Presentation Script and Personal notes

Slide 60 The Alamogordo New Mexico bomb generated the destructive power of
20,000 tons of TNT, and launched a mushroom cloud 40,000 feet in the air.
J Robert Oppenheimer Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds
(referencing the Bhagavad Gita)

Slide 61 Question: what are some alternative options that the US could have
chosen instead of dropping the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki? pair
share
1. Naval blockade-could take years,
2. Invade japan-would cost hundreds of thousands of American lives, millions of
Japanese lives, logistically difficult
3. Bring in the USSR-US/USSR relations were deteriorating, there is some
evidence that the US tried to rush Japans surrender to avoid allowing USSR a
chance to involve themselves and therefore keep them out of peace
agreements (accepted a conditional surrender of Japan)
4. Show of Force (destroy an unpopulated island)- There were only 3 bombs why
waste one. Would have to announce date and place ahead of
time=>Possibility of Japan destroying the delivery plane, possibility of
failure=embarrassment

Slide 62 Question Why do you think that Truman chose to drop the bomb?
1. 1 million American casualties represent 20% of the 5,000,000-man force that
would be necessary to invade Japan. Only 400,000 US casualties total in WW2
2. US had spent $2 billion on the Manhattan project, which had an original
budget of only $6,000
3. US/USSR relations were deteriorating (allies took too long to invade,
capitalism v communism

Slide 63
Hiroshima chosen => little boy Uranium 15,000 tons TNT
1. had been largely untouched by previous bombings
2. blast radius of bomb=1mile target should have densely built up area of
that size
3. high strategic value=industrial city
Estimated 150,000 casualties
Nagasaki chosen=secondary target=> Fat man(Plutonium 21,000 tons TNT)
Primary target was obscured by smoke and haze, tried 3 times to make
bombing run before turning towards Nagasaki.
Estimated 75,000 casualties
Total=225,000 casualties for Japan 0 for US (estimated casualties for invasion were
in millions for both sides)

Slide 64 NEED QUESTION

Slide 65 B. The UN now boasts 193 Members from 51 in 1945

Slide 66 question why is this veto power so important?

During the cold war there would be many votes where all countries would be
in favor of something except for USSR, and so the vote would fail with almost
unanimous approval and 1 dissenting vote, form the USSR

Slide 67 question what do you think should have been done with the Axis
leadership? What about their country as a whole?
What are war crimes?
Possibly compare to WW1 reparations
The most famous of these is Rudolph Hoss

Slide 68 question Why was the Japanese Emperor not indicted?

Japan had a conditional surrender that emperor would remain the Sovereign
ruler of Japan
This upset many people who saw the Rape of Nanjing to be comparable to
the Holocaust, felt Emperor should be held responsible.