End of the War in the Pacific

President Truman's Choice

He soon learned about the Manhattan Project He had to decide whether to use the atomic bomb against Japan

Why would this part of Japan's constitution have been important to MacArthur's goals for Japan?

It prohibited Japan from having an army

Why would trying some of Japan's top military leaders for war crimes trials help accomplish the overall goal of demilitarizing Japan?

It would weaken the prestige of Japan's military.

Enrico Fermi

Italian nuclear physicist (in the United States after 1939) who worked on artificial radioactivity caused by neutron bombardment and who headed the group that in 1942 produced the first controlled nuclear reaction (1901-1954)

Nagasaki

Japanese city in which the second atomic bomb was dropped (August 9, 1945).

The occupation of Japan

Occupied by US forces under the command of General MacArthur, Japan was forced to allow American troops to take control of the government after Japan surrendered to the United States.

Early Atomic Research

The US army took control of the atomic research when the United States entered WW2.

Which of the following statements describe the postwar relationship between the United States and Japan?

The United States gained a strong democratic ally in Asia. Japan became a major trading partner of the United States.

Arguments against using the atomic bomb

Was too terrible of a weapon The US could demonstrate the bomb's power without killing anyone. Japan was close to surrender, so the bomb was not needed

J. Robert Oppenheimer

lead the Manhattan Project: the World War II effort to develop the first nuclear bomb. He was remembered as the "Father of the Atomic Bomb."

The MacArthur Constitution

new Japanese constitution; established Japan as a parliamentary democracy

What was Oppenheimer saying about the atomic bomb in this passage?

that it was a terrible weapon that would change the world

Which statement best summarizes the purpose of the Manhattan Project?

to process uranium and use it to build and perfect atomic weapons

Nuclear Research Centers

- Chicago, Illinois - Los Alamos, New Mexico

Manhattan Project

A secret U.S. project for the construction of the atomic bomb. - Oak Ridge, Tennessee - Hanford, Washington

Bomb Testing Site

Alamogordo, New Mexico

Trinity Test

America's extremely secret testing of its atomic power in New Mexico on July 16th, 1945

Arguments in favor of using the bomb

Americans were tired of war and wanted a speedy end to it Japan had shown no willingness to surrender Japan seemed willing to fight to the end An invasion would cost 100,000 or more American lives

Hiroshima

City in Japan, the first to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, on August 6, 1945. The bombing hastened the end of World War II.

What was the main reason for Truman's decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan?

To save American lives

Agricultural Reforms

allowed farmers to purchase the land they farmed Increased agricultural production