The Manhattan Project

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On August 2, 1939 Franklin D. Roosevelt received a letter from the famous, German physicist Albert Einstein. It stated and explained the potential of using uranium as a weapon of mass destruction, and that the United States would be wise to begin funding a project for this (Kross). Franklin D. Roosevelt didn't see a need to start full force on a project like this until after the attack on Pearl Harbor. After Congress declares on both Japan and Germany, Franklin D. Roosevelt puts General Leslie R. Groves in charge of the project. Groves named the project: "So that top-secret endeavor to build the atomic bomb got the most boring of cover names: The Manhattan Engineer District, in time shortened to The Manhattan Project"(Broad). As the project grew the city of Manhattan's role shrank and by 1943,"… the Manhattan Project was not physically located in New York City but scattered across the country" (Kelly 219). The first "secret city" was Los Alamos in California and Groves was so concerned about secrecy, people actually had a pass they had to carry with them when they left because without it, coming back into the secret gated city of Los Alamos was nearly impossible. Most of the time even with the secret cities, many worked at universities or even their own businesses: "It was supersecret, at least 5,000 people were coming and going to work, knowing only enough to get the job done" (Broad). People also literally had to up root themselves and move all the way across the country to Santa Fe California and they could not tell anyone where they were going. Not only was there just scientists, there was physicists, engineers, military personnel and families. At one point the Columbia University had 700 people employed in the project and ...

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...the government too. The government created agencies and organizations for science, research and technology. These organizations and agencies help fund projects and research for science and technology. Although these great things have been accomplished because of the Manhattan Projects and the atomic bombs, the question of was it really necessary to end the war is still controversial. Right after the war most people were in favor for the dropping of the atomic bombs. However, as the years passed by, people's moral changed. As the war time attitudes changed into more sensible attitudes, people started to question about the dropping of the bombs. The Manhattan Project and the atomic bombs redefined morality and was debated over, however, there is no answer to who is right. The Manhattan Project impacted America immensely and without it things would be different.

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