1. Lesson 2: Advising Truman

2. You are advisors to President Truman in 1945
You are advisors to President Truman in You have to help him decide: Should he drop the atomic bomb on Japan?

3. .
US National Archives
7th December 1941: Japan attacks Pearl Harbour (Hawaii). It’s a surprise attack that destroys lots of US military ships and planes, and kills over 2000 Americans. The USA entered the Second World War the next day.

4. Robert Huffstutter; https://creativecommons. org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2
8th May 1945: Nazi Germany surrenders to the Allied Powers (Britain, USA, USSR, China, and others). This is called Victory in Europe (VE) Day.

5. 16th July 1945: The United States tests the first ever atomic bomb.
trinityremembered.com
16th July 1945: The United States tests the first ever atomic bomb.

6. 26th July 1945: The USA, UK, and China send the ‘Potsdam Declaration’ to Japan. It finished with the words:
‘We call upon the government of Japan to proclaim now the unconditional surrender of all Japanese armed forces... The alternative for Japan is prompt and utter destruction.’
HarryKidd ;

7. TIME TO DECIDE! You have 1 minute
Reasons to advise Truman to drop the atomic bomb on Japan: * Revenge for Pearl Harbour
* It would end the war quicker than invading Japan by land, and might save lives overall
* Japan has been warned (the Potsdam Declaration) and still hasn’t surrendered
Reasons to advise Truman not to drop the atomic bomb on Japan:
* It would kill thousands of people, mostly civilians (far more than at Pearl Harbour)
* You know that some of the Japanese leaders want Japan to surrender. It might be possible to end the war this way
* You could first drop the bomb on an area of Japan where it wouldn’t kill many people, as a threat. This might be enough to make them surrender

8. Truman did order the bombs to be dropped

9. Lord Mariser, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode
Harry Kidd ;
25th July 1945: President Truman gives the order to drop the atomic bomb on Japan (Winston Churchill had given Britain’s permission on 2nd July)

10. 6th August 1945: The atomic bomb is dropped on Hiroshima

13. 9th August 1945: The bomb is dropped on Nagasaki
Wikimedia Commons

14. Matthew Yglesias ;
6th August 1945: President Truman promises to drop more atomic bombs on Japan if it doesn’t surrender

15. 2 September 1945: Japan surrenders
2 September 1945: Japan surrenders. This is the end of the Second World War.

16. To find out different people’s points of view.
The Question:
Was President Truman right to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
Your Task:
To find out different people’s points of view.

17. YOU ARE GOING TO MEET THESE
SIX CHARACTERS
Nagasaki survivor
Bomber pilot
Truman’s advisor
American civilian
Nuclear Scientist
Japanese Army General

18. Your task: Read your card In your group decide if your character is FOR or AGAINST the bombing.

19. YOUR TASK: Find ONE person in the room who represents each character
For each one find out:
Are they FOR or AGAINST the bombings?
Why?

20. SHARE WITH YOUR GROUP WHAT YOU HAVE FOUND OUT!

21. Right or wrong? YOUR TASK: In your group you will get eight cards
Read each card
Sort the cards into two piles: the ones that suggest Truman was right, and the ones that suggest he was wrong
Feed back to the class

22. What do you think. Was Truman right to drop the atomic bomb
What do you think? Was Truman right to drop the atomic bomb? Why/Why not? NO
YES
Don’t know!