The Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Role: President
Harry S. Truman
Audience: The
American public
Format: Speech
Topic: Justifying
the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
This assignment is for 11th grade social studies students. For this assignment you will
assume the role of U.S President Harry S. Truman and prepare a speech to be
delivered to the American public justifying your decision to use an atomic bomb
on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Weigh the pros and cons that helped form your
decision, focusing on the political events that lead you to believe that
bombing was the best course of action at the time.
Student Sample
We have offered and the Japanese have rejected a final peace proposal – vowing instead to fight till the last man standing. We have no doubt as to their resolve and willingness to live up to this promise, for valor and sacrifice is, after all, a bedrock of this ancient culture. We are weary with war for it is yet to lay down its burden and despite subjugation of the Nazi regime we face with horror the prospect of another prolonged and bloody struggle to win peace of the citizens of this world.
The rapid technological advancements made by the Allies and the US in particular, towards the end of war on the European front have also yielded secrets, terrible secrets locked in the heart of the atom. These unseen and unassuming particles, waves or whatever Physicists refer to them as, contain within them power the likes of which mankind has never witnessed let alone tamed. The American curiosity, love of science and innovative spirit has not only unlocked this secret but has learned to tame this tremendous energy and has managed to create a weapon so destructive that it has the potential to erase conflict or the human race from the face of this earth.
We are thus today faced with a binary choice – either, we buckle down and send more of our children to certain death in the jungles and mountains of Japan to secure a victory that is certain but also certain to come at an unbearable cost or we can unleash this atomic bomb on the enemy in the hopes that sense and the all-powerful will to survive will prevail over their cultural values and their suicidal ideation.
As commander in chief, who has watched over 400,000 brave American boys and men and countless millions on the Allied side, lay down their lives to ensure our freedoms and continued progress – I have no stomach to witness further loss of American and Allied lives. I have therefore decided, despite strong revulsion and moral compunction to unleash this terrible nightmare on this enemy – for even the most evil of enemies may not be deserving of this horror. I would like to stress again on the gravity of the situation and want to assure the American public that the decision to bomb Japan has not been made in vain. I would like to thank my fellow country men for their continuing support.
