The Atomic Bomb Mr. Bach United States History

A Letter of Warning In August of 1939, physicist Albert Einstein wrote President Roosevelt a letter informing him of the possibility of using atomic energy to create bombs. Einstein knew that Hitler was attempting to develop the bomb and the U.S. must get the bomb first. Einstein was a German Jew who fled Hitler’s tyranny.

The U.S. Goes to Work The Manhattan Project Name for the U.S. ultra- secret project to construct an atomic bomb. Main lab at Los Alamos, New Mexico. Scientists couldn’t even tell their families what they were doing Project led by J. Robert Oppenheimer

The First Sustained Nuclear Reaction Italian-American physicist Enrico Fermi created a controlled nuclear reaction. Performed under the football field at the University of Chicago on December 2, 1942.

Illinois Connections Nuclear waste from Fermi’s experiments were buried in Red Gate Woods Forest Preserve on Archer Ave. Argonne Lab and Fermi Lab were then built in the western suburbs.

Race Against the Nazis The United States bombed Nazi plants which were working on special arms. Smuggled physicist Niels Bohr out of occupied Europe to work for the U.S.

How Atomic Bombs Work The energy in an atomic bomb comes from either Uranium-235 or Plutonium-239. Need approx. 2-3 pounds of uranium/plutonium to construct a bomb. To detonate the bomb, the uranium/plutonium is bombarded with a neutron which causes an atom to split. The splitting atoms start a chain reaction which produces a tremendous amount of energy.

First Nuclear Explosion First nuclear bomb was set atop a 100- foot high steel tower in the New Mexico desert. Successfully detonated in the early morning hours of July 16, The Atomic Age had begun and all other forms of warfare were now obsolete.

New President Harry Truman takes over the presidency when FDR dies. Even though Truman was vice president, the Manhattan Project was kept secret from him.

Opposing Arguments Drop the Bomb Japanese fought to the bitter end Kamikazes – suicide planes Invasion of Japan might cost hundreds of thousands of American lives Truman would be disgraced in American people found out he had a bomb and didn’t use it Don’t Use the Bomb Scientists urged Truman to demonstrate the bomb’s destructiveness to the Japanese Soviet Union was soon going to enter the war against Japan Let the Japanese keep their emperor and they will surrender

The Bomb is Dropped Truman warned Japan to surrender of face “utter destruction.” August 8, 1945 – bomb dropped on Hiroshima by the Enola Gay August 10, 1945 – bomb dropped on Nagasaki by Bocks Car Japanese surrender on August 14, 1945.

The U.S.S. Indianapolis Destroyer which delivered the bomb Mission was kept secret even to the rest of the Navy Sunk by a Japanese sub on the return trip No rescue came because no one knew of the mission Crew members were slowly picked off by sharks until they were spotted by a plane 3 days later