The 20th century possesses an event that will forever be regarded as one of the most controversial decisions in all of history. The nod to drop the first atomic bomb over Hiroshima, then subsequently to drop the second atomic bomb over Nagasaki is a contentious subject that has been observed and referred to well into today’s 21st century. In my historiographical essay I will chronologically examine secondary sources and interpret how views on the event have changed over time. The atomic bomb event, while drenching the flames of a struggle in the Pacific and ending the calamity that was World War II, sparked a new, more dangerous, war. This spark led to a flame that burned cold and put fear in the hearts Americans. In 1957 Louis Morton, a
…show more content…
A new generation was stepping into the spotlight. In 1985 Kumar Sehdev wrote an article titled “Guided Missiles and Misguided Men.” In this article Sehdev paints the picture for the emergence of a generation that is tired of all of the war and hatred. Forty years after the dropping of the atomic bomb, a resurgence from the baby boomers of 1945 begin to look in depth at what the United States has done to get to the point where they are at now. The Cold War, containment, civil rights, and the Vietnam War all seem to be common conflicts that has left the United States in a state of desperation. Many speculate that it was “man and his relentless hunger” that led to the stagnant issues that consistently pressed the people of the United States from 1945 to this point (1985). Sehdev interprets that man is not capable of choosing love over war, a widespread belief of the time. This theme of the necessity to end the Cold War was screamed by Americans …show more content…
An interesting way to look at previous events is how they are taught to students. In 2001 Cliffsnotes: Hiroshima was published and children and teens were being taught the events of 1945 and the Cold War. The textbook shows sympathy for the Japanese. The textbook uses logos and pathos to tell the story of 5 different Japanese citizens that were directly impacted by the dropping of the atomic bomb. By using facts in an influential way it is shown that educators want students to believe that dropping the atomic bomb was a mistake. Cliffsnotes also makes is clear that it was a mistake in that it was unethical, not a mistake that led to the Cold War. Cliffnotes teaches that the Cold War was influenced by other factors. These factors include containment and the United States wanting to create an ideal world rooted in democracy. This new view of unethicality was new and would be rooted in textbooks. At the end of WWII Americans were to content to look at the ethics of the atomic bomb; and during the Cold War Americans were too panicked to delve into the topic. The ethics of killing over 200,000 Japanese civilians were not taken into account until history was examined and a new generation formed their own
A new generation was stepping into the spotlight. In 1985 Kumar Sehdev wrote an article titled “Guided Missiles and Misguided Men.” In this article Sehdev paints the picture for the emergence of a generation that is tired of all of the war and hatred. Forty years after the dropping of the atomic bomb, a resurgence from the baby boomers of 1945 begin to look in depth at what the United States has done to get to the point where they are at now. The Cold War, containment, civil rights, and the Vietnam War all seem to be common conflicts that has left the United States in a state of desperation. Many speculate that it was “man and his relentless hunger” that led to the stagnant issues that consistently pressed the people of the United States from 1945 to this point (1985). Sehdev interprets that man is not capable of choosing love over war, a widespread belief of the time. This theme of the necessity to end the Cold War was screamed by Americans …show more content…
An interesting way to look at previous events is how they are taught to students. In 2001 Cliffsnotes: Hiroshima was published and children and teens were being taught the events of 1945 and the Cold War. The textbook shows sympathy for the Japanese. The textbook uses logos and pathos to tell the story of 5 different Japanese citizens that were directly impacted by the dropping of the atomic bomb. By using facts in an influential way it is shown that educators want students to believe that dropping the atomic bomb was a mistake. Cliffsnotes also makes is clear that it was a mistake in that it was unethical, not a mistake that led to the Cold War. Cliffnotes teaches that the Cold War was influenced by other factors. These factors include containment and the United States wanting to create an ideal world rooted in democracy. This new view of unethicality was new and would be rooted in textbooks. At the end of WWII Americans were to content to look at the ethics of the atomic bomb; and during the Cold War Americans were too panicked to delve into the topic. The ethics of killing over 200,000 Japanese civilians were not taken into account until history was examined and a new generation formed their own