ESSAYS FOR THE FINAL EXAM 2014

1. What was the Manhattan project and how did it evolve? How was the decision made to drop the bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and how did the bombing end the war? (be specific and complete)
Essay –
The Manhattan project was central to the United States efforts in constructing a nuclear bomb during the Second World War. Motivated by the fear of an enemy attack from the Nazi’s, the United States was able to develop the world’s most devastating bombs, which would end up killing more than 200,000 Japanese citizens in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In this way, the Manhattan project essentially grew out of America’s efforts to defend themselves against a potential Nazi attack.
Hungarian scientist Leo Szilard, after escaping to America, realized that if the Nazis acquired the works recently conducted on nuclear fission, they might be able to construct a nuclear bomb and dominate the world with its destruction. He then convinced Albert Einstein of the impending Nazi threat and Einstein took the initiative to alert the United States by writing a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In the letter sent in August 1939, right before the start of the war, Einstein advised that the United States be wary of the threat of nuclear weaponry in the hands of the enemy and that they should begin a weapons building program of their own. A very small committee was established to look into the science and development of a bomb, funded by a mere $6,000.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized ten million dollars in funding by June 1942 as the United States Army Corps of Engineers was given the control of the project. The North Atlantic District of the corps was headquartered in New York City. In order to disguise the function of the office, it was named the “Manhattan Engineer District”, meaning the effort to build the bomb would be named the