The Manhattan Project Shaped History

Thesis: The research for the first Atomic bomb was done in the United States, by a group of the best scientists; this research was given the name of "The Manhattan Project". On Monday July 16th, 1945, a countdown for the detonation of the first atomic bomb took place near Los Alamos, New Mexico. This atomic bomb testing would forever change the meaning of war. As the atomic bomb was detonated it sent shock-waves all over the world. There was endless research done on the bomb in the United States. The research was called "The Manhattan Engineer District Project" but it was more commonly known as "The Manhattan Project."1 The Manhattan Project was brought by fear of Germany and it's atomic

On the morning of August 6, 1945, a B-29 bomber named Enola Gay flew over the industrial city of Hiroshima, Japan and dropped the first atomic bomb ever. The city went up in flames caused by the immense power equal to about 20,000 tons of TNT. The project was a success. They were an unprecedented assemblage of civilian, and military scientific brain power-brilliant, intense, and young, the people that helped develop the bomb. Unknowingly they came to an isolated mountain setting, known as Los Alamos, New Mexico, to design and build the bomb that would end World War 2, but begin serious controversies concerning its sheer power and destruction. I became interested in this topic because of my interest in science and history. It seemed an

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.

The U.S demanded Japan to give up the war or the U.S would end the war in mass destruction.Japan refused to give up their fight in the war and that gave Truman the decision to use the bombs. Japan had no idea of any new weapons that had been made by the U.S during WW2. 1945, the first of two atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima. On the 9th of August, the second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki which killed many Japanese. The Japanese had officially given up their war with the U.S.

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.

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

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.

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.

On August 2, 1938, in the heat of World War II, Albert Einstein, a physicist born in Germany, sent a letter to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the 32nd president of the United States. The letter suggested America to build an atomic bomb before the Nazi Germany does. However, it took more than two months for the letter to reach Roosevelt. On October 19, 1938, Roosevelt agreed, replying, “I found this data of such import that I have convened a Board … to thoroughly investigate the possibilities of your suggestion regarding the element of uranium” (“President Roosevelt's response to Dr. Einstein”). As a result, America held a secret program, code named Manhattan Project, and started to build new, destructive weapons in a laboratory in Los Alamos,

Throughout the Roosevelt administration and later through the Truman administration, it became clear that both had the distinct focus of ending World War II at the earliest possible time. This is a common theme identified throughout J. Samuel Walker’s Prompt and Utter Destruction. While some countries had put moderate effort into researching atomic power and how it could affect the war, the United States was the only country capable of putting full effort into researching and creating an atomic bomb that could be utilized during the war. Following warnings from scientists that informed Roosevelt of the possibility of the Germans making progress on their knowledge of nuclear energy, Roosevelt assigned a lofty and difficult project to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. This project soon became known as “the Manhattan Project” due to the engineer district that was formed to design and build this bomb being originally headquartered in New York. The Manhattan Project was established at a time in the war when the United States was uncertain of its outcome. After the first successful, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction took place in a squash court at the University of Chicago, the idea of an atomic bomb became more feasible. However, while the idea became more feasible, the transition from experimental knowledge to designing an actual bomb was a huge step that involved many uncertainties and troubles. Although the Manhattan Project was formed during a period of uncertainty, the government had high hopes of the newly formed project, but despite these high hopes, the Manhattan Project faced seemingly insurmountable obstacles as it moved from experimental knowledge to designing the bomb, the most prominent being the design for the new technology and the role the bomb would play in the realm of global diplomacy.

Between 1944 and 1945, the Allies attacked Germany and the U.S. advanced across the Pacific to the doorsteps of Japan. In these last two years of war, Americans also created a new form of weapon that changed both warfare and global politics. With advances in technology, the Allied and Axis scientists were able to construct the most deadly, crucial weapon, the atomic bomb. Its creation started in 1942, when President Roosevelt presented the Manhattan Project as a priority in the development of the atomic bomb. However, the decision to use this mortal weapon fell into the hands of the new president, Harry Truman. He had to decide whether to save the lives of millions of Americans or to kill thousands of innocent Japanese families.

The Manhattan Project changed World War

In 1941, The United States began an atomic bomb program called the “Manhattan Project.” The main objective of the “Manhattan Project” was to research and build an atomic bomb before Germany could create and use one against the allied forces during World War II. German scientists had started a similar research program four years before the United States began so the scientists of the “Manhattan Project” felt a sense of urgency throughout their work (Wood “Men … Project”).