1. Essential Question:
Did the U.S. make the right decision to declare war on Japan after the attack on Pearl Harbor?

2. While the war was coming to an end in Europe, the Allies continued to fight the Japanese in the Pacific

3. DOOLITTLE RAID DOOLITTLE’S RAID 4/18/1942
LT. COLONEL JIMMY DOOLITTLE LEADS 16 BOMBERS ON MISSION TO BOMB TOKYO
SYMBOLIC RAID TO RETALIATE FOR PEARL HARBOR

4. DOOLITTLE & HIS RAIDERS
Crew 1
Lt Col Jimmy Doolittle and Crew. Dick Cole, a member of the Greatest Generation, is thankfully still with us today and remains active on his farm in Comfort, Texas.

5. Doolittle Raid
The Plan: Take 16 B-25s, launch 400 miles out, strike targets under the cover of darkness and recover in China after sunrise.
What Happened; Launch 700 miles out, strike targets during the early afternoon, and bailout over China in darkness.

7. April 18, 1942
80 Men flew from the Hornet on
3 were killed bailing out
8 were captured by the Japanese
3 POWs were executed
1 died of malnutrition and mistreatment
4 were repatriated 40 months into captivity
10 were KIA in Europe, North Africa & Indo-China
4 were shot down and interred as German POWs
As of 2016 only 1 of Doolittle's Raiders
is still with us.

8. After Midway, the Allies began to regain islands controlled by Japan
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the USA sent troops to the Pacific theater
The Pacific war revealed a new kind of fighting by using aircraft carriers, Battle of the Coral Sea.
The turning point in the war in the Pacific came in June 1942 at the Battle of Midway
After Midway, the Allies began to regain islands controlled by Japan

9. Japan did not play by traditional rules in war
“Kamikaze” pilots flew planes into battleships & aircraft carriers
Japanese soldiers refused to surrender & tortured Allied prisoners of war

10. The problem for the Allies was the time & troops it would cost to retake the thousands of islands the Japanese controlled in the Pacific
The U.S. developed an island-hopping strategy to skip the heavily defended islands & seize islands close to Japan
From 1943 to 1945, the Allies took back key islands including the Philippines & were moving in on Japan
The fight for Guadalcanal took 6 months & cost 25,000 Japanese & 2,000 U.S. lives

11. THE FIGHTING SULLIVANS https://youtu. be/YGX3KjIv6HE https://youtu
BATTLE OF GUADALCANAL 8/1942
DEATH OF SULLIVAN BROTHERS (5)
GEORGE, FRANCIS, JOSEPH, MADISON & ALBERT

12. In 1945, the Allies won the islands of Iwo Jima & Okinawa
Iwo Jima & Okinawa

13. IWO JIMA & OKINAWA BATTLE OF IWO JIMA (2/1945)
U.S. WANTED IT AS A BASE FOR BOMBERS TO STRIKE JAPAN
6,800 MARINES KILLED, 19,000 WOUNDED
OVER 20,000 JAPANESE KILLED
U.S. RAISES FLAG ON MT. SURIBACHI
BATTLE OF OKINAWA
4/1945-6/1945
12,000 AMERICANS KILLED, 26,000 WOUNDED
110,000 JAPANESE KILLED

14. From these islands, the U.S. began firebombing Japanese cities

15. …But, perhaps a land invasion was not necessary…
Despite losing control of the Pacific & withstanding firebomb attacks, Japan refused to surrender
By May 1945, the war in Europe was over & U.S. began preparing for a land invasion of Japan
…But, perhaps a land invasion was not necessary…

16. Invade Japan or Bomb Japan?
AMERICANS BEGIN TO QUESTION WHETHER OR NOT TO INVADE
JAPAN:
2 MILLION TO 5 MILLION TROOPS NEEDED
500,000 PURPLE HEARTS MADE
250,000 TO 500,000 CASUALTIES PROJECTED

17. Whether to Drop the Atomic Bomb? Critical Thinking Decision A
FDR’s Decision: B
In 1939, Albert Einstein wrote U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt about the potential to build a nuclear weapon
FDR created a top-secret program called the Manhattan Project

18. J. Robert Oppenheimer was put in charge of developing the bomb
The Manhattan Project
J. Robert Oppenheimer was put in charge of developing the bomb
From , a number of secret labs across the country developed & built the bomb

19. The bomb was constructed in a secret city in Oak Ridge, TN
In July 1945, the bomb was successfully tested at Los Alamos, New Mexico during Project Trinity
The bomb was constructed in a secret city in Oak Ridge, TN
Physicist Enrico Fermi at the University of Chicago developed the nuclear reaction
Nuclear plant in Hanford, WA developed the plutonium

20. In April 1945, FDR died & his VP Harry Truman had to decide how to end the war in the Pacific

21. Whether to Drop the Atomic Bomb: Critical Thinking Decision B
Truman’s Decision: C

22. In July 1945, the Big Three met at the Potsdam Conference to discuss the end of WWII
Truman learned the atomic bomb was ready & issued the Potsdam Declaration to Japan: “surrender or face destruction”

23. After the second atomic bomb, Emperor Hirohito agreed to a surrender
When Japan refused to surrender, Truman ordered the bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945
After 3 days, Japan did not surrender so a 2nd atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki
After the second atomic bomb, Emperor Hirohito agreed to a surrender
VJ DAY 9/2/1945

24. Whether to Drop the Atomic Bomb: Critical Thinking Decision C

25. World War II was over

26. Death Totals in the Pacific

27. REBUILDING JAPAN THE OCCUPATION OF JAPAN
U.S. OCCUPIES JAPAN FOR 7 YEARS
GEN. MACARTHUR PLACED IN COMMAND
UNDER U.S. CONTROL JAPANESE ECONOMY REBUILT UNDER FREE-MARKET PRINCIPLES
DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENT & NEW CONSTITUTION INTRODUCED
20,000 JAPANESE LEADERS TRIED FOR WAR CRIMES ACROSS ASIA:
7 INCLUDING PM TOJO SENTENCED TO DEATH
JAPAN ACCUSED OF KILLING 1.3 MILLION CHINESE SOLDIERS &
30 MILLION CIVILIANS

28. CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY 12 OF 24 SENTENCED TO DEATH
THE NUREMBERG TRIALS
TRIAL FOR 24 NAZI LEADERS
CRIMES AGAINST PEACE
WAR CRIMES
CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY
12 OF 24 SENTENCED TO DEATH
OTHERS SENT TO PRISON
GOERING, HESS, SPEER, BORMANN,
DONITZ
TRIALS ESTABLISHED PRINCIPLE THAT INDIVIDUALS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR OWN ACTIONS, EVEN IN TIMES OF WAR, “FOLLOWING ORDERS” IS NOT A DEFENSE

29. WW2 Timeline (Allies, Axis, USSR)

30. Conclusions: The Impact of World War II
World War II was the biggest, most deadly, & most impactful war in world history:
Europe was destroyed by the war & lost its place as the epicenter of power in the world
The USA & USSR emerged as super powers & rivals competing for influence in the world
A United Nations was formed to replace the League of Nations to help promote peace
Colonized nation began to demand independence from Europeans