Manhattan Project

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Recommended: Americas involvement in World War II

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 research. On account of the fear of Germany the United States took action upon testing their own atomic bomb. Once the bomb was tested, the United States had to decide whether it should be used and if so, where? Then there was the process of dropping the bomb. The Manhattan Project was overall one of the highest and most significant projects ever done in the United States.2 The United States government was shocked by the news of German scientists discovering nuclear fission. The news came to the United States from Albert Einstein. Einstein found out the nuclear fission information from a German physicist named Leo Szilard. He then told it to President Franklin D. Roosevelt and urged him to start an investment toward atomic research. 3The research would then help construct an atomic weapon of mass destruction. Roosevelt was not especially concerned about investing in atomic weapon research because he didn't plan on getting involved in the War. When Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese, Roosevelt entered the war and sent significant funds to the construction of the atomic weapon. Roosevelt speeded up the process of research by having General Groves setup a committee of the brightest minds from all around the world. Because most of the work done on research of the bomb was done in the Manhattan District of New York, at the US Army Corps of Engineers, the name given to the lay out was "The Manhattan Project".3 The man that General Grooves chose to head the Manhattan project was Robert J. Oppenheimer. Oppenheimer was a Jewish born child who was raised in Manhattan. Oppenheimer went to Harvard University to complete a ...

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...evastation of Hiroshima because of different land features. But it still resulted in about 39,000 deaths.5 The second bomb was under suspicion that it was only dropped because the U.S. wanted to try a new type of bomb. Some others thought it was needed to claim victory in the Second World War. Either way both bombs were the most monumental in history to this time. 4 In conclusion The Manhattan project was one of the most important and expensive projects ever done in the United States to this time. The drip of the bomb probably could have been stopped but the US decided to take the action which killed thousands and injured millions. The dropping of the bomb forever changed the meaning of war for all citizens of the world.

Bibliography
1 Atomic Bomb : Decision – Target Committee -- http://www.dannen.com/decision/targets.html#E 2 Atomic Archive - Explore the History, Science, and Consequences of the Atomic Bomb – http://www.atomicarchive.com/main.shtml 3 CD-ROM and Online Encarta Encyclopedia 99 4 The Manhattan Project -- http://www.gis.net/~carter/manhattan/ 5 The Avalon Project : The Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki -- http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/abomb/mpmenu.html

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