According to Eric Hobsbawm in “The Age of Total War,” what were some factors that influenced the US decision to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki?

(Select all that apply)

Question

According to Eric Hobsbawm in “The Age of Total War,” what were some factors that influenced the US decision to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki?

(Select all that apply)

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

According to the prompt, we are analyzing factors from Hobsbawm's The Age of Total War that influenced the US decision to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and we must evaluate each option.
Option 1: 'The US did not want the USSR to be able to claim a major role in the victory against Japan.' This reflects a strategic concern about postwar influence and the balance of power, since the Soviet Union had declared war on Japan in August 1945 and there were implications about influence in East Asia after Japan’s defeat. The timing of the bombings can be read as a way to end the war quickly and limit Soviet leverage in shaping the postwar order, which is a commonly discussed factor in debates about the bomb decision.
Option 2: 'The US wanted to save its own soldiers lives.' This argument is a classic rationale frequently cited in both historical and ethical discussions: using atomic bombs could avert invasion of the Japanese home islands and thus spare American and Allied soldiers from a costly ground war, which aligns with standard interpretations of a strategic motive for the bombings.
Option 3: 'The US knew that Japan intended to attack Pearl Harbor a second time.' This claim is historically inaccurate. Pearl Harbor was attacked in 1941, and while Japanese plans for further operations existed, there is no credible historical consensus that the Japanese planned a second attack on Pearl Harbor specifically, especially in the context of late-1945 bomb decisions; the statement misrepresents Japan’s wartime strategy and timeline.
Option 4: 'Japan's undeniable advantage at that point in the war (US needed the bombs to turn the tide in their favor).' This phrase incorrectly characterizes the wartime situation. By mid-1945, Japan did not have an undeniable strategic advantage that would necessitate the use of atomic bombs to turn the tide; in fact, Japan was on the defensive and nearing defeat, which is part of the broader debate about whether atomic deployment was necessary or primarily coercive or political in nature.

In sum, when considering the claims attributed to Hobsbawm, Options 1 and 2 align with widely discussed strategic concerns about limiting Soviet influence and saving Allied lives, while Options 3 and 4 misstate historical events or the wartime balance in a way that is not consistent with the common historical readings of the decision to drop the bombs.

Intro to Global Spring... Quiz on Section 8 reading and lecture

According to Eric Hobsbawm in “The Age of Total War,” what were some factors that influenced the US decision to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki? (Select all that apply)

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