Background history

• April of 1945 FDR dies
• May 1, 1945 Hitler dies
• May 8, 1945 Germany surrenders
• Russia promises aid in 90 days
• July 16, 1945 America has 3 atomic bombs

• Los Alamos, New Mexico
• J. Robert Oppenheimer
• Manhattan Project

Progressive magazine article

• 20 megaton bomb on Chicago in July
• 72 degrees to 150 million degrees in a millionth of a sec
• 4 times hotter than the center of the sun
• we would be dead in 1 to 3 days from radiation

Where do you get your information to make a decision?

Cabinet – people – scientist – military – solo

MacArthur predicts 500,000 more American casualties and 18 more months of war

(less than 200,000 in 4 years)

Options: drop them – pull out – conventional war

August 6, 1945 at 8:15am we dropped a bomb on Hiroshima

• 66,000 people killed immediately
• 300,00 seriously injured
• US gives Japan four days to study the aftermath

August 8, 1945 Russia enters the war against Japan

• Allies England, France and Russia
• What happened to Germany after the war?

August 9, 1945 we drop a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki

• 25,000 people killed immediately

August 15, 1945 Japan surrenders