Manhattan Project Significance

The Manhattan Project had various short and long term affects around the world. Primarily, the research done to create an atomic bomb led to the discovery of how to harness nuclear power which affects our lives to this day. However, the Manhattan Project also led to the creation of two more atomic bombs which would be used in WWII, radiation poisoning resulting in the death of many , fear of nuclear weapons during the Cold War, the end of the Second World War which was still taking place in Japan, and the threat of nuclear weapons around the world that still exists.

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.

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

The Manhattan Project was a secret problem barely anyone knew about.Many of the scientists that were involved with the Manhattan Project heard about the Axis powers gaining knowledge of how to make nuclear weapons that could destroy a whole nation.The Manhattan Project produced two atomic bombs that were dropped on Japan.The atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.Hiroshima was chosen as the target for the first atomic bomb because it was a large port city with an army base. The bomb dropped on Nagasaki missed its target by over a mile.

Dropping two nuclear bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima Japan was single handedly one of the most influential nuclear events to have ever happened. Not only did it change diplomatic relations around the world, it changed The United States. Even to this day The United States has been the only country to use a weapon of this magnitude on a civilian city; over two hundred and twenty five thousand people perished in a result of the atomic bomb. The sheer development of the atomic bomb resulted in Russia getting ahold of atomic secrets, which worried Americans in the Cold War. The use of the atomic bomb changed America by ending World War Two, advancing our understanding of science, and changing world politics forever.

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.

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.

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).

     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.

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.

The Atomic Bomb or known Atom Bomb was created by a scientist, which assembled the first bomb. He and General Leslie Graves officially and successfully tested it in New Mexico, July 21, 1945. Despite this, two refugees from Italy and Germany in the early 1940’s, Enrico Fermi and Leo Szilard were the first to ever produce a controlled chain reaction. The bomb was created to use during WW2 and end it. This was big for America as president Franklin was notified that Germany was working on a similar weapon to use on America and its Allies. This bomb was needed to win the war and it took approximately 160,000 lives as a result while also having many affects on the people then, the people today, and the environment (Henretta, Edwards, & Self, 2012). The US was the first and only country to this day to drop an atomic bomb on another country, not once, but twice. This did end the war; however, the results were quite devastating to Japan. The environment and lives lost were all greatly impacted however, the world as a whole would be impacted for years to come. It also had its political reasoning behind it to show the global power of America. The devastation caused by the bombs also created deterrence from using them in the future at the time. Furthermore, now as other countries have improved technological

During World War II, there was much advancement in technology that led to the destruction of many countries after World War II. New advanced weaponry of World War II or “The Great War” led a lack of new skills that led to many casualties because of the advancement in technology. The most significant weapon that was used and had a huge impact in the World War II was the creation of the atomic bomb. This weapon was so significant because as soon as this weapon was dropped, it would immediately cause great destruction from its explosion. The United States was the first to create and use the atomic bomb. In July 1945, the Manhattan Project, which was the creation of the atomic bomb, was successfully tested the first atomic bomb in New

After the attack of Pearl Harbor Roosevelt decided to build an atomic bomb before Germany’s dictator Adolf Hitler could create one and use it to eliminate on his enemies. The creation of the atomic bomb was known as the Manhattan Project. Roosevelt placed the responsibility of the bomb with the U.S Army Corps of Engineers. Colonel J.C. Marshal put Robert Oppenheimer and Leo Szilard the center of the project. On December 7, 1942 the first atomic bomb was created “Fat Man”, Robert Oppenheimer and General Leslie R. Groves U.S Army officer agreed that the Manhattan Project needed to be tested in an isolated area because of the uranium. On July 16, 1945 the atomic bomb was tested in Los Alamos, New Mexico many top generals and important scientists

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