The Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb: Investigative Project

The students are in an investigative project regarding the use of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to force Imperial Japan to surrender at the end of WWII.

Imperial Japanese delegation at the Surrender Ceremony on V-J Day.

Currently we are in an informational phase where the students are reading and analyzing a large volume of primary and secondary sources, including letters and memoranda from Albert Einstein, Secretary of War Henry Stimson, President Truman, Col. Paul Tibbets, the Franck Committee, eyewitnesses to atomic explosions as well as others.

After Spring Break, students will have the opportunity to do some guided research, learn some analytical techniques used by historians and then collaborate on their choice of presentation format.