On March 28-29, 2009, FPRI's Wachman Center hosted 43 teachers from across the country for a weekend of discussion on teaching the nuclear age. In his opening remarks, Walter A. McDougall observed that although students today are not made to crawl under their desks in air raid drills, that atomic power remains, and it is still necessary to raise a…

Analyzes the decision to drop the atomic bomb from a rhetorical point of view, arguing that the bombs were launched because of an American commitment to a particular rhetoric that focused on the propaganda slogan "unconditional surrender." (PD)

To enhance the use of the Globe Watch IV public television series, produced jointly by Hampden-Sydney College (Virginia) and the University of North Carolina Center for Public Television, each lesson in this guide provides: (1) a statement of the objective of the program; (2) a synopsis of the issue discussed; (3) background information; (4) brief…

Presents results of a questionnaire asking Japanese teachers how and what they teach about World War II. Reports that survey included broad and narrow questions on the war in Asia, Europe, and the Pacific. Concludes that Japan's postwar peace education has been a success but that more emphasis needs to be placed on cause and effect in history. (DK)

This unit presents students with dilemmas faced by U.S. policymakers with three distinct options for U.S. policy toward Japan. Background readings provide students with information on the U.S. decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan in 1945. By exploring a spectrum of alternatives, students gain a deeper understanding of the values underlying…

The 1990 Great Decisions program, part of an annual series on foreign policy issues, is intended to create better better public understanding through information and analyses of important international issues. Current information is presented so that participants may be stimulated toward discussion, form opinions and contribute to the policy…