Decision to Drop the Bomb The Manhattan Project

The name given to the top secret project to create an atomic weapon The name given to the top secret project to create an atomic weapon J. Robert Oppenheimer was in charge of the project J. Robert Oppenheimer was in charge of the project 600,000 Americans involved in the project – did not know what they were working on 600,000 Americans involved in the project – did not know what they were working on Secret lab in Los Alamos, New Mexico to build the bomb Secret lab in Los Alamos, New Mexico to build the bomb

The Bombs Little Boy Little Boy –August 6, 1945 –Hiroshima was the target –Dropped by the Enola Gay –uranium Fat Man Fat Man –August 9 th 1945 –Nagasaki was the target –Plutonium

Controversy over dropping the bomb Should the United States… Should the United States… –Warn the Japanese people or the government? –Demonstrate the weapon ?

Are those booties really going to protect you from the radiation?

Hiroshima Prefecture Industrial Promotion Hall

By a blast pressure of 19 tons per square meter, the tree was uprooted. Also, hundreds of tombstones were knocked in all directions by the complex flow of wind from the blast.

Options? Japanese military was not in good condition Japanese military was not in good condition Why did the US deem it necessary to drop the bomb? Why did the US deem it necessary to drop the bomb? –Save American lives –Victory now – Japan refused to surrender –Long term political decision: show of force to USSR & establish US as the most powerful country in the world

Japanese Lives Did dropping the bomb save Japanese lives? Did dropping the bomb save Japanese lives? –Civilians would have died during air raids –No provisions –suicide

Atomic Bomb clip&id=tdih_aug06_broadband clip&id=tdih_aug06_broadband clip&id=tdih_aug06_broadband clip&id=tdih_aug06_broadband Now lets debate! Now lets debate!