Why did the U.S. drop the bomb on Hiroshima?
The primary sources below provide evidence BOTH that (1) the U. S. dropped the bomb on Hiroshima to force Japan’s unconditional surrender, AND that (2) dropping the bomb was also done to intimidate the Soviet Union and keep it out of the war against Japan. Read the primary sources, collecting evidence for both conclusions above. You can underline the evidence for each conclusion in different colors, or make two columns and write the appropriate evidence in each. (For example, Stimson’s contention that fighting a conventional war with Japan would cost over a million US causalities would back up contention (1) while Eisenhower’s advise to Truman that the only way to keep the Soviet Union out of the war was to win it before they could get in backs up thesis (2).) Once you have evidence for both conclusions, decide which one you think is most convincing, and write a short essay, using at least three pieces of evidence to back up your thesis. Be prepared to back up your conclusion in a deba
