itself?
The use of this barbarous weapon at Hiroshima and
Nagasaki was of no material assistance in our war against
Japan. The Japanese were already defeated and ready to
surrender.... In being the first to use it, we... adopted
an ethical standard common to the barbarians of the
Dark Ages. I was not taught to make war in that fashion,
and wars cannot be won by destroying women and
children.... I voiced my grave misgiving, first on the
basis of my belief that Japan was already defeated and
that dropping the bomb was completely unnecessary and
... I thought was no longer mandatory as a measure to
save American lives. It was my belief that Japan was, at
that very moment, seeking some way to surrender with a
minimum loss of "face."
"the Japanese were already defeated
'in being the first to use it
"barbarous weapon
"basis of my belief​