THE MANHATTAN PROJECT

1. THE MANHATTAN PROJECT

2. Who’s the New Guy? • Harry S Truman was only Vice President for 82 days before Roosevelt died. • Had little interaction with foreign affairs and hardly any part of the war proceedings.

3. Harry S Truman • A staunch anti-Communist. • An otherwise unremarkable WWI veteran and United States Senator. • He failed in every real world business and practice before politics.

4. In Case You Were Wondering… • ‘S’ is his middle name. There’s nothing more to it.

5. What Kind of Man Was Truman? • He was a tough as nails WWI vet. During an attack on his position which caused his men to scatter, Truman released a string of obscenities so bad that the men got back into position while under heavy fire.

6. Back Room Politics • Truman is what you consider a ‘back room, cigar smoking politics kind of guy’. • Meaning, he is tough, real, and not afraid to fight dirty.

7. But He Has Big Shoes to Fill… • "Boys, if you ever pray, pray for me now. I don't know if you fellas ever had a load of hay fall on you, but when they told me what happened yesterday, I felt like the moon, the stars, and all the planets had fallen on me."

8. TOP SECRET • The new President is briefed on everything that FDR knew. • Learns of a project on American soil which has been operating since 1942

9. The Manhattan Project • A $2 billion ($22 billion today) project that researched the development and assembling of atomic bombs. • 130,000 Americans secretly employed by the government at various points all over the United States

10. The Men in Charge

11. J. Robert Oppenheimer • The scientist in charge of developing the atomic bomb • Took care of all scientific research and development

12. General Leslie Groves • The military partner to Robert Oppenheimer • In charge of the military application and support for the bomb

13. Einstein’s Call for Urgency • Albert Einstein had escaped Nazi Germany with a warning – the Germans were close to developing the bomb

14. A Deadly Jigsaw Puzzle • To complete the bomb quicker, tasks were divided up among different groups • Tasks included enriching uranium, developing the trigger for the bomb, and the actual assembly of the bomb

15. The Workers/The Sites • The government would buy up land and set up pseudo-towns around factories/facilities. Set up near rivers for hydro-electric power. • The average American workers were paid wages to work and not ask questions. • They did not discuss this with anyone.

16. Some Sites Were Far Away

17. Others Were Much Closer

18. Imagine the Coordination • Imagine the sheer amount of information shared and the secrecy needed for this project to succeed. It is absolutely mind-boggling. • Kind of makes you wonder what else the government does not tell you…

19. The Bombs • This was uncharted territory. • The project was very expensive, and nothing like this had been done before. • There were two types of bombs – implosion and gun type.

20. Implosion • The implosion type was very complex. The slightest error would cause the bomb to ‘fizzle’. • Uranium would need to be ruptured, compressed, and then explode outward.

21. With So Much At Stake… • The decision was made to test it first. • The first test would be known as ‘Trinity’.

22. ‘Trinity’ – July 16, 1945 • A test site at Alamogordo, New Mexico. • A bomb was constructed, disassembled, and reassembled at the site.

23. The Setup • The bomb was setup on a 100 ft. tower. • Oppenheimer observed in a bunker 10 miles away, Groves 17 miles away.

24. The Test • Try to imagine seeing this footage as what it was – the first bomb of its kind. What would you say?

25. “Now I am become death.” • Oppenheimer had two quotes: • “Now I am become death, destroyer of worlds.” • “Now we are all sons of bitches.”

26. General Groves Makes a Prediction • “The war is over. One or two of those and Japan will be finished.” • To my English peeps - We call this “foreshadowing.”

27. What’s the Difference? • How would you describe the quotes of Oppenheimer and Groves? Are they similar or different?

28. Ground Zero

29. Ground Zero – From Air

30. The Result • Explosion = 20 kilotons of TNT • It left a crater of radioactive glass in the desert 10 feet deep and 1,100 ft. wide. • The roar of the shock wave took 40 seconds to reach the observers.. • The shock wave was felt over 100 miles away • The mushroom cloud reached 7.5 miles (12 km) in height.

31. Other Accounts • A park ranger 150 miles away saw a fireball emerge from the forest line. • An airplane pilot witnessed ‘the rising of another sun’ on the horizon. With no explanation, he was told, “Don’t fly south.” • The full visible spectrum of colors was visible to anyone who saw the explosion briefly.

32. Nuclear Fallout • The scientists had an idea of what radiation might do to someone exposed to the fallout. • They told General Groves, but it was dismissed. • Did they know the full extent of what it would be like if used on people…?

33. Truman at Potsdam • President Truman is looking for a way to get leverage over the Soviets during negotiations and war prep. • He receives word that the test is a success.

34. A ‘Cold Draft’ Runs Through That Conference • Truman looks to Stalin and informs him that the United States has a new ‘super weapon’ which may be used against Japan

35. O’ Rly? • Stalin sounds curious, but he has actually been spying on the project for months. • He is unaware of the magnitude of the bomb, but he has been stealing work for a long time.

36. What Was The Reason? • Keep this exchange in mind. Some historians believe part of the reason to drop the bombs on Japan might be to do what other than win the war…?

37. Truman Has a Decision to Make • The United States is preparing to invade the mainland of Japan. Estimates 1 million casualties, not including Japanese lives. • Japan still refuses surrender. • Even after firebombing the capital, Tokyo. 83,000 killed in a single night.

38. You’re the President… • American taxpayer dollars have been spent • There are two more bombs left. • Japan refuses surrender. • Lives hang in the balance.

39. How Many Choose… Use the Bombs Commit the Troops

40. Next Lesson • We’ll see what Truman’s choice means for Japan.