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Ben, Alex, Luke, Brittany
Period 3
The Atomic Bomb Outline
KEY POINTS OF INFORMATION
1) The Manhattan Project
General Information
1. A program created to develop atomic weapons, code-named: Manhattan Project
2. Began in December 1941 and ended in 1946
3. Extremely secret and few knew of its existence
Origins
1. Albert Einstein wrote letter to FDR & helped him become aware of the
potential uses of uranium
2. “Uranium Committee” created under National Research Defense Council
3. Committee eventually transformed into the Manhattan Project
4. Project was confirmed by FDR with out knowledge of congress & other
officials
5. Funding paid from secret Presidential accounts
Goals and Tasks
1. Research the nature and capabilities of atomic energy
2. Harness energy to create first atomic bomb
People Involved
1. Army Corps of Engineers’ Manhattan District involved in bomb construction
2. Supervisor: General Leslie R. Roves
3. Head of Scientific Team: Physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer
4. Involved US and foreign scientists who worked at universities & industrial sites
5. Cost $2.2 Billion and employed over 600,000 workers
Facilities and Development
1. Main Facility: Los Alamos, New Mexico
2. Other Sites: Oak Ridge, Tennessee and also Hanford, Washington
3. Research conducted in university laboratories (mainly Colombia and Berkley)
4. Constructed nuclear reactors to extract uranium from fossils and convert it into
plutonium
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5. Plutonium compressed in weapons so that chain reactions occur and create
explosive power
Results Produced From Project
1. Created first atomic bomb, tested on July 16, 1945 in New Mexico
2. Created the two operational bombs used against Japan
a) Dropped “Little Boy” bomb on Hiroshima
b) Dropped “Fatman” bomb on Nagasaki
2) Peace Negotiations Before Bombing
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3) Pros and Cons to Using the Atomic Bomb
Pros
1. Mass killing had become almost acceptable
2. It would strike fear in the Nazis and Soviet Union
3. Assured complete surrender of the Japanese
4. The Japanese had refused to surrender and instead wanted to reach a peace
agreement in which the Japanese would be able to rebuild their army and
maybe attack again later
5. The U.S. thought that Japan deserved punishment for the acts that they
committed toward China, for example the Rape of Nanking where hundreds of
thousands of Chinese were killed
Cons
1. Could be seen as immoral
2. It would kill thousands of innocent lives
3. Some thought that Japan’s defeat was inevitable and it could be found without
the use of this weapon
4. Using this weapon would remove Americas “clear record”
5. Other alternatives were not tried before the use of the atom bomb
6. Although Japan would not accept defeat, they had started trying to talk to U.S.
officials about peace
4) Aftermath of the Atomic Bomb / VJ Day
VJ Day
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1. The formal surrender took place on August 15, 1945 in Tokyo Bay
2. U.S. used island hopping in central and south west pacific in 1944
3. Subs were a big advantage to the US
4. Three battles final stages of liberation in the Philippines, invasions in Iwo Jima
and Okinawa
Philippines
1. First stage taking back of Leyte in December of 1944
2. Next liberation of Luzon Jan 2nd-8th 1945 US attacked
3. Suffered severe casualties due to kamikaze attacks
4. On the 9th US forces landed at Lingayen Gulf on the island west of Manila
5. Battle for Manila began in early February ended on March 4th
6. Casualties = 16,000 Japanese, 1,000 US, 100,000 Filipinos
7. US took manila Bay on April 17th
8. US took Yamashita August 15th
9. Total casualties US 33,000 Japan 190,000 10,000 captured
Iwo Jima
1. February 18th land on shore to end of March 1945
2. Strategic land, for US bombers to resupply and to make emergency landings
3. 22,000 Japanese defended the island
4. December 8th 1944 bombers struck Iwo Jima for 72 days
5. 500 warships 75,000 Marines
6. Casualties 6,000 dead 17,000 wounded the Japanese all dead except for 216
prisoners
Okinawa
1. Japan 77,000 people
2. US 1,200 warships 500,000 men
3. Attacked in April
4. Casualties 127,000 dead including civilians 400 warships sunk
5. 7,400 dead 32,000 wounded
Atomic Bomb
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1. First atomic bomb named little boy 4.5 miles destroyed gone, 66% of building
in a 9.5 mile radius were destroyed
2. Dropped on august 6th
3. Target Hiroshima
4. 71,000 died and 68,000 injured
5. Second bomb Fat man Dropped on august 9th, target Nagasaki
6. Killed 40,000 and injured 25,000
5) North Korea and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Background Information
1. In 2003 North Korea withdrew from the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty due
to their intentions try and create nuclear weapons
2. This treaty was a pact among most countries that said that no making or
research of nuclear weapons would be attempted
North Korea’s Current Status
1. In April of 2009 North Korea was announced as a fully fledged nuclear power
due their first successful test
2. Since April they have now made a total of six to eight nuclear weapons
Possible Consequences
1. The US Government thinks that North Korea becoming a nuclear power
threatens the peace of the world
2. They also think that if their leader Kim Jong-Il is not dealt with correctly then
this “threat” could lead to nuclear war
Conflict
1. The North Korean Government claims that they are just building up their own
defense
2. Critics of the US government think that the US is being hypocritical due to the
fact that the US has many more nuclear weapons than any other country in the
world
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1) Do think that it was a good idea for the US to create the Manhattan Project to develop
atomic weapons?
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2) Should the US have continued peace negotiations or was it better to intervene and use
deadly force?
3) After seeing the aftermaths of the bomb, do you think the US made the right decision?
4) Do you think that the US was right in setting off the two atomic bombs?
5) Do you think that the US has the right to intervene with North Korean projects to make
nuclear weapons?
PRESENTATION OUTLINE
Topic
Time
Activities
Presenter
1) The Manhattan
Project
5 Minutes
PowerPoint
Ben
2) Peace
Negotiations Before
Bombing
5 Minutes
PowerPoint
Brittany
3) Consequences
and Aftermath
5 Minutes
PowerPoint
Alex
4) Pros and Cons
2 Minutes
PowerPoint
Luke
5) Current Event
2 Minutes
PowerPoint
Luke
6) Movie and
Questions
1 Minute
Movie
Group
BREAKDOWN OF WORK
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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"The Atomic Bomb and the End of World War II: A Collection of Primary Sources." The
George Washington University. Ed. William Burr. Web. 07 Jan. 2010.
<http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB162/index.htm>.
Dietrich, Bill. "Seattle Times Trinity Web: Dropping the Bomb." The Seattle Times |
Seattle Times Newspaper. Web. 07 Jan. 2010.
<http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/special/trinity/supplement/procon.html>.
Sowell, Thomas. "The Morality of Dropping the Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima and
Nagasaki by Thomas Sowell -- Capitalism Magazine." Capitalism Magazine Individual Rights are the Moral Basis of Society. Web. 07 Jan. 2010.
<http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?ID=4362>.