Atomic+Bomb+Webquest

Please complete the following webquest with your partner or individually. There are two sections which you need to research.

Part 1: Why were the atomic bombs dropped? For this part of the activity, you need to research the real reason why the bombs were dropped. There are two views on this which I want you to explore.

1. The official view of the government and many in U.S. History states that the bombs were dropped to end the horrific war. This would be the only way the war would end. Even though it would cost hundreds of thousands of lives, in the end, it would save millions of lives. The Japanese were set on victory, and this would be the only way they could be defeated. Here is an article supporting this position in more detail-[|Position 1 Paper.docx]

2. An alternative view is that the bombs were not actually needed to end the war. Japan was on the verge of surrendering with the Soviet Union threatening to join the war against Japan. However, the U.S. was scared of the Soviets becoming involved in the war (because it would give the Soviets more control over Japan after the country was defeated) and wanted to end it before they would become involved. They were also dropped to send a strong message to the Soviet Union who was the new enemy in the Cold War. A more cynical reason was that they were dropped because so much money had been used on the atomic program that they had to be used. Here is an article supporting this position-[|Position 2 Paper.docx]

Please research and find 3 sources (one needs to be a primary source) supporting position 1 and 3 sources (one being a primary source) that support position 2. Please give a brief summary of each source and what you learned from it. Each member of the group then needs to write a short paragraph saying which position they believe is more accurate. Here are some good sources to get started with: [] [] []

Part 2: Stories from the Atomic bombs Please read at least 3 accounts of people who lived through the atomic bombs, and then

1. Give a brief summary of each story

2. Explain three things that shocked or impacted you the most about the stories.

Here is a link with eye witness accounts: []