APUSH Students Debate Nagasaki

Students in Mr. Peterson's AP U.S. History class recently debated the following proposition. "This house concludes that the United States should not have dropped the bomb on Nagaski." Judges Mr. Nguyen and Mrs. Roselli both commented that after judging this debate over the course of several years, this year's debate by the Class of 2024 was the most impressive and well-argued discourse. The proposition argued that the end of the war could have been achieved through diplomatic efforts and Japan was close to surrender. The opposition won the debate by reframing the debate removing the loss of life arguments and focusing on the necessary demonstration of power to end the war. This debate is one in a series of debates students participate in during history classes. The seniors also recently participated mini debates on constitutional issues.