1. Dropping the Atomic Bomb A Turning Point in the War

2. Manhattan Project Albert Einstein –Developed the theory of relativity and set in motion the process of developing the atomic bomb Manhattan Project –Committee that looked at the feasibility of an atomic bomb –July 16, 1945 – they test the first atomic bomb in the desert at Alamogordo, New Mexico –The bomb left a huge crater in the earth and shattered windows up to 125 miles away

3. Decision to Drop the Bomb The alternatives –Invading main land Japan –A naval Blockade and continued bombing –Softening of the idea of unconditional surrender –Dropping the bomb on a remote, deserted island to show its power

4. Decision to Drop the Bomb The decision –High casualties would result from invading Japan –The bitterness that Americans felt towards Pearl Harbor –The U.S. wanted to “flex its muscles before the eyes of the communist rivals” and the rest of the world

5. The Bombs August 6, 1945, the first bomb, “Little Boy,” was dropped on Hiroshima August 9, 1945, the second bomb, “Fat Man,” is dropped on Nagasaki September 2, 1945, Japan surrenders

7. “Wherever you went, you didn’t bother to take the roads. Everything was flat, nothing was standing, not gates, pillars, walls, or fences. You walked in a straight line to where you wanted to go. Practically everywhere you came across small bones that had been left behind.” - Hiroshima survivor -