United States History Honors

Unit 17: The Great Depression, the New Deal, and World War II

Victory in the Pacific

Fully answer the following questions on the film in complete sentences. You may use The American Experience website as an additional resource if necessary ( ).

1. Why did the Japanese seem so different to Americans? How did the Japanese view Americans?

2. Explain Ketsu-Go, the Japanese plan to save Japan from defeat. Why were the Japanese so certain it would work? What was the impact of this plan on Japanese civilians?

3. What is incendiary jelly napalm? How did the United States use this in its air attacks on Japan?

4. How did firebombing technology change the way the United States fought the war? Was this tactic immoral? What was Curtis LeMay’s justification for his action?

5. What impact did the firebombing have on the Japanese leadership?

6. What was the American plan concerning Okinawa? How did the Japanese defend the island?

7. What impact did the events at Okinawa have on the American Marines’ view of the Japanese?

8. Who were the kamikazes? Why were the Japanese so willing to “choose death over surrender”?

9. How did the losses at Okinawa impact the attitudes of many American commanders, including Admiral Chester Nimitz?

10. Why did George Marshall support an invasion ofJapan?

11. What role were Japanese civilians to play in the defense of the home islands?

12. What were the American casualties at Okinawa?

13. In what ways did Truman and Marshall disagree over the invasion of Japan?

14. Why did the Japanese war cabinet pursue a diplomatic option in the aftermath of Okinawa?

15. Why did Truman decide to use the atomic bomb? Was the bomb truly necessary or were there other military and diplomatic options that the United States could have used to gain Japanese surrender?

16. What did the Potsdam Declaration say? How did Emperor Hirohito respond to this?

17. How did Marshall envision using atomic bombs?

18. Why did Stalin move up the date for the Soviet entry into the war in the Pacific?

19. Why did the Japanese war cabinet and Hirohito surrender to the United States?