In 1939, the scientific community, specifically German physicists had learned the secrets of splitting a uranium atom (The Manhattan Project” 2015). America realized that Adolf Hitler’s Germany obtained a massive amount of scientific talent. With their access had necessary raw materials and knowledge of the splitting of the uranium atom, they had the industrial capacity to produce an atomic bomb(“Manhattan Project”2014). The atomic bomb would eventually become the turning point of weaponry during World War II. On October 11, 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt received a letter from Albert Einstein about the splitting of the uranium atom which could be beneficial in developing weapons for America during World War II. The Manhattan Project was constructed during World War II by the United States to develop the first nuclear weapon/atomic bomb (The Manhattan Project” 2015).
The Manhattan Project was a concealed military project launched in 1942 to build a nuclear weapon that would assist the Allies in World War II. The project, which costed 2 billion dollars (about 26 billion of today’s dollars), was led by the United States with the backing of Canada and the United Kingdom. It took place in various sites across the United States and because those sites had high security, not many knew of the project while it was in progress. The people placed in charge of this project were General Leslie R. Groves and U.S. physicist Robert Oppenheimer. These directors had recruited many excellent scientists, mathematicians, and engineers to reach their objective. There were over 125,000 people who took part in this project, and
World War II was one of the biggest conflicts in the history of the world. It was a conflict between the Allies — Britain, American, and France — and the Axis Powers — Germany, Italy, and Japan. America entered the war in 1941 when the Japanese surprise attack our naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. At the start of the conflict, the 32nd President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, was our Chief in Command that had just let the nation through one of its most trying times, the Great Depression. In 1942, Roosevelt began a top secret project led by Robert J. Oppenheimer. The Manhattan Project was started in fears that Nazi Germany was going to create the ultimate weapon, powered by the natural forces of fission. As President and wartime Commander, Roosevelt
The USSR is an ever growing threat to world peace. After the war, they may simply replace Nazi Germany as the new tyrannical power in the world. This bomb, however, would dissuade them. President Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bomb was a necessary evil.
If anything, it kept tensions high between the US and the Soviet Union and it questioned who would make the first
One of the most controversial events from World War II (WWII) was the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. On August 6, 1945, America dropped the world’s first atomic bomb, code name “Little Boy, over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The explosion resulted in over 90,000 deaths. August 9th, 1945, a second bomb was dropped, code name “Fat Man”, on Nagasaki, instantly killing an estimated 70,000 people. On August 15, Japan surrendered unconditionally. President Truman decision to drop these atomic bombs on these cities changed the course of history and modern warfare. After this pivotal moment begun an arms race to develop the most nuclear bombs between many nations. The decision to drop the atomic bombs over Japanese cities had to involve a lot of pros and cons. This paper will discuss the reason why the bombs were dropped, how historians look back on that decision, how the culture of the time affected that decision, and what, in my opinion, was the deciding factor. “It is an awful responsibility that has
“In 1994, the Soviets tested an atom bomb of their own.” (History.com Staff, "Cold War History"). This act caused President Truman to spend more money on the army and defense of the United States and panic and hysteria spread to the minds of the people of our country. “...and the world lived under the threat of thermonuclear war for the first time.” (History.com Staff, "Soviets explode atomic bomb").
It also helped us prove to the world all the power we contain and how easily we could destroy them. The 2 billion dollars spent on the invention of the atomic bomb was worth
President Franklin Roosevelt set up a research and development program for the atomic bomb, called the Manhattan Project. After gathering two billion dollars and two hundred thousand workers, the first atomic bomb was made and tested. Scientists working on the Manhattan Project were not only proud of their accomplishments, but also filled
As Marcus Aurelius once said, “Time is a sort of river of passing events, and strong is its current; no sooner is a thing brought to sight than it is swept by and another takes its place, and this too will be swept away”. Time passes by swiftly and soon events, names, and struggles get lost in the depths of history. History becomes a vast pit of several conglomerated dates that soon lack importance or gain importance depending on the present time period. The history of the United States started roughly around 1607 when several pilgrims came to the New World for better opportunities. Now zoom 410 years to present day where our world consists of massive industrialization, expansion of technology, and intricate international affairs. Several events within this time period pass like a river, each event being replaced by another as well as its significance continuing to decrease.
The arms race caused tensions between the U.S. and USSR, bringing them closer to the brink
The Manhattan Project was the official code name for the operation to build the first nuclear bomb. The result of this experiment ended with two nuclear bombs and better knowledge of nuclear science. This will cover the early stages and go through all the progress which was made as the project on.
"But it is hard to imagine how the U.S. government could have prevented a Communist victory short of getting involved in a massive military intervention, which would have been risky, unpopular, and expensive"(Tindall 964). "The discovery of the Soviet bomb in 1949 triggered an intense reappraisal of the strategic balance of power in the world, causing Truman in 1950 to order the construction of a hydrogen bomb, a weapon far more powerful than the atomic bombs dropped on Japan, lest the Soviets make one first"(Tindall 964). The onset of the cold war the ideology drove more of the Soviet behavior. "American 's traditional commitment to democtatic capitalism, political self determination, and religious freedom conflicted with the Soviet Union 's preference for spheres of influence on its periphery, totalitarianism at home, and state mandated atheism"(Tindall 970). Kennan stressed that U.S. needed to be responses to the Soviet adventurism.
According to Bowles and Kaplan, “the Manhattan Project began with scientific research at the University of Chicago in a place called the metallurgical Laboratory, which was a code name to disguise its use for nuclear research” (Bowles and Kaplan, 2012, paragraph 2). There are many different languages that are spoken in the United States. Mexicans may have a different way of living compared to other racial groups. Puerto Ricans are known for establishing the drink the Pina Colada.
It was an attempt to end the war before the Soviets could occupy significant territory as well as showing the USSR that the US was in possession of nukes.