Dropping the Atomic Bomb

1. What factors have affected viewpoints on Truman's decision?
There were many factors that affected viewpoints of Truman's decision. Some people believed that the war was over and that the Allies had already won the war, but some believed that Truman decided to drop the bombs because he just wanted to scare the USSR. Some believe that He did it to please the leaders of the military because they wanted to test out the bombs and use them in actual warfare. The points that agreed with Truman's decision were that American soldiers were tortured.



2. Do you think he made the right decision? Give your reasons.

I think that Truman did make the right decision by dropping the atomic bombs on the mainland because if he did not then the US would have had to invade. We had seen how they had defended Iwo Jima so fiercely, and this was only because it was 2 islands away from the mainland. The casualty estimation of the invasion would have been about .2 million. Invasion and the Atomic bombs were the only two choices given to him, and the bomb dropping saved hundreds of thousands of american lives, also saving time.

War in the Pacific

1. What was the importance of the Battle of Midway?
The American's repelled the Japanese assault, destroying over 200 Japanese planes, 4 aircraft carriers, and a cursor. It also marked a turning point in the war in the Pacific because afterwards the Allies, began island hopping towards Japan.

2. What strategy did the United States adopt in fighting Japan?
The United States adopted the strategy or island hopping. This was when they would advance towards japan island by island slowly pushing the Japanese people back toward japan.

3. Why did the Japanese fight so hard on Iwo Jima?
Th Japanese fought so hard on Iwo Jima because it was the japanese's last defense from the Americans attacking Okanawa, which was the last island they had to attack before they would be at the mainland, Japan. Also, they had created tunnel systems in the island and mountains, and so they were very hard to flush out.

4. Why did the Allies believe Okinawa was a foretaste of an invasion of Japan?
The Allies believed that Okinawa was a foretaste of the invasion of Japan because of the fact that the japanese fought so hard at Iwo Jima, which showed they would rather die than surrender, and this was because they were 2 islands away from Japan, and so they were wondering how they would defend the actual homeland. They knew they would fight harder than they did at Iwo Jima.


5. What was the Manhattan Project?
The Manhattan Project was the project to build the Atomic Bomb, and this was created because we did not want to invade Japan.


6. Ultimately, why did President Truman decide to drop atomic bombs on Japan?
President Truman decided to drop the atomic bombs on Japan to save the lives of the millions of Americans that would die assaulting Japan.