Student Multimedia
Mini-Research Report
High School Model—Truman and the Bomb
1
Demonstrating the Power of eLibrary Multimedia
Research Says . . . . . .
 Most Learners Are Visual Learners
 Visuals Can Add Emotion and Permanence to Information & Ideas
 Students Construct Knowledge from Information through Projects
 Presentations Provide an Audience and Motivation for Students
 Technology Empowers Student Expression of Ideas
President Truman –
Dropping the A-Bomb on Japan
Was His Decision the Right One?
Copyright 1995 Reuters Ltd
Reasons for the Manhattan Project –
The Atomic Bomb
 Nazis were also working on building the bomb
 “Super Weapon” would win the war
 Ending war quickly would save American lives
 Click to see the dropping of Little Boy
Copyright 1995 Reuters Ltd
Arguments FOR the
Decision
Truman
 Needed to demonstrate U. S. power and control to Russians
 Needed to show results of a $20B investment (today’s $)
 Prisoners of war in Japan would be killed if we invaded
 Okinawa and kamikaze attacks showed surrender unlikely
 Japan refused to surrender unconditionally upon request
 Soldiers transferred from Europe didn’t want more fighting
 Estimated Almost 1 million American lives would be saved
Little Boy & Enola Gay
Fat Man Ends War
Click for Truman
Announcement
Click to see ring
of destruction
Arguments AGAINST Dropping
the A-Bomb
 Russians were coming—Japan would surrender soon anyway
 Didn’t consider the impact of radiation damage to humans
 Number of American lives to be saved was vastly overstated
 Decision really made to impress & repress Russian ambitions
 Needed to justify large expenditure of money on atomic research
 Example of racism—wouldn’t drop bomb on Germans
 Why didn’t we tell Japanese that we would drop A-bomb?
Japanese Memorial to Ground Zero in Hiroshima
No Bomb Ever Dropped Again in War in 57 Years
Was Truman Right or Wrong?
Copyright 1995 Reuters Ltd
Truman Made the Best Decision Possible
 49,000 Americans killed – Battle of Okinawa
 Truman feared 100 more Okinawas until victory
 Japanese refused unconditional surrender
 Judging decisions must be made in context of times
 Hindsight is always 20-20 when more facts available
eLibrary Multimedia—
A Picture Is Worth 1,000 Words
2 Video Clips
1 Audio Clip
3 Transcripts
7 Pictures
1 Map
 Engaging Student Issues
 Critical Thinking – Reasoned Opinion
 Technology Integration
 Information Literacy
 Constructing Knowledge from WorldClass Information