Was+it+right+to+drop+the+A-bomb?

Intruduction
toc This is one question that textbooks will never really be able to answer. Even today, many historians disagree about whether or not the decision to use atomic bombs in the war against Japan was morally and strategically sound. There are more questions than answers to this issue, and perhaps the best thing that a textbook can do is to acknowledge that fact and, rather than offer noncommittal explanations, instead offer important questions: Were Hiroshima and Nagasaki true military targets? Were the Japanese ready to consider surrender? What was the US motivation for insisting on unconditional surrender from Japan? Why did the US drop the second bomb?

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Suggested Resources
US Responses to the Dropping of the Bomb, 1945 - NuclearFiles.org, a project of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, gathers together many resources that students can use to gain a deeper understanding of issues surrounding the atom bomb and its use in World War II. This page includes responses from many Americans who doubted the necessity of dropping the bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Bard Memorandum, June 27, 1945 - The Bard Memorandum shows undersecretary of the Navy, Ralph A. Bard, expressing his opinion that the Japanese should be given warning before the atomic bomb was used. [|President Truman's Diary, July 17, 18, and 25, 1945] - An excellent primary resource for students to have access to, Truman's personal diaries show him writing plainly about his feelings about the atomic bomb, Joseph Stalin ("Uncle Joe," as he is called in one entry), and the Japanese. Primary Documents Related to the Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb - A large collection from the Truman Presidential Library, including a wide variety of primary documents related to the decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan. Testimony of Yasuhiko Taketa, a Survivor of Hiroshima - A firsthand account of the bombing of Hiroshima.

Reflection
While it is well known that there is current public debate about whether or not the United States was justified in dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it is often overlooked that there was debate during the war, too. Not every American, not even every military strategist, was supportive of using the A-bomb. Considering the arguments for and against the use of the atom bomb during the war is just as important, if not moreso, as considering the opinions of today's historians. First hand accounts of the bombs are vital to include, so that students may have a true understanding of exactly what they are arguing for or against. Again, this is a conversation that should be invited into the classroom as a tool to ensure that students form their own opinions on the matter.