3. I.The Beginning A.Albert Einstein sent a letter to FDR in 1939, just as Europe was plunging into war. B.This letter detailed the potential destructive power of a weapon that could harness the energy of splitting Uranium atoms in a certain way. The letter also stated that the Germans had already began research in this area.

4. C.FDR was intrigued by the thought of so powerful a weapon and also worried that the Germans might develop it first. D.A committee was quickly set up to begin scientific research in this area. It later became the “Manhattan Project.”

5. II.The Project A.Over the course of the next 3 years, this top secret work would require some 37 laboratories, 120,000 workers, and over $2 billion in funding. B.Many of the scientists working on the projects were refugees from Nazi Germany including the head of the project, Robert Oppenheimer. C.The work was geared toward harnessing an explosive chain reaction of the splitting of Uranium atoms.

6. D.The first successful experiment took place at the University of Chicago though most of the work, including the first atomic testing was done at the Los Alamos laboratory in New Mexico. E.Once the bomb was ready, govt. officials had to decide how to use it.

7. III.The Decision A.By the time the bomb was ready, the war in Europe was over but the fight in the Pacific was still raging. B.FDR had died in April of 1945 and his successor, Harry Truman, was faced with the decision of how best to use the new weapon. C.He realized he was faced with three alternatives but each presented its own problems. The alternatives were: 1.Forget using the bomb and carry on with the invasion plans of mainland Japan. This would have cost an estimated 1 million American lives and possibly another year of fighting against not just Japanese soldiers, but the entire population including fanatical women & children. 2.Demonstrate the destructive power of the weapon to Japanese officials on a deserted island. This, however, might lead to the embarrassment of the bomb failing to detonate. 3.Drop the bomb like we did on a large mainland city in Japan and unleash its destructive power. We didn’t know the effects a nuclear weapon would have on human beings so it was a question.

8. D.In the end, Truman and his advisors chose the third option for the reasons that they did not want to drag the war out any longer, they wanted to show the power of the weapon to the Soviets who were quickly restructuring a communist Europe, and so much time and money had gone into the project. E.Truman also realized that a deep resentment of the Japanese by the Americans existed.

9. IV.The Results A.August 6, 1945 - the 1 st bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, killing 70,000 and injuring 70,000 others. August 9, 1945 – a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, killing or maiming another 80,000.

10. A.August 14, 1945 – Japan signs an unconditional surrender, thus ending the war.