War in the Pacific

The Decision to Drop the Bomb

 

Just before the end of the WWII, the Atomic Bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Many wonder whether dropping the bomb was necessary but others think it was in order to limit the amount of Allied casualties and bring the long arduous war to an end. 

1.  Create a timeline of key events and battles in the war in the Pacific that lead up to the use of the bomb, and the immediate aftermath.

2.  You will “wear” four different hats, to think from the following perspectives: a Japanese citizen, President Truman's political advisor, the Secretary of War who was in charge of military matters for the government, and a nuclear physicist.  As you read, fill in you chart with the arguments each individual would have for or against the use of the bomb.

Japanese Citizen	Political Advisor to President Truman	Secretary of War (Military Advisor to Truman)	Nuclear Physicist

3.  Some historians argue that the bomb was not dropped to make Japan surrender, but to intimidate Stalin and the Soviet Union.  What evidence is there to support this argument?  How compelling is it?

Resources:

Your Textbook!

Virtual Library—search “Atomic Bomb” in the History Reference centre

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2125.html

http://www.doug-long.com/

http://www.dannen.com/decision/index.html

 http://www.hicare.jp/en/index.html

http://www.inicom.com/hibakusha/

http://www-sdc.med.nagasaki-u.ac.jp/n50/index.html

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/entries/baoppe.html

http://www.nuclearmuseum.org/online-museum/category/history/

http://www.trumanlibrary.org/

http://www.doug-long.com/hstimson.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAstimson.htm