Hist 199 Prompt for First Response Paper: The Decision to Drop the Bomb

Due Feb. 6 in class.

Please bring a hard copy to class but also submit a copy on Wise or email me an electronic copy.

 

Drawing on the ABC TV video "Why the Bomb was Dropped," parts of Ch. 3 by Takaki, but mainly, Dower's article on "The Most Terrible Bomb," write a brief response paper outlining what you think the key issues are surrounding this decision to use the bomb, and the main points that these authors and the video are converying to us. What are some of the myths about the decision to drop the bomb? What do historians believe were the driving forces behind the decision? What were some of the alternatives that Dower talks about, the "roads not taken?" What lessons can we draw from inquiring into this important historical moment?

Introduce the points you want to emphasize in your essay, discuss them in the Body and then add a Conclusion to recap or summarize your main reflections. I think it will be important to refer to the materials available, so citation is appropriate, but otherwise, it is not a thoroughly formal paper. Citations may just be internal, like (Dower, 314) or (Hiroshima Video).