As stated multiple times in this class, history is rarely static. It is constantly changing based on perception, context, and sources. What happened at the end of World War II is no exception. The way people evaluate the decision to drop the bomb changes based on which historical sources are used and their own personal background.
For this assignment, students will be forced to put aside their own feelings about the atomic bomb and do the work of an historian – that is, recreate different perceptions of the past using the sources they are given. Complete the three tasks below:
1. Using only the five documents and nothing else, write a paragraph below in which you defend the following: The U.S. was right to drop the atomic bomb. You must include quotations from at least two of the primary source documents (20 points)
2. Using only the five documents and nothing else, write a paragraph below in which you defend the following: The U.S. should never have dropped the atomic bomb. You must include quotations from at least two primary source documents (20 points)
3. Both sides of the argument make valid cases. Is there a way in which both sides can be right? Explain in a paragraph below. (20 points)
