<p>Well the AP test is over but the classwork still goes full bore. Three weeks of school left and we have to read the autobiography of Malcom X and write a term paper about controversies in US History.
I would appreciate any help with the topic: Why did Truman drop the Atom Bomb? After going throuh six books on the subject I am having writer's block. Other than
1. to show Japan and the world the strength of the US
2. to end the war
and 3. to test out the bomb I am stuck.
Any thoughts to help me start thinking more creatively?
thanks</p>
<p>show the USSR what we’re made of ^_-</p>
<p>Listen to music! That always helps me write…sometimes it is just the writing atmosphere that throws you off.
Another reason is to save the lives of the thousands of troops that would have to march in to take the island nation in the conventional way–a twisted philosophy, but whatever helped him get to sleep at night.</p>
<p>prevent having huge amount of casualties on a full scale invasion of japan</p>
<p>You could write about the disconnect between FDR/Truman as the decision to use the A-bomb might have been made irrespective of whether Truman approved as he took over at such short notice.</p>
<p>You should definitely mention how “hundreds of thousands” of American lives were saved as the Marines didn’t have to storm the beaches. Going along with this same topic, you could discuss how resilient/stubborn the Japanese were and how only a surrender order from the emperor would suffice, and only the A-bomb would cause the emperor to consider giving up. </p>
<p>You could mention how firebombing ended up being much worse than the actual A-bomb and is quite overlooked. </p>
<p>You could mention that the American government may have already been foreseeing a conflict with the USSR and wanted to scare them out of the Pacific.</p>
<p>I’m drawing a blank otherwise, but there are certainly other tangents.</p>
<p>thank you for the impetus. blood is starting to flow. outlines are being revised</p>
<p>US dropped bomb too…
- End War quickly
- Save American lives
- Show USSR that America has bomb – they would then be more cautious during post-war talks
- End war before USSR comes into the war (that way USSR wont have a chance to take over territories in Japan/East Asia)</p>
<p>You can approach it differently. In the position of President, did he have any options? Could he really have had Americans die, in the eyes of the US public, while having the A-bomb at his disposal?</p>
<p>Lol, there are dozens of postulations out there on why we dropped the bomb. Considering this, there is nothing you write that can be considered original. So you’re best bet would be to take ideas straight from a reliable source.</p>
<p>=/</p>
<p>Here we go:
-Wanted to show soviets that U.S. was a world power
-Wanted to prevent Soviets from invading Japan and being an imperialistic power
-Firebombings were way more destructive and a nuclear bomb would help end the war quicker.
-There was a famine in Japan and the American military forces bombed railroads and also had a blockade around Japan so no food was being transported to their cities. The bomb helped prevent millions of people from dying of starvation.
-Bushido warrior code of Japanese soldiers meant that the military leaders would fight until the very end. By dropping a nuclear bomb, it would demoralize the military leaders and essentially force them to surrender.</p>
<p>Those are the main reasons. I’ll add some more if you need anymore.</p>
<p>It’s absolutely insane to think that the majority of men in their prime had died in service, the majority of Japanese cities had been absolutely destroyed by fire bombing, the railways/roads had been decimated to prevent materials from being transports, and an atomic bomb was dropped, yet the Japanese opted to continue fighting.</p>