The original script, completed on January 14, 1994, contained five sections: "A Fight to the Finish," depicting the last year of World War II; "The Decision to Drop the Bomb," raising questions about the need to use nuclear weapons against Japan; "The World's First Atomic Strike Force," illuminating the experiences of the bomber pilots; "Cities at War" describing ground zero; and "The Legacy of Hiroshima and Nagasaki," discussing the beginning of the arms race and the Cold War. In all, the script was over 300 pages.

What was lost when the Smithsonian was forced to abandon “The Last Act”? It is hard to disagree with Martin’s assessment that the “losers in this drama were the American public…”[7] But, while we will never know, since the exhibit was cancelled, it is at least conceivable that “The Last Act” might have sparked a legitimate national debate on the decision to drop the atomic bomb.

This is neither history nor patriotism. An uncomplicated celebration of American greatness flattens the past into a parade of platitudes devoid of the context, conflict, contingency, and change over time that are central to historical thinking.

There are, however, standards that ask students to “identify Afro-Eurasian trade routes and methods prior to the development of the Atlantic slave trade” with the clarification of “instruction includes how slavery was utilized in Asian, European and African cultures,” and ask students to “examine the condition of slavery as it existed in Africa, Asia, the Americas, and Europe prior to 1619.