Source Analysis: Truman And The Atomic Bomb

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DECISION-MAKING: TRUMAN AND THE ATOMIC BOMB Background: World War II was coming to an end. Germany surrendered in May 1945. In the Pacific, Japan was in retreat. It had lost most of the lands it had conquered. The fighting became harder as the Americans came closer to Japan because many Japanese soldiers would rather die fighting than surrender. The Emperor they worshipped told them soldiers who died in battle would have a glorious afterlife. Japanese suicide pilots called “kamikazes” sank American ships by crashing their planes into them. It looked as though Japanese would have to be defeated by means of a massive invasion. It would be difficult to attack Japan, an island country. An American invasion of Japan was planned for the fall of…show more content…
The target must be military, Two day are enough for Japan to observe and contemplate the results of the atomic bomb, and imagine them on a larger scale given the known effects of what the atomic weapons can do am sure it will consider surrendering. A. Use the chart “Source Analysis: Truman and the Atomic Bomb” and the Background information above to identify at least five alternative courses of action Truman could take to solve his problem. List the specific actions Truman could take in the table. Discuss the possible positive and negative consequences for each alternative. Rank the alternatives from 1 (best solution) to 5 (worst solution) based on the information from your sources chart in the World War II assignment, Chapter 24, and the background information provided in this handout. Action taken by Truman (ranked from best to worst) Positive Consequences Negative Consequences 1. A warning to Japan of the existence of the atomic bomb and the demonstration of what it can do (best solution) Japan would
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