Dropping the Atomic Bomb A Turning Point in

Dropping the Atomic Bomb A Turning Point in the War

Manhattan Project • Albert Einstein – Developed 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

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

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

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

“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 -