The Manhattan Project: The Rise Of The Atomic Bomb

The terrifying and intense bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the war in 1945 were life altering, and they had to have begun somewhere. In the early days of October 1941, President Roosevelt gave the okay for the development of the atomic weapon, a decision that would call for a great deal of effort for months to come. The Manhattan Project can be considered one of the most important events during the 20th century, impacting warfare, medicine and the outcome of World War II. The United States had stayed neutral during World War II until being brought into European conflict. War was raging on in Germany as Hitler and the Nazi party came to power. Jews were fleeting, including well-known scientist Albert Einstein. He escaped

Research was staggering and not many breakthroughs were occurring. Finally, the first controlled nuclear chain reaction was produced, and as a result of that there was increased funding for work at more advanced speeds. The government-funded project was estimated to cost around two billion dollars, and would grant jobs to thousands over its duration of time (“The Manhattan Project”). Just 22 months after the first mention of creating a bomb had surfaced, over 125,000 were employed and they all had housing needs. A large portion of the money spent on the project had gone towards building and keeping commissary

The first step in ensuring the smallest amount of knowledge about The Manhattan Project by outside sources was choosing locations that were isolated and yet still accessible. Army General Leslie Groves was in charge of finding suitable locations to suit the needs of ensuring security, and after careful consideration the three main locations were chosen. Two of the bigger research sites included Oak Ridge, Tennessee and Hanford Washington, along with locations at other universities all over the country. The site chosen for the initial detonation of the atomic bomb was Los Alamos, New Mexico (“Security and Secrecy”). That location site was important because it would finally bring together what everyone had been researching and working on for months. It was an isolated desert-like area near a water source that was still accessible, it perfectly fit the criteria for the first drop of the atomic bomb. Along with the locations of the research, the security was strict and very closely regulated. All personnel who were tied to the project underwent a background check performed by the FBI in order to be sure that they had no criminal background or connections, and they were constantly reminded that they could not speak of it offsite (“Security and Secrecy”). The United states had gone to extreme lengths just