Question

1. Imagine that you are President Truman in the summer of 1945. What decision

will you make? Why?
2. Imagine that you are one of Truman's advisers. Reply to another student's post
for question 1. describing one choice that Truman could have made. Explain
why this choice could work
3. Reply to one student who has responded to your original post. Would his or her
argument have changed your decision? Why or why not?

Answer 1

If I were President Truman in the summer of 1945, I would choose to keep trying to make a deal with Emperor Hirohito. It would be polite and would save a lot of lives from both sides. The atomic bomb is the worst option, no one knew what that bomb was capable of and it was not worth the risk. The Invading and bombing option was too deadly to the Americans and Japanese and would not be worth it in the end.

Step-by-step explanation:

1. I don't like war, and i'd like to think there is always a peaceful way to find a solution to a conflict.

2. I'm part japanese, and i'd feel guilty if i had to hurt my people because the emperor wasnt make wise decisions (that may be biased, so if the emperor had made it clear that he wasn't going to let down on the attacks, then id feel we'd have no choice but to attack as well).

Answer 2

1. Imagine that you are President Truman in the summer of 1945. What decision will you make? Why?

- I would decide to drop the atomic bombs on Japan. However, I would first keep trying to talk to the emperor and keep giving warnings. But, if there was no response or agreement, I would end up dropping the bombs. The Japanese were pretty relentless and weren't going to give up until we showed them we were serious. They needed to be shown they couldn't win. Also, I would only drop the first bomb and then wait for a little bit for a reaction before going forward with the second one.

--------

2. Imagine that you are one of Truman's advisers. Reply to another student's post for question 1, describing one choice that Truman could have made. Explain why this choice could work.

- Both students made the same choice I did. This choice would work because there is the negotiation, the action, and then the time for reaction.

---------

3. Reply to one student who has responded to your original post. Would his or her argument have changed your decision? Why or why not?

- n/a