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What was the nuclear culture of America during the Atomic Age?

This is the link to my lesson.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/11judm5scxpeui-ZsLghycP-HmKWMxPm4knJmcMHCkWI/edit#slide=id.p

Lesson Plan

Objectives

  1. Students will learn about the opinion of the Atomic Bomb after its use in WWII and during the Cold War

  2. Students will learn about musics and movies during the Atomic age and its ideas/message to the American people

  3. Students will learn about the

 

Lesson:

  1. Short Nuclear Game (Hook)  - 1 min

  • Ask students to divide into two sides

  • 2 rounds of game

  • Let them vote to see whether they vote launch weapons or negotiation

  • Team starts with 100 hp, each missile attack they receive results in a reduction of 50 hp

  • Opening Question: What do you fear the most?

  1. Opinion About the Atomic Bomb; Source: (Boyer 12 - 22) - 3 min

  • Initial public opinion after Hiroshima

  • Poll voting whether dropping the atomic bomb was a good decision

    • Poll results shows positive opinion on the bomb

  • Show the change of general opinion during the Cold War

    • Turning point in the Cuban Missile Crisis

      • The fear underlying in American public between end of WWII and before the Cuban Missile Crisis

  1. Movies And Music of the Atomic Age; Source: (Reeves) - 4 min

  • Examples of musics involving atomic bombs

  • Movies involving atomic bombs and nuclear mutations

    • Dr. Strangelove - satire of the American government on Nuclear Weapons

    • Godzilla - an example of movies dealing with radioactive mutations

  • Musics during the Atomic Age

    • Example: Atom Bomb Baby

    • Sexual quality

  • Show how medias portrayed Atomic Bomb

  1. Children and Family During the Atomic Age/Cold War; Source: (Wright 32 - 36) - 4 min

  • Civil Defense and its impact on American lives

    • Nuclear Bunkers in Home

  • Children education during the Atomic Age

    • Show video of old student atomic bomb education video - <1 min

  • Children toys and games involving nuclear bombs or nuclear science

    • Shows the impact of Atomic Bomb in children culture and their mind

  1. Epilogue: Source: ("Nuclear Strategy") - 1 min

  • Potential future of nuclear bombs

    • Donald Trump and INF Treaty

Questions: What would happen to nuclear bombs in the future? How would it affect America?

Boyer, Paul. By the Bomb's Early Light: American Thought and Culture At the Dawn of the

Atomic Age. Univ of North Carolina Press, 2005.

 

This Source was important as to understanding the thoughts surrounding the atomic bomb. It first shows what Americans thought when it was dropped on Japan. It then shows about how Americans changed as America moved to the Cold War era. The book also shows the change in culture like movies or music industries. I found that this was important to see how Americans changed their minds about the bomb through the course of history. This book therefore is important to study about the Americans and their atomic culture.

 

"Nuclear strategy." Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 5 Oct. 2015.

school.eb.com/levels/high/article/nuclear-strategy/439211#intro.

 

This informative article by Britannica provides the U.S. policies on the use of nuclear bombs. It discusses the approaches made by the presidents starting from Truman to Reagan. It also discusses some important U.S. strategies and policies of the bomb that were either praised or highly criticised by the public. This article is useful in a sense that one could learn deeply about some of the politics and important figures that were involved in shaping American foreign policies with other countries like the Soviet Russia.

 

Reeves, Bob. “The Bomb Has Shaped American Culture for 60 Years.” JournalStar.com,

Lincoln Journal Star, 4 Apr. 2006, journalstar.com/lifestyles/the-bomb-has-shaped-american-culture-for-years/article_99e2012e-bc02-55f8-b12a-5a1ac61f6ea0.html.

 

This article is mainly about how nuclear weapons affected the culture in U.S. from its initial use to the 21th century. This article however focuses more on movies and musics during the atomic age and how it showed the sentiments during that age. It also touches some other important cultural aspects during the atomic age like the Civil Defense and fallout shelters. I believe that this article is important because not only is this article useful with its rich description of the cultural aspects, it also extends to the 21th century which shows how the nuclear weapons still affects the world today.

 

Wright, Daniel P. Duck and Cover: How Print Media, the U.S. Government, and Entertainment

Culture Formed America's Understanding of the Atom Bomb . Wright State University, 2015.

 

This essay is filled with all of the aspects of the atomic age starting from industries marketing products using the word “atomic” to the fallout shelter and how it affected gender roles. This article could also provide me with some aspects as to how the idea of atom was used in everyday lives during the atomic age. It could also show how the American culture changed drastically from the prewar to the postwar era. It believe that through this essay I could show specifically how America was affected by the new technology through real experience by people’s account and examples.

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