The Manhattan Project of World War II History Paper
The Manhattan Project of World War II History Paper
Throughout the course of history, especially in past wars, one can decipher a single point that led to the end of that event/war. All thought World War II had many events transpire which led to its completion, one of the most prominent and immediate effects which brought about the end of the war was the development of the Atomic Bomb. Developed through the research and funding of the Manhattan Project, the Atomic Bomb was used to cause Japan to surrender World War II and thereby effectively ending the war.
The Manhattan Project began on September 17, 1942 when Col. Leslie Richard Groves, Deputy Chief of Construction of the Us Army Corps of Engineers, received clearance to initiate such a project and then bought materials necessary to the project such as Uranium. To understand how such a weapon was created one must analyze many different people associated with it. Prior to even the start of WWII, President Franklin Roosevelt received a letter from Albert Einstein and Leo Sizzled (the man who discovered possibility of nuclear fission) which warned of a new field of physics in which “bombs of a powerful type” may be created. After consulting advisors and fearing the Germans beating us to creating the Atomic Bomb, Roosevelt decided to pursue construction of the bomb with full speed and secrecy. Among the top researches, many German immigrants, were Neils Bohr, Glen Seaborg, Richard Feyman, Enrico Fermi, and of course Robert Oppenheimer. Oppenheimer was one of the major players in the project and was involved with every step. Most of the work regarding the bomb was done in Los Alamos, New Mexico by some was done at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Univ. of California at Berkley, and some research done under the Chicago bears football stadium (almost blew up city). Overall the production cost 20 billion dollars, money spent on Uranium, machinery, and employees. This money was well spent, as the research team developed the A-bomb and had it ready for disposal on July 16, 1945 (when they first tested it) and ultimately August 6, 1945 when the bomb was used on Japan.
In the end, I believe that the use of the atomic bomb and the decisions made during its development were like a double-edged sword. I believe that the Japanese would have surrendered before November 1, 1945, but that...