Introduction
The Manhattan Project originated under President Franklin Roosevelt in 1942 with the intention of creating a means for ending WWII. The Manhattan Project also doubled as an arms race against Germany and Japan for who could create an atomic bomb first, the possession of such a weapon surely guranteed victory. In 1945 Germany surrendered and the fighting ceased in Europe however the U.S. fighting with the Japanese continued at full force. President Harry Truman was looking for a successful end to the war and the atomic bomb seemed a viable option however its use could mean the death of thousands of Japanese both militant and civilan along with catastrophic destruction. Were American lives and money worth the consequence?
Task
You are on the board of advisors for President Truman and the decision of dropping the bomb on the Japanese to end the war is being discussed. You and your partner must identify the problem(s) at hand. Discuss your thoughts and reasoning as to why the war would not come to a quick and clean end in the near future. Then create a poster containing 5 Pros and 5 Cons of dropping the bomb. One of you will find 5 pros and the other 5 cons of dropping the bomb. You and your partner will then share and discuss the pros and cons you have found for dropping the bomb and then come to an agreement weather you will vote to drop the atomic bomb or not. At the end of two weeks we will as a class present what we have found to each other and each two person group will cast a vote weather or not to drop the bomb.