Example For High School Students about World War 2

World War 2 1.1 HARRY S. TRUMAN & THE BOMB A DOCUMENTARY HISTORY 1.2 Robert H. Ferrell editor with commentary 1.3 High Plains Publishing Company, Inc.

1.4 1996 1.5 Chapters: 21, Pages: 125 2.1 The title fits the story line because the story is about Trumans decision on dropping the atomic bomb. This is a non-fiction book that includes diary entries, letters, White House press releases, and handwritten notes by Truman.These documents are from 1945-1958 and are all related in the decision to drop the atomic bomb.

2.2 The authors points are that Truman used all available sources to help him make the decision of dropping the bomb (military advisors, scientists, what he saw in Germany) and he believed that dropping the atomic bomb saved lives. 2.3 Yes, I accept the authors thesis.

I believe Truman used all his resources. For example he checked with the military for how many people would die if America would invade Japan.When Truman went to Berlin he saw total destruction and in his diary called it Hitlers folly. By using the casualty rates at Iwo Jima and Okinawa military experts estimated 500,000 American casualties if an invasion on the home island took place.

This is much greater than the number of people killed by the atomic bomb. 3.1 The author is writing to Americans. 3.2 The author investigates if America was justified for dropping the atomic bomb on Japan. The author looks at the documents of the time period (diaries, letters, and memos), examines how the Japanese treated prisoners and conquered people, and looks at battle casualty rates.

3.3 The author is pro-American. When he wrote the intro he includes statements against the Japanese such as, The barbarities of the war had their beginnings in Japans war against ChinaBetween 100,000 to 200,000 people were killed by occupying troops for no reason at all except what may only be described as blood lust.(Pg1) Throughout the intro the author uses words such as countless horrors, sneak attack, maltreatment, and savagery to describe the Japanese and their behavior. 4.

1 Robert H. Ferrell is Distinguished Professor of History, Emeritus Indiana University. Other books the author wrote include The Private Papers of Harry S.Truman, Truman and the Modern American Presidency, and Harry S. Truman His Life on the Family Farms. 4.

2 The book was written in 1996, using documents from the 1940s and 1950s. The author had plenty of access to the primary information. He wrote it 50 years after the event happened making him more objective than someone from the time period.4.

3 None, I all ready agree that Truman should have dropped the bomb because I believe that it saved more lives. 4.4 I would not recommend this book for pleasure reading because HARRY S. TRUMAN & THE BOMB is made up of facts (letters, memos, documents, and diaries).

I would recommend it to anyone who wants to know about why America dropped the atomic bomb. 5.1 The book covers from 1945 to 1958.5.2 The action takes place all over the world mostly in the White House in Washington, D.

C, the Potsdam Conference near Berlin, Germany, the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory in New Mexico, and Japan. The setting is during World War II and soon after the war. 5.3 The author is a realist. In the book he talks about how if America did not drop the atomic bomb on Japan and used invasion that more men would die.

Truman and leading officials of his administration looked upon nuclear warfare as a positive good rather than terrible savagery, there was the very real issue in the summer of 1945 of the cost of a U.S. invasion of the Japanese home islands.Whatever the historical - one might describe as emotional - reasons for getting back at Japan, there was the frightening cost of an invasion by the U. S. Army and Navy (pg.

3). 5.4 I think the structure of this book is chronological because of how the author put his chapters in order from 1945-1958. 6.

1 The most notable thing that I liked was that after the war ended we helped Japan get back on there feet.Truman wrote, And in spite of the shot in the back, this country of ours, the United States of America, has been willing to help in every way the restoration of Japan as a great and prosperous nation (pg 115). 6.2 1. How would the story be told in the Japanese point of view? 2. Did Harry S.

Truman research every possible choice to end the war? 3. Was there a better way than dropping the atomic bomb? 6.3 Summary Chpt.1 Secretary of War Henry L.Stimson to Harry S. Truman, April 24, 1945 Stimson wrote to Truman to set up a meeting to tell Truman the details of the atomic bomb.

Chpt. 2 From the Presidents Diary, July 16 After Germany surrendered Truman took a trip to Berlin and saw the city in ruin. He saw people of all ages out on the streets carrying possessions on there backs, kicked out of their homes by Russia conquers. Chpt.

3 Major General Leslie R. Groves to Secretary Stimson, July 18 General Groves, Manhattan Project Commander, reports on the successful atomic test that took place at 5:30 A.M. on July 16, 1945.

He mentions a lighting effect for a radius of 20 miles, a huge fireball, a mushroom cloud over 10,000 ft high, a crater with a diameter of 120 ft, and the destruction of a steel and concert tower (similar in size to a 20 story sky scraper) that was half a mile away from the blast. Chpt.4 Cloud Drawings by Luis W. Alvarez Luis Alvarez, professor of physics at the University of California at Berkeley drew what he saw at Alamogordo detonation. Drew the atomic mushroom cloud at different times between 5:30 5:42 A.M.

Chpt. 5 From the Presidents Diary, July 17, 18, 25 Truman met with Stalin and Churchill in Potsdam.Some of the things discussed were firing Franco, dividing Italian Colonies, how Russia would enter the war against Japan on August 15. Truman told Churchill about the atomic bomb, but only hinted at it to Stalin. Truman made a judgement about Stalin, I can deal with Stalin. He is honest, but smart as hell(pg 30).

Truman also says that he glad that U.S.A.discovered the atomic bomb first, not Hitler or Stalins crowd(31). Chpt. 6 General Thomas T.

Handy to General Carl Spaatz, July 25 This letter tells General Spaatz, Commanding General United States Army Strategic Air Forces, that the atomic bomb would be dropped after August 3 on either Hiroshima, Kokura, Niigata, or Nagasaki. Spaatz was order to take military and scientific observers to record the bombing and he was ordered not to give out any information.He was also ordered to hand deliver a copy of the letter to General MacArthur and Admiral Nimitz. Chpt. 7 The Potsdam Declaration, July 26 The Potsdam Declaration has 13 points.

1. Japan has opportunity to surrender. 2.Allies will keep fighting against Japan till they give up. 3.

Resistance is futile if Japan dont surrender it will lead to utter devasta ...