Assess The Significance Of The Manhattan Project

     When the first atomic bomb was detonated in Alamogordo New Mexico on June 16, 1945, all the scientists involved in the Manhattan Project understood the great destructive power of radio-active isotopes. Although the atomic bomb was a very destructive force our world would not be as good without it. Because of the government funding involved in the project coupled with the need for an atom bomb, much research that otherwise may not have occurred took place in the US. The Manhattan project opened the door to nuclear advancements and applications.

The Manhattan Project was the code name of the America’s attempt to construct an atomic bomb during World War II. It was named after the Manhattan Engineer District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, because a lot of it’s earlier research was done in New York City. An atomic bomb is a weapon that uses the energy from a nuclear reaction called Fission for its destruction.

It became known that the German knew how to create an atomic bomb and FDR created a committee to study and create atomic bombs, named the Manhattan Project.The Manhattan Project was significant to the war because it led to the end of World War II and caused the Japanese to surrender to the Americans. The amount of people working together along with the cost and time which led to advancements in technology that was far ahead of any enemy. The creation of the bombs delivered a push in the advancement of science, innovation, designing, military and the entire of society into another age. It drew out the powerhouse that we consider today to be the United States of

It was dubbed The Manhattan Project and consisted of some of the most brilliant physicists at the time such as Albert Einstein. Then, in 1945 arguably the most powerful and controversial technology was developed. This was the nuclear bomb and it completely changed the world forever. This weapon could be used to decimate entire cities and the only time it was ever used during any conflict was in 1945 (Shalett, n.d.). Japan was the target and the bomb left nothing but rubble in its path.

Even before the outbreak of War, the United States was concerned with a fascist regime in Europe researching in nuclear weapons. In retaliation, the United States began to fund an atomic weapon development program which became known as “The Manhattan Project” led by J. Robert Oppenheimer. Over the next several years, the Manhattan project started obtaining key materials such as Uranium-235 and Plutonium and testing prototypes until they reached a working model (Coroner).

The Manhattan Project was one of the most notorious and catastrophic projects in United State history. A bomb that took years to perfect and made the U.S. gamble millions of dollars on new technology that wasn't certain to work. All the secretive facilities scattered all over the U.S. contributed to the creation of a futuristic weapon of mass destruction beyond anyone’s imagination. The atomic bomb caused thousands to die and left years of remnant radiations. The Manhattan Project will forever remain as one of the greatest “successful” catastrophic discoveries in human history.

Thesis Statement: The Manhattan Project was the American program for researching and developing the first atomic bombs because of the project it cost a lot of people their lives.

In addition to the lives saved by nuclear technologies in medicine, the Manhattan Project may have also saved the lives of many by being an essential factor in ending WWII. After the war had ended with the Germans, the Japanese remained relentless and continued fighting. The dropping of Hiroshima and Nagasaki completely ended the war by forcing Japan to surrender. This prevented the war from going on for even longer and therefore, the Manhattan Project may have saved the lives of people who would have otherwise been killed in battle.

Leading up to this time the fascist dictators began to gain power in European countries. The big three being the countries of Nazi Germany, Adolf Hitler, Italy, Benito Mussolini, and Japan, Emperor Hirohito. In 1935 Italy invades and conquers Ethiopia, shorty after Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy sign a treaty of cooperation. In 1937,Japan, lead by Hirohito, invaded China. Joseph Stalin, of Russia, signs the German-Russian non-aggression pact; which allowed Hitler to invade Poland. But when news of the German invasion of Poland spread Britain along with France joined the war to oppose the Germans. Germany only continues in it’s quest for conquest by invading Denmark and Norway in the year 1940. Meanwhile the United States is remaining completely uninvolved under it’s Neutrality Act that was passed in 1935. The United States, lead by president Franklin D. Roosevelt, enacted it’s Lend Lease Act in 1941 in order to trade and sell to allied forces, for payment after war. Japan realizes that the U.S. wasn’t exactly being neutral so it sent suicide bombers to attack our naval base in Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Thus leading into the use of the atomic bomb, but first the construction, an event referred to as the Manhattan Project. The name Manhattan Project came about because the program began under the Manhattan Engineering District of the War Department.

“ The atom bomb was no ‘great decision.’ It was merely another powerful weapon in the arsenal of righteousness.” This quote was said by Harry S. Truman the first President who used an atomic bomb. The program that was able to create this monstrous power was known as the Manhattan Project. Creating this weapon was their main priority. The United States was in the midst of World War 2. The atomic bomb is considered to be the main factor that ended that war. It was a race against the multiple enemies of the United States, to be the first to acquire this power and use it when necessary. The Manhattan Project was kept strictly confidential and, created the foundation of the future and more powerful nuclear weapons to come.

During World War II, the Americans fought a two-front war, with pressure from both Japan and Germany. The United States, aware that Germany was threatening to build an atomic weapon, created a secret project to develop the technology first. Under the codename, the Manhattan Project, leading scientists carried out top secret research on fission and the technology needed to create the first atomic bomb. The immediate impact of the Manhattan Project was the dropping of two atomic bombs on Japan, ending the war in the Pacific. However, more important influences of this project can be seen following the detonation of the first bombs. The emergence of the United States as a world superpower following World War II, the tensions derived from the

In 1942, the US initiated a secret project called the Manhattan Project which was to develop

During WW2 many people in the science community feared the German physicist, that learned to create nuclear bombs, would soon bomb enemies of Germany leading to vast destruction. Scientist such as, Albert Eisten urged president Roosevelt to fund the creation of the atomic bombed research program because of the threating information. Roosevelt saw no use for the program but decided to fund it anyway which led to the creation of the Manhattan Project in 1941 . The Manhattan Project gave jobs to over 120,000 Americans and about 2 billion dollars were spent. talk That level of radiation for anyone is horrible it can cause so many diseases for ex. Cancer, throat disease and DEATH. The first bomb to ever be tested was called the trinity.

The Manhattan Project was the American program for researching and developing the first atomic bombs. The weapons produced were based solely upon the principles of nuclear fission of uranium 235 and plutonium 239, The project as a whole cost approximately 2 billion dollars of taxpayer’s money and employed over 120,000 people . It was a massive undertaking to say the least. A project of this size needed justification and it seemingly came in the form of attacking the Japanese . The President's chief of staff Admiral Leahy The democrats would have suffered a political death blow if they were not able to justify the investment.

However, the projected losses were over 1 million, which was a staggering number. Meanwhile, America had been working on something in top secret. Project Manhattan was a top secret program created by the U.S. in 1939 after learning that Germany was also working on a similar project. The goal of the program was to design and construct a bomb. Over the next 6 years, scientists worked on creating the essential materials for nuclear fission–uranium-235 and plutonium (Pu-239). On July 16, 1945, the Manhattan Project held its first successful test of an atomic device at a test site in New