Name __________________________________

Date____________________________
Should the U.S. have used the atomic bomb?

Directions All documents should be answered in complete sentences, and contain

evidence from the document. As for annotations, please label the document as
primary or secondary source.

Document 1 - From a history textbook

In March of 1945, after a month of bitter fighting between Japanese and American forces,
the Americans took over the island of Iwo Jima. This was a small island located 760
miles from Tokyo Japan. In the battle, over 300 American ships were sunk, along with an
estimated 5,000 American soldiers killed. A week later, the Americans attacked an island
about 350 miles away from Japan called Okinawa. The Japanese put up a desperate fight.
They fought until the very last man. No Japanese soldier was willing to accept surrender.
In the end, the Japanese lost over 100,000 soldiers, while the Americans lost 12,000
troops.
1) What does this passage show you about war in the Pacific?
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Document 2 - Hiroshima: Day of Fire

Impact of the Bombing
Ground Temperatures
Forced winds
Energy released
Buildings destroyed
People killed immediately
Number of soldiers dead
Number of non-soldiers dead
Total number of people dead by the end of
1945
Total deaths relating to the A-bomb up to
1950
Total A-bomb related deaths

7,000 degrees Fahrenheit

980 miles per hour
20,000 tons of TNT
62,000 buildings destroyed
70,000 people
8,640 people
61,360 people
140,000 people
210,000 people
465,000 people

2) What is one observation you can make while looking at the table above about the
dropping of the Atomic bomb on Hiroshima?
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Document 3 - Message from American President Truman to Japan

Near the end of July in 1945, after the battle of Okinawa, American president Harry
Truman send a telegram to the Japanese requesting their immediate surrender. The
Japanese refused. The American president ended the conversation by stating, you have
one day to reconsider surrender, or you could expect a rain of ruin from the air like none
other that have been seen before. Japan ignored the statement.
3) What was President Trumans message? What was the result of this message?
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Document 4 - From American Historian John Lori

The dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was the only option the
American government had in order to bring a quick, decisive end to World War II. This
war had lasted over four years, and troops are getting weary (tired). The fighting has cost
the American government billions, in producing war materials, specifically military
weapons. The Japanese have no desire to surrender, as been seen in them fighting to the
death, and Japan refusing to accept the presidents surrender proposal. If the war
continues to rage on, and America has to invade Japan by foot, expect American deaths
to reach over a million. America needs to look out for the interests of its own people and
nation. This action would end the war quickly, and save lives.
4) According to the document, what were three reasons why America should have
attacked Japan?
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Document 5 - Survey of Japans military personal

*85% of oil and fuel depleted (used)
*83% of air force was destroyed
*72% of the Japanese navy destroyed
*Over 525,000 Japanese soldiers died in the year of 1945 alone.
*Japanese government near bankruptcy
*Japan has loss all of the islands it took over. No more natural resources would be
brought into Japan.
5) What condition was Japan left in after the fall of Iwo Jima?
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Document 6 - 1950 Findings of Nuclear Energy from a nuclear scientist (five years
after the attack)
*Nuclear radiation has continue to spread causing illnesses or death
* Nuclear contamination has affected soil, causing famines, and inedible (cant eat) food
* 1 out of ever 5 Japanese children born from 1945-1950 is born with serious illnesses or
deformities
* Animals, trees, and plants are all affected by radiation as humans are
*Radiation spread over 3,000 miles
*Nuclear energy is being pursued (looking for) by other countries
6) How has the decision to drop the atomic bombs affected the world after 1945?
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Part 2 Using the documents, along with your knowledge of global studies and World
War II, form an argument, with facts, evidence and examples, on whether the U.S. should
have dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Your response should be
AT LEAST EIGHT SENTENCES long. Be sure to CITE the document, and add
OUTSIDE INFORMATION.
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Part 3 - Exit Slip Answer the questions below by choosing the best answer to each
question.
1) During World War II, which event occurred last?
A) Japanese invasion of Manchuria
B) United States bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
C) Russian defense in Stalingrad
D) German invasion of Poland
2) Which conflict is most closely associated with events in Nanjing, Dunkirk, and
Hiroshima?
A) Russian Revolution
B) World War I
C) World War II
D) Korean War
3) Read the following quotation:
.You should take steps now to cease military resistance. Otherwise, we shall
resolutely employ this bomb and all our other superior weapons to promptly and
forcefully end the war>..
This paragraph from a 1945 Allied leaflet warned the
A) Czechs of a German invasion
B) Koreans of a Russian invasion
C) Americans in Hawaii of a Japanese attack
D) Japanese civilians of a United States attack
4) View the following events:
1)
2)
3)
4)

Atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Allies invade Europe on D-Day
Germany invades Poland
Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor

Which sequence shows the correct chronological order of these World War II events,
from earliest to latest?
A) 1-2-3-4

B) 2-1-4-3
C) 3-4-2-1
D) 4-3-1-2