Ending The War Against Japan Science Morality And The Atomic Bomb 2nd Half Of Notes

Caroline Seibold
February 8, 2015
(4 more comments- I was absent Friday)

Issue #4- The Soviet Union, not Japan, Was the Real Target of the Atomic Bomb
February 1945 at the Yalta Conference of Allied Leaders, Roosevelt really wanted the Soviets to join in war because he thought if they attacked the Japanese it would lead to the end of the war and decrease the number of American casualties.
In exchange for Soviet support, Roosevelt told Stalin they would be granted East Asia territory
President said he would be very firm with the Soviet gov.
He said, “If the Russians did not wish to join us [in forming the United Nations] they could go to hell”  very serious.

Issue #5- Foreign Policy, Deterrence, and Morality in the Nuclear Age
Moral dimension of U.S. nuclear weapons policy held prominent place in International relations during the Cold War….
Soviets had advantage in conventional forces (tanks, artillery, and ground troops) while U.S. had advantage with nuclear weapons.
In the 1960s, Soviets narrowed gap in nuclear power *
With the Soviets increasing their power with more nuclear weapons, U.S. leaders now had to face the risk- if they dropped nuclear bombs, they would face an “all out nuclear counterattack”
Soviets had produced more than 70,000 nuclear warheads. Largest bombs were over 1,000x more powerful than “Little Boy”
Because of this, I think it was a great decision for the U.S. to not drop any more Atomic Bombs because of the large power the Soviets now had.

Issue #6- Radiation, Fallout, and Nuclear Testing
Radiation was first available to study with the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Scientists studied short term effects- severe skin burns caused by absorption of high levels of radiation and “A-bomb disease”- marked by loss of appetite and weight, nausea, and hair loss which many people died from
Radioactive fallout eventually settles to earth and may contaminate land, water, and the food we eat.
 calls for a halt to atmospheric testing
Sr-90 testing would be injected into cows then would be in milk which would be passed onto children that way and be stored permanently in their bones
Issue #7- The Crusade Against Evil and the Ends-Mean Dilemma
“There never has been-there never can be- successful compromise between good and evil. Only total victory can reward the champions of tolerance and decency and freedom and faith.” –FDR saying they have to completely win, cannot let Japanese not surrender.
Cartoon “This is the enemy”—the Japanese were generally portrayed as evil, if not subhuman, in the American media during WWII

Issue #8- Fifty Years Later- Stamps, Exhibits, and Fresh Controversies
Today, Germany and Japan= 2 of our countries closest allies
Controversy (1)- stamp they were planning on making with a picture of an atomic bomb- opposed by both U.S. and Japanese
(2)- exhibit planned around the Enola Gay- strongest protests came from WWII veterans (understandably)
Noted that photos of Japanese soldiers beheading Chinese civilians and captured Allied prisoners, as well as eyewitness accounts of the heroism of U.S. marines were going to be included in display
U.S. has not shied away from examining its past with a critical eye- which is important to do so history does not repeat itself and we can learn from mistakes we made and work off of what was successful.