The Manhattan Project

“We were reaching into the unknown and we did not know what might come of it.”
-Robert Oppenheimer, Technical Director of The Manhattan Project.
July 16, 1945

The Manhattan Project was a top-secret project created to study the effects of an atomic bomb with the possibility of constructing one. In 1939 United States President Franklin Roosevelt received a letter from both Albert Einstein and Leo Szilard, both of which were prominent physicists who had fled from Germany.  (Hall, 1991)  The letter detailed the information they had came across, that Germany had began experimenting with radioactive material that could lead to a massive nuclear weapon.  Tensions were high with the beginning of World War 11 as the Axis Powers raged war on the Allies.  The United States knew they would need to act quickly upon assembling a team to study, assess, and create an atomic bomb.  It was well known that whoever created the bomb first would have the upper-hand in the war and could truly take the world with storm. Roosevelt formed a committee of scientist to study the possibility of creating a weapon.  Upon receiving results from the testing, the president put the development of nuclear weapons as his top priority. In August of 1942 he assigned the top secret “Manhattan Project” to the Army Corps of Engineers. (Hunt, O’Regan, & Parkhill)  The name came from the Manhattan Engineer District established to oversee the construction of the weapon.  Leslie R. Groves, a military officer, was appointed General and became head of the project.  Robert Oppenhemier, physicist and professor at UC Berkley in California, became the scientific director over the project.  (Hunt, O’Regan, & Parkhill)  Once the entire team was in place, work on the project went smoothly.  The Manhattan Project had four main facilities.  The first chain reaction in uranium was created in the basement of the unused football stadium and the University of Chicago.  A plant in Hanford, Washington produced plutonium for the cause and the Clinton Engineer Works located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee separated uranium.  The fourth and final site was built in 1943 on a mesa in Los Alamos, New Mexico.  (Eyewitness history, 2003)  This particular sight was very secluded and was headed by Oppenheimer to build and design the bombs.  This operation was so secretive, that very few of the workers on the projects actually knew what the purpose was for their work.  When Roosevelt passed away in 1945, Truman was promptly informed of the atom bomb testing and its code name.  Truman issued a committee to study the use of the bombs on Japan.  In May of 1945 the committee reached a decision to use the bombs on Japan without warning for the greatest effect.  Many scientists that had worked on the project were actually opposed to this idea.  Szilard and most of the scientists at the Chicago laboratory believed this was unnecessary and could lead to a devastating nuclear arms race for the United States. (Eyewitness history, 2003)  On July 16, the first atomic bomb was tested in Alamogordo, New Mexico.  The test was given the name “Trinity.”  The site was 200 miles South of Los Alamos, where the scientist would be stationed.  Alamogordo was key it testing the weapon, because it was miles from any residential areas or communities.  Scientists were still not fully convinced of the effects the bomb could have.  The blast from the bomb equaled 20,000 tons of TNT and generated a mushroom cloud visible from sixty miles. ( The manhattan project, 1998)  The destruction of the bombs would be devastating for Japan and ensure a victory for the Allies.  President Truman learned of the success of the bomb while at the Potsdam Conference in Germany.  With no sign of surrender from Japan, the United States went ahead with plans to bomb the mainland of Japan.  On August 6 the B-29 bomber, “Enola Gay,” took off from an airstrip on Tinian Island in the South Pacific.  The pilot was Colonal Paul Tibbets and his target was Hiroshima, Japan.  He dropped the bomb named, “Little Boy” on August 6. (The picture history, 1946)  Just three days later the second atomic bomb called, “Fat Man” was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan by Major Charles Sweeny in his B-29 bomber, “Bockscar.”  These bombs did exactly what they were expected to do. They devastated mainland Japan, killed thousands, and crippled the Japanese power for good.  The Japanese had no choice but to officially surrender on September 2, 1945. (The picture history, 1946) The Manhattan Project and the dropping of the two atomic bombs directly ushered the world into the Atomic Age.

This photo on the left shows the men of the Manhattan Project as they load the first atomic bomb to be tested into the base of the tower in Alamogordo, New Mexico.  This photo was taken on July 13, 1945.  Three days later the first atomic bomb was tested under the code name, “Trinity” and its power and impact was devastating on the land surrounding New Mexico.  Afterwards, President Truman was alerted that the test was a success and that he could move forward with plans of dropping the atomic bomb on Japan. (Eyewitness history, 2003)

The top right photo is the atomic bomb named, “Little Boy.”  It was the first atomic bomb to be dropped.  “Little Boy” was dropped on August 6, 1945 on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.  The effects were devastating, with the loss of life totaling over 80,000 people.  (Harry s truman)

The bottom right photo is the atomic bomb called “Fat Man.”  This bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan on August 9, 1945.  This was the second bomb to be dropped on Japan by the United States.  It also marked death and destruction.  The dropping of the two atomic bombs on Japan devastated the country and its supplies.  This was the final blow to the Empire and resulted in an unconditional surrender by the Japanese just six days after the bombs were dropped.  (Harry s truman)