1. Who was Harry S. Truman's Secretary of War?
Secretary of War at the time was Stimson.
2. Who was Truman's Chief of Staff?
Chief of Staff at the time was Admiral William D. Leahy.
3. Why did Truman believe nuclear bombs needed to be used?
Truman saw the bombs as necessary for this purpose, when the Japanese has surrendered unconditionally.
4. Why did Admiral Leahy believe nuclear bombs didn't need to be used?
Leahy thought that the use of the atomic bombs were not material assistance in the war because the Japanese were already ready to surrender.
5. Why did Supreme Allied Commander and future president Dwight D. Eisenhower believe they didn't need to be used?
Eisenhower believed that Japan was already defeated and the bomb was unnecessary.
6. Critics of Truman fall into two camps. One was that he acted rashly because of his "inferior foreign policy skills" when compared to FDR. What is the other major criticism?
The second major criticism was from people who thought that the amount of money that was spent on the project pressured Truman to use it.
7. Key critics of Truman's use of the bomb weren't on the "historical fringe," but were who?
Truman's Secretary of War, Stimson and Admiral Leahy.
8. Truman began to soften on his stance for unconditional surrender but something occurred that changed his mind for good. What was that?
Truman changed his mind when the Trinity test of the atom bomb was a success.
9. Besides defeating Japan what was Truman's other possible motivation for using the nuclear bombs on Japan?
If Truman could use the atomic bomb to destroy Japan, they might also be able to solve the looming geopolitical contest with the Soviet Union.
10. At Yalta Stalin promised to enter the war against Japan once Germany was defeated. Conventional thinking said this if the Soviets began fighting against Japan.
If the Soviets began to fight against Japan, the Japanese were sure to concede defeat.
11. The four-power surrender ultimatum to be presented to Japan was to be written and decided upon where?
The surrender ultimatum was decided upon at the Postdam conference, and Churchill was the one who came up with the strategy.
12. What did the Washington Post editorialize about "unconditional surrender"?
The Washington Post said that the US is suggesting that a more softening terms of surrender for Japan was never an option, and that the US will most likely go through with bombing Japan.
13. What is the significance of Paragraph 12 in the draft copy of the Potsdam Proclamation prior to Truman setting sail on the USS Augusta? (More detail is needed for this question)
Paragraph 12 says that Japan will be able to fix its country, so that the citizens will be able to chose their own leader, aslong as the rest of the world agrees on whomever they choose. They will be able to keep their Emperor as long as Japan doesn't try to take over the world again.
14. What changed when the Proclamation was publicly announced on July 26?
When it was announced in July, half of the statement was taken out, and the US was ready to use the atomic bomb to make sure that Japan would surrender and to establish the US's prime post in the postwar global balance of power.
15. According to the author, what might have changed Truman's mind to alter the wording in Paragraph 12? (More detail is needed for this question)
(like stated in Q14) Truman wanted to alter the paragraph because the success of the Trinity test that happened a few months? before. Truman wanted to make sure that Japan surrendered. He also wanted to make sure that people knew how powerful the US had become because of this new weapon.
16. Regarding his diary entry of a conversation with Winston Churchill (who is call "P.M." in the entry) what does the author suggest about Truman's attitude with the bomb despite learning what he does from Churchill?
Truman had already decided to use the atomic bombs even though Churchill believed that Japan would undoubtedly surrender once the Soviet Union joined the fight.
17. What does his caption on the back of the photo of Stalin and Truman suggest about the use of the bomb?
Truman sees Stalin as almost a friendly rival, to who will make Japan surrender first, and when they use the atomic bomb.
18. "From a foreign policy perspective" what two accomplishments were made by dropping the bomb?
One accomplishment that was made was the end of the war with Japan. The second accomplishment that wasn't exactly a good thing, was the start of the Cold War against the Soviet Union.
19. To give credit to Truman, why didn't he know what FDR's intentions were with the bomb?
FDR did not tell Truman, his vice president anything about the Manhattan Project. FDR didn't really like Truman very much, so he kept the project a secret until he died, and was not able to brief Truman about the project or the bomb.
20. How did the discrepancy between the loss of 1 million U.S. soldiers lives versus 20,000 to 40,000 if Japan's mainland would have been invaded, affect the understanding of their use?
They exaggerated the deaths to show that the US had a reason to bomb Japan. The public needed to under stand this side of the story so that there would be support for the bombings and give the atomic program support to keep working.
21. Based on your readings, this reading, and discussion in class, in a paragraph or two, answer the following: To what extent was President Truman's decision to drop bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki justified?
Truman wanted this war to end. He did not want this war to drag on and so he used fear and unnecessary violence (the atomic bombs) to end the war with Japan. Truman also wanted to shows Stalin that the US did not need the Soviet's help. They could take care of their own problems and didn't need any other nation to help them win. He didn't trust Stalin, so he wanted to use the bombs before the 90 days were up to show how strong the US really was. Truman was able to show the world that the US was now basically the most powerful country at the time, because he used the atomic bombs...
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Thursday, April 26, 2012
The Potsdam Conference
1. Read Source 17 (p 68). At Yalta, Churchill and Roosevelt had agreed with Stalin that eastern Europe would be a Soviet ‘sphere of influence’. Do you think Source 17 is what they had in mind?
No I don't think that source 17 is quite what europe and the US had in mind when they said that eastern europe would be a soviet sphere of influence. They probably meant that the Soviet Union would be able to look after the countries that they had liberated, not over take them and force a certain government on them. The US and Europe wanted the liberated countries to be able to chose their own government and be able to
2. Would they agree with Stalin’s views expressed in Sources 17 and 18? Explain your answer.
They would defiantly not agree with Stalin's views. They thought that he was being unreasonable. Poland was not just a country that they could take land from. They were still a people who wanted to govern themselves. Stalin isn't supposed to force Communism on Poland. They are supposed to let poland chose the kind of government they want. But Stalin probably feels left out because they were not consulted about other matters concerning the eastern side of the world. (from the U.S. perspective)
3. Explain how each of the three developments described in the text might affect relationships at Potsdam.
The three nations were trying to fix what had been done during the time at the Potsdam meeting. When they had to decide about what to do with Germany, the USSR thought that taking away Germany's power would make it safer for Stalin, but Truman decided to go against this, for the simple reason that the US did not want to make the same mistakes that the treaty of Versailles had made. The second disagreement was about whether Germany should pay the USSR money for all of the deaths that they had lost, or wether they wanted to make the same mistakes as before. Both the Soviet Union and the US. were set against each other in that the US thought that Stalin was trying to make an empire, while the Stalin stated that he wanted to make sure that the threats against the USSR would no longer remain if he put pr0-soviet governments in eastern Europe. Obviously Truman and Stalin were not the best of friends, and they certainly did not agree on many things.
No I don't think that source 17 is quite what europe and the US had in mind when they said that eastern europe would be a soviet sphere of influence. They probably meant that the Soviet Union would be able to look after the countries that they had liberated, not over take them and force a certain government on them. The US and Europe wanted the liberated countries to be able to chose their own government and be able to
2. Would they agree with Stalin’s views expressed in Sources 17 and 18? Explain your answer.
They would defiantly not agree with Stalin's views. They thought that he was being unreasonable. Poland was not just a country that they could take land from. They were still a people who wanted to govern themselves. Stalin isn't supposed to force Communism on Poland. They are supposed to let poland chose the kind of government they want. But Stalin probably feels left out because they were not consulted about other matters concerning the eastern side of the world. (from the U.S. perspective)
3. Explain how each of the three developments described in the text might affect relationships at Potsdam.
The three nations were trying to fix what had been done during the time at the Potsdam meeting. When they had to decide about what to do with Germany, the USSR thought that taking away Germany's power would make it safer for Stalin, but Truman decided to go against this, for the simple reason that the US did not want to make the same mistakes that the treaty of Versailles had made. The second disagreement was about whether Germany should pay the USSR money for all of the deaths that they had lost, or wether they wanted to make the same mistakes as before. Both the Soviet Union and the US. were set against each other in that the US thought that Stalin was trying to make an empire, while the Stalin stated that he wanted to make sure that the threats against the USSR would no longer remain if he put pr0-soviet governments in eastern Europe. Obviously Truman and Stalin were not the best of friends, and they certainly did not agree on many things.
Origins of the Cold War: Yalta Conference
1. Choose two points of agreement from the list and explain why they were significant for the future peace of Europe.
First Point: Allied soldiers advanced through Germany, they were revealing the horrors of the Nazi concentration camps. The Big Three agreed to hunt down and punish war criminals who were responsible for the genocide.
They are taking responsibility of the things that Hitler and the Nazis did and working together to reach a common goal. They wanted to make sure that those who were responsible were given the punishment they deserved. They were showing the world that they would take responsibility of the bad things that happened and would fix it.
Second Point: They agreed that as countries were liberated from occupation by the German army, they would be allowed to hold free elections to choose the government they wanted.
They wanted to make sure that all of the countries that they were given the rights that they should have had before the Nazi took over and they could grow and fix their government themselves. They were showing responsibility that they could be responsible and take care of other countries without taking them over. These new governments would be able to govern their own countries and the three great powers would make sure that nothing went wrong.
2. Read Sources 2 - 11 on pages 320 and 321. What is your overall impression of the Yalta Conference based on these sources?
First Point: Allied soldiers advanced through Germany, they were revealing the horrors of the Nazi concentration camps. The Big Three agreed to hunt down and punish war criminals who were responsible for the genocide.
They are taking responsibility of the things that Hitler and the Nazis did and working together to reach a common goal. They wanted to make sure that those who were responsible were given the punishment they deserved. They were showing the world that they would take responsibility of the bad things that happened and would fix it.
They wanted to make sure that all of the countries that they were given the rights that they should have had before the Nazi took over and they could grow and fix their government themselves. They were showing responsibility that they could be responsible and take care of other countries without taking them over. These new governments would be able to govern their own countries and the three great powers would make sure that nothing went wrong.
At the Yalta Conference, there seemed to be a lot of tension between Stalin and the others. They didn't seem to trust each other very much and were saying not very nice things about each other. Stalin was untrusting of both Churchill and Roosevelt. He thought that they wanted to try to claim more land for themselves. And Churchill and Roosevelt didn't trust the Soviet Union and they didn't believe that they were doing things for the better.
Saturday, April 7, 2012
America Enters World War II
1. What impact did the outbreak of war in Europe have on U.S. foreign and defense policy?
Because of the outbreak, the U.S. was pressured to either help Britain by aiding them with weapons, or watch as Germany and the other countries lead by evil dictators take over the eastern continents. The U.S. couldn't help the British if they wanted to stick to their neutrality. Roosevelt wanted to make sure that the US was protected against enemy threat, and so pushed congress to increase defense spending, and to build up a draft army.
2. Why did Roosevelt take one “ un-neutral” step after another to assist Britain and the Soviet Union in 1941?
Even though the US wanted to stay neutral, Roosevelt felt the need to take action and aid Britain and the Soviet Union against Hitler and the other waring nations. Neither the British or the Soviet Union had enough supplies or fighting power to overtake Germany. The US had to help or else they wouldn't be able to win the conflict.
3. Why was the Atlantic Charter important?
Because of the Atlantic Charter, Britain and the US agreed that the seas should be free and safe. The Atlantic Charter became the base for creating the United Nations, the ones who would fight or give aid to fighting the Axis Powers.
4. Why did the United States enter into an undeclared shooting war with Germany in fall 1941?
The Germans were attacking US ships, both merchant and destroyers. The US was getting sick of loosing ships and so Roosevelt told all that if they saw a German submarine, they could shoot it on sight.
5. How was oil a source of conflict between Japan and the United States?
Because Japan was part of the Axis Powers, the US decided to stop supporting them with the oil that they needed to fuel their weapons. Japan was very angry at the US for doing this and decided to declare war on them because they didn't get what they wanted.
6. What problem would the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor solve for Roosevelt? What new problems would it create?
Because the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Roosevelt was able to declare war on Japan. What he was waiting for for a while. On the down side, He now is engaged in war on both sides of the world, because Germany then declares war on the US because we declared war on Japan. So Roosevelt now has to spread his army out much farther than it should be.
Because of the outbreak, the U.S. was pressured to either help Britain by aiding them with weapons, or watch as Germany and the other countries lead by evil dictators take over the eastern continents. The U.S. couldn't help the British if they wanted to stick to their neutrality. Roosevelt wanted to make sure that the US was protected against enemy threat, and so pushed congress to increase defense spending, and to build up a draft army.
2. Why did Roosevelt take one “ un-neutral” step after another to assist Britain and the Soviet Union in 1941?
Even though the US wanted to stay neutral, Roosevelt felt the need to take action and aid Britain and the Soviet Union against Hitler and the other waring nations. Neither the British or the Soviet Union had enough supplies or fighting power to overtake Germany. The US had to help or else they wouldn't be able to win the conflict.
3. Why was the Atlantic Charter important?
Because of the Atlantic Charter, Britain and the US agreed that the seas should be free and safe. The Atlantic Charter became the base for creating the United Nations, the ones who would fight or give aid to fighting the Axis Powers.
4. Why did the United States enter into an undeclared shooting war with Germany in fall 1941?
The Germans were attacking US ships, both merchant and destroyers. The US was getting sick of loosing ships and so Roosevelt told all that if they saw a German submarine, they could shoot it on sight.
5. How was oil a source of conflict between Japan and the United States?
Because Japan was part of the Axis Powers, the US decided to stop supporting them with the oil that they needed to fuel their weapons. Japan was very angry at the US for doing this and decided to declare war on them because they didn't get what they wanted.
6. What problem would the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor solve for Roosevelt? What new problems would it create?
Because the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Roosevelt was able to declare war on Japan. What he was waiting for for a while. On the down side, He now is engaged in war on both sides of the world, because Germany then declares war on the US because we declared war on Japan. So Roosevelt now has to spread his army out much farther than it should be.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Dictators Threaten World Peace
1. Why did the new democracies set up after World War I fail? (And yes, I am aware the answer is in the reading so make sure your answer is in your own words.)
Many of the Democracies that were set up after world war 1 failed because people were angry about the depression and people were unhappy with their government. The world was in chaos and people wanted stronger leaders. This is how the dictators gained so much power durring this time.
2. What are the characteristics of a totalitarian state?
In a totalitarian state, the government has complete control over all of its citizens and those citizens do not have any right or say in their daily lives. The government also had control over production of crops and money flow and all else that they deem not suitable for their citizens to have/control.
3. What factors led to the rise of Fascism in Italy?
Because of the depression the world was going through, in Italy, many people were angered at the inflation and unemployment that was happening. The suffering citizens started striking, and the more wealthy classes started to become alarmed at these strikes. They wanted a stronger leader to try to control these strikes and fix their country. The person that came to power was Mussolini, and he established the Fascism party.
4. What were the key ideas and goals that Hitler presented in Mein Kampf ?
In Hitler's book, he had a basic set of rules that Nazism was bassed on. Part of those rules were bassed on extreme nationalism. He dreamed of having a German empire, that was comprised of only German-speaking countries. Another rule of Nazism was that he wanted racial purification. Hitler believed that Germans (with blond hair and blue eyes) made a "master-race" that was destined to rule the world. Hitler also believed that Germany needed more living space to grow as a nation.
5. Why did Japan invade Manchuria?
Japan invaded Manchuria because they believed that they needed more living space to grow and become a prosperous nation. They seized control of the Chinese provence.
6. What foreign countries were involved in the Spanish Civil War?
The United States tried to help Spain durring their Civil War. They created the Abraham Lincoln Battalion to fight against Franco. The Soviet Union also sent aid to Spain.
7. What factors contributed to America's growing isolationism?
There were many things that aided to America's isolationism. Many citizens did not want to have any more wars with other nations. There were books published that said that the war was because of greedy bankers and business men. There was much public outrage and a committee was formed and it fulled the controversy of the growing problem. All of these things clashed with President Roosevelts ideals of and foreign policies.
Many of the Democracies that were set up after world war 1 failed because people were angry about the depression and people were unhappy with their government. The world was in chaos and people wanted stronger leaders. This is how the dictators gained so much power durring this time.
2. What are the characteristics of a totalitarian state?
In a totalitarian state, the government has complete control over all of its citizens and those citizens do not have any right or say in their daily lives. The government also had control over production of crops and money flow and all else that they deem not suitable for their citizens to have/control.
3. What factors led to the rise of Fascism in Italy?
Because of the depression the world was going through, in Italy, many people were angered at the inflation and unemployment that was happening. The suffering citizens started striking, and the more wealthy classes started to become alarmed at these strikes. They wanted a stronger leader to try to control these strikes and fix their country. The person that came to power was Mussolini, and he established the Fascism party.
4. What were the key ideas and goals that Hitler presented in Mein Kampf ?
In Hitler's book, he had a basic set of rules that Nazism was bassed on. Part of those rules were bassed on extreme nationalism. He dreamed of having a German empire, that was comprised of only German-speaking countries. Another rule of Nazism was that he wanted racial purification. Hitler believed that Germans (with blond hair and blue eyes) made a "master-race" that was destined to rule the world. Hitler also believed that Germany needed more living space to grow as a nation.
5. Why did Japan invade Manchuria?
Japan invaded Manchuria because they believed that they needed more living space to grow and become a prosperous nation. They seized control of the Chinese provence.
6. What foreign countries were involved in the Spanish Civil War?
The United States tried to help Spain durring their Civil War. They created the Abraham Lincoln Battalion to fight against Franco. The Soviet Union also sent aid to Spain.
7. What factors contributed to America's growing isolationism?
There were many things that aided to America's isolationism. Many citizens did not want to have any more wars with other nations. There were books published that said that the war was because of greedy bankers and business men. There was much public outrage and a committee was formed and it fulled the controversy of the growing problem. All of these things clashed with President Roosevelts ideals of and foreign policies.
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