The Atomic Bombs

Once Harry Truman learned that the Manhattan Project (the research and development of an atomic bomb by the US), he realized that he would have to make a decision. He knew the bomb had the capability to end the war with Japan, but he also knew that the bomb would kill many innocent civilians. By this time, the Allies had already won in Europe, but the war in Japan was still going strong. The Allies demanded surrender of the Japanese and warned of mass destruction if they would not, but the Japanese said they would rather fight till the end then surrender unconditionally. After that, Truman decided to drop the bomb. The bombs left awful short term effects of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Health problems came in phases. In the first few weeks, the injuries were mostly burns and broken bones and wounds from falling structures. The next couple of weeks led to damage from the radioactive rays. Victims suffered from loss of hair, anemia, and loss of white blood cells. And the damage lasted forever, victims dealt with deformities, abnormal scarring, sterility, as well as psychosomatic disorders. In addition, they had to somehow count the dead, which was difficult because some bodies were completely vaporized by the bomb and others didn't die immediately, but were killed from the effects of the bombing. In addition to short term health effects, there were also social effects from the bombings. First, the population of both Hiroshima and Nagasaki were effected, and many people were left with broken families. The effects from the bombings leaves many people, including myself, wondering, was it really worth it?

On August 6, 1945, the US dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan

The atomic bomb ruined houses and buildings, and basically everything within the area of where the bomb was dropped

On August 9, 1945, the Americans dropped a second atomic bomb, this time on Nagasaki, Japan

The only recognizable structure remaining is a ruined Roman Catholic Cathedral in background on a destroyed hill, in Nagasaki, Japan in 1945.

A group of American soldiers celebrate as they find out that Japan officially surrendered on August 15, 1945

World War II- During the War

The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Japanese against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941. The day is later recognized as a day which will live in infamy. It was just days later that the US officially entered WWII.

The Battle of Midway stopped Japanese advancement. They had no great victories after that. They lost four of their largest carriers and the best of their naval fighter/bomber pilots.

On June 6, 1944 the Allies stormed the beaches of Normandy in France to fight the Nazi Germans. More than 5,000 ships and 13,000 ships took part in the invasion. By the end of the day, the Allies had a strong foothold in Normandy.

The Nazi's realized that they were going to lose the war and Hitler decided to do a last giant offensive. He sent most of his remaining troops in the hope that he could create a break in the American/British lines. He succeeded in pushing them back, which created a bulge in the American/British line. It was one of the bloodiest battles, but the Germans could ultimately not break through the American/British lines. They continued to fight on in Berlin in hope that they could surrender to the Americans rather than the Russians.

The Battle of Iwo Jima took place in February 1945. The capture of Iwo Jima was part of a three-point plan the Americans had for winning the war in the Far East. The tiny island had taken America over one month to take.

Map of WWII Battles in the Pacific

The Beginning of WWII

Source

In this photo, president Franklin D. Roosevelt is seen addressing the country about World War II. This photo was taken on September 3, 1939, so in this photo the US had not yet entered the war. Most likely in this photo, Roosevelt was updating the country on the foreign affairs, and where the US stands on them. At this point, the US remained neutral. The US officially enters the war on December 8, 1941. Only a few short years after this photo was taken.

Cinderella Man

The Great Depression put many people out of jobs. The men having been thought as the bread winners felt it the worst. When they could not provide for their families they would drink to cope. This of course would carry home cause trouble there but also everywhere they went. The would have to ask for money from the government which would hurt their confidence. At home most would live paycheck to paycheck and afford the bare minimum of food and bills. Often parents would have to send their children away to another more stable home. Children old enough would notice the struggle and try to help but of course could not. If it got too bad they would have to live in Hoverville's which too was an embarrassment. The rich having been unaffected by the depression would not understand and there for not sympathize for them.

Children hold signs about the Depression

The line of people hoping to get a free meal

The New Deal

The New Deal was the set of federal programs launched by President Franklin D. Roosevelt after taking office in 1933, in response to the calamity of the Great Depression.

FDIC: a government agency that insures customer deposits if a bank fails, it was a last resort to restore trust in the nation's financial system

SEC: an independent federal agency created by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The Commission regulated the stock market

TVA: to modernize the Tennessee Valley area using electricity and federal experts. This area that includes most of Tennessee and parts of several other states surrounding Tennessee was extremely hard hit by the Great Depression.

SSA: to help those who were elderly, disabled, ect... pretty much those who can not work

NLRA: it determines and implements, through secret ballot elections, the choice by employees as to whether or not they wish to be represented by a union (and if so by which union) in dealing with their employers

WPA: employing millions of unemployed people (mostly unskilled men) to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads. In much smaller but more famous projects the WPA employed musicians, artists, writers, actors and directors in large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects.

FLSA:  introduced a maximum 44-hour seven-day workweek, established a national minimum wage, guaranteed "time-and-a-half" for overtime in certain jobs, and prohibited most employment of minors in "oppressive child labor", a term that is defined in the statute

The Dust Bowl

The Dust Bowl was a series of dust storms during the 1930s that took place in the central area of the US. It ruined the ecology and agriculture of the nation. It affected 100 million acres. In  1935 many families were forced to leave their farms and find new places to work and live because of the drought. The Dust Bowl brought financial struggles to many people and families.


Map of area affected:

Source

A young boy works in a dry field that has been affected by the dust

Many families were forced to move to different areas of the country because of the Dust Bowl.

Small children had to work to help their families during the Dust Bowl.

Two young boys who appear dirty look off into the distance day dreaming

A cloud of dust approaches some houses

Three young women use masks to protect their lungs from the dust