The United States made the decision to drop two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 during both World War II and the Cold War. President Harry Truman’s decision transformed into one of the most controversial events in history. Scholarship reveals a gradual shift in historians’ views on the decision to drop the atomic bombs from the 1950s through the early 2000s. Chronologically, early historians are likely to believe the atomic bombs were necessary, those in the middle vary, and later historians believe they were not. Historical methodology has a role in changing viewpoints. Historians who utilize military methodology are often pro-bomb, but this slowly shifts when social methodology takes over historical scholarship against the atomic bombs. The decision to drop the atomic bombs will forever have a legacy in the United States history on the morality and the impact of the decision, which historians will discuss for years to come.
Use this login method if you
don't
have an
@illinois.edu
email address.
(Oops, I do have one)
IDEALS migrated to a new platform on June 23, 2022. If you created
your account prior to this date, you will have to reset your password
using the forgot-password link below.
