The United States and Great Britain kept the development of the atomic bomb a secret (Bondi 493). In order to keep the secret, Groves spread the work out between laboratories so that the people working on the bomb could not figure out they were manufacturing. The members of the Manhattan Project asked the scientists questions about the bomb, and they gave answers back, but they did not know what the responses were for. The project consisted of so many restrictions for the employees in order to keep the secrecy of the project. They could not hold private conversations about the material they were working on because after awhile, people might have been able to put it together and determine that they were creating a bomb. Employees worked on tasks that had nothing to do with what the others around them were doing. Even the officials on the War Production Board remained unaware of the bomb (“The Atomic Bomb…” 258).
As with everything, problems occurred during the development process. The plutonium needed for the bombs was only in microscopic sizes, which was very difficult to handle. Plutonium’s properties were unknown, and scientists knew very little about uranium 235. The plants needed to be run by machinery because the materials were “radioactive, poisonous, violently corrosive, or all three” (Gerdes 143).
After scientists studied and became familiar with plutonium and uranium 235, they were able to begin the manufacturing process (Gerdes 91). One of the first things that the scientists needed to do was determine what the plutonium and uranium 235 would do when the bomb was dropped (Bondi 494). The bomb used approximately 10,000 to 20,000 tons of trinitrotoluene, TNT (Gerdes 144). The plutonium and other high explosives were put ...
... middle of paper ...
...saved many lives and ended the war. With this clarification, most of the United States accepted his justification. The United States began to view the bombings as “retaliation for the treacherous attack on Pearl Harbor” (Moser 145).
The Manhattan Project was composed of a top secret group of scientists who worked diligently to produce the atomic bomb. After hours of research on plutonium and uranium 235, the scientists had the ability to produce the bomb. When the Japanese refused to surrender, the Americans dropped two bombs on Japan, destroying the two cities. The entire world was shocked because no one even knew about the bombs that the United States created. Americans found out about the bombs after President Truman made the announcement to the United States. Overall, the Manhattan Project was necessary for the United States to gain victory in World War II.
A young scientist who was very smart and intelligent was the creator of a bomb that killed millions. The bomb was the most powerful weapon that was ever manufactured. He changed the course of World War II. This man is Robert Oppenheimer, creator of the atomic bomb. The book “Bomb” by Steve Sheinkin, is a book that includes teamwork and how Americans made a deadly bomb that changed the course of the war. The book engages the reader through how spies share secret information with enemies. Because the physicists were specifically told not to share any information, they were not justified in supplying the Soviet Union with the bomb technology.
As long as there is love, there will be hatred; as long as there is peace, there will be war, and as long as there is a positive side, there is a negative side. During the Second World War, the Nazis were very powerful. Due to the fear of the Nazis, Americans started a project called “The Manhattan Project" in order to build a very deadly weapon that could even blow cities apart. The allied powers were so concerned with Nazi domination, that they never considered the outcomes of creating an atomic bomb which are also positive and negative. The development of the atomic bomb boosted the level of understanding in terms of physics and chemistry of that particular time period.
The atomic bomb created under the Manhattan Project set a new level of psychological panic. It influence media, government, and daily lives of those all around the world. The media was covering stories about protection from a nuclear attack and the government was right next to the reporters helping to further the creation of fear with their messages about preparation.
Roosevelt states how the attack “caused severe damage to American naval and military forces.” He continues to state persuasive evidence to declare war on Japan, such as the fact that an hour after the bombing, the Japanese Ambassador and his colleague that was accompanying him, delivered a message that said that it was “useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations,” but “contained no threat or hint of war or of armed attack.” He states this to show that the Japanese deceived America, giving them false hope that maybe there would be peace, but in reality they were trying to lower America’s guard down. Roosevelt’s speech was so persuasive that only three days later, after Germany and Italy declared war on America, Congress declared war on Japan, thus ushering in World War
Despite all of the security used by the officials in charge of the “Manhattan Project,” soviet spies managed to leak information to the Soviet Union that allowed them to create a nuclear bomb of their own. Klaus Fuchs, an important scientist to the “Manhattan Project,” managed to move throughout the project and provide crucial information to the Soviets. David Greenglass also provi...
Atomic Bomb in World War 2 During World War II the United States government launched a $2 billion project. This project, known as the Manhattan Project, was an effort to produce an atomic bomb. This project was taken on by a group atomic scientists from all over the world.
Hence, making the use of the nuclear bomb necessary, since the entire world had already seen how cruel the Japanese were with brutal war crimes that happen throughout the war and spread terror. Also it is important to mention the attack on Pearl Harbor which at the time the United States was no involved in the war at the time. The United States needed to make Japan surrender so that nothing like that would happen again to them or the rest of the Allies. The use of the atomic bomb aided the Allies in getting one step closer to ending the war, however, the use of the bomb had a lot of after effects. Hence, “the four-ton uranium bomb wreaked unprecedented havoc
He believed war should not be won by killing women and children. General Douglas MacArthur also believed that the dropping of the atomic bombs were militarily unjustified. He thought the war could have need ended wit... ... middle of paper ... ...ved to American soil, the use of the atomic bombs are justified.
The road that led to the bombing of Hiroshima was a long and covert one. In fact, the research and development of the atomic bomb was so secretive that when Vice President Harry S. Truman entered the Presidency following the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt, he had no knowledge of it. Yet he would be the central figure in making the decision to use the bomb. In April 1945, Secretary of War Henry Stimson(pictured - left) and General Groves briefed Truman(pictured - right) about the "Manhattan Project", the top-secret program that researched and developed the atomic bomb.2
The U.S. decided to develop the atomic bomb based on the fear they had for the safety of the nation. In August 1939 nuclear physicists sent manuscripts to Albert Einstein in fear the Germany might use the new knowledge of fission on the uranium nucleus as way to construct weapons. In response, on August 2, 1939, Einstein sent a letter to President Roosevelt concerning the pressing matter to use uranium to create such weapons before Germany (Doc A-1). To support the development of the atomic bomb, President Roosevelt approved the production of the bomb following the receipt that the bomb is feasible on January 19, 1942. From this day to December of 1942, many laboratories and ...
The United States’ decision to drop an atomic bomb on Hiroshima required extensive research leading to its production. The main goal of the American side was to damage the enemy’s confidence, while choosing a target with the highest military output in order to conclude the war (Robinson).The group in charge of developing the technology was known as the Manhattan Project, and was kept top-secret. Selection began in the spring of 1945, with assistance from the Commanding General, Army Air Forces, his Headquarters (Robinson).There was a variety of experts working on the project, including mathematicians, theoretical physicists, and specialists trained in weather and blast effects Headquarters (Robinson). In order to monitor all of the results, the city had to be untouched, meaning the target had to have no signs of previous bombings. Based on these requirements, the designation of Hiroshima for the bombing was not a simple determination. After a target was selected and the weapon was developed, testing was set to begin. On July 16, 1945, the first test in Alamogordo, New Mexico, proved that the bomb was prepared for release onto...
2 Manhattan Project – Name given to the development and research of the atomic bomb in the U.S.
Gar Alperovitz writes an essay completely against the bombing in Japan, feeling that it was, as said in his essay tile, neither necessary nor justifiable. Lives were ultimately not saved like it has been the belief for years and there were many options not considered or over looked just because the government wanted a quick end to the war, important considerations like the state of Japan and the fact that they were on the verge of surrender. Robert Newman, in his essay, feels the exact opposite. Newman believed that the bombings were perfectly justifiable, considering the deaths caused by Jap...
Although nuclear technology can be used for good, it can also be used for destruction. One example of this was the bombing of 2 Japanese cities using the a...
The Soviets were developing their own nuclear program at the same time as the Manhattan Project was underway, and Soviet espionage provided them with crucial information from the Manhattan Project that helped their progress (Walker, 67). When the United States used the atomic bombs on Japan, the USSR believed that the United States would seek to threaten Soviet interests. Instead of simplifying the growing conflict between the United States and the USSR, the use of atomic weapons on Japan only made the situation more complex.