Hixenbaugh World History II MICDS
WWII Mini Project - Atomic Bomb
Opposing sides
The Atomic Bomb was a key element within World War II that had a direct impact on the United States and Japan. After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, the United States felt that they needed to create a bombing strategy to help expedite WWII. The U.S. knew that they had the war won, but believed that the use a weapon of mass destruction would clearly finish things off to order to avoid lingering battles for years to come. Albert Einstein made the initial remarks to President Roosevelt citing the need for a massive weapon or bomb to eliminate the enemy. Einstein was a Jewish man who lived in Germany, so he first hand saw the evil destruction that the Nazis and enemy forces were capable of. Einstein was forced to flee Germany to avoid being killed by the Nazis. His fear of of the Nazis influenced him to write the letter to President Roosevelt. President Roosevelt acknowledged Einstein's fear and agreed to meet with him. (Click here to view the exact letter that Einstein wrote to Roosevelt http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bl_einstein_letter.htm). Together they contrived the "Manhattan project" which was a race to develop atomic weapons before Nazi Germany. Roosevelt appointed Robert Oppenheimer to led the Manhattan Project in order to create the ultimate weapon of mass destruction in order to have the upper hand on countries such as Germany and Japan. The Manhattan project was a success and was able to create the atomic bomb using enriched uranium and nuclear fusion. After successful testing of the bomb, the U.S. knew they had advantage over everyone else, so the next step was using the Atomic Bomb to help advance the efforts of U.S. troops in Japan during WWII.
Impact on the war
After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, the U.S. entered WWII. The U.S. began fighting along the pacific rim. The U.S. endured many deadly battles over Pacific islands, such as the battle at Midway. After the U.S. controlled the islands, the progress to the European battles. Africa was the first place that the U.S. invaded during the European battles. All of these battles were very deadly and took out many U.S. soldiers. As the was continued on the U.S. slowly made their way towards Japan. After the victory in the Battle of Iwo Jima, the U.S. felt that they had Japan under control and that they were going to be able to win the war. Prior to advancing into battle with Japan, U.S. advisers took a careful look at the toll that the battles with Japan might cause on the U.S. military. The U.S. was in no fear of loosing the war, but they felt that many soldiers would be lost if fighting continued. The U.S. searched for options that could end the war quickly, rather than prolonging it for years to come. The Atomic Bomb was the perfect weapon that the U.S. could use to completely wipe out Japan. Prior to giving the clearance to use this massive weapon, U.S. advisers weighted out the impact that this weapon would have on the U.S. and Japan and how it would influence WWII. Key U.S. officials took into account that the Atomic Bomb would kill thousands of innocent Japanese civilians; however they believed that this death tool was minor compared to the number of Japanese soldiers and U.S. soldiers that would die if fighting prolonged on for years to come. On August 6, 1945 the U.S. dropped the atomic bomb named "Little Boy" over Hiroshima. Instantly 66,000 people were killed and 69,000 people were injured. Three days later, on August 9, 1945 the U.S. dropped a second atomic bomb named "Fat Man" over Nagasaki. Even though the bomb missed its target by more than a mile and a half, Nagasaki's populations decreased from 422,000 to 383,000. The U.S. accomplished its goal of completely eliminating Japan without loosing any of our soldiers in battle. On August 10, 1945 Japan was forced to surrender due to the utter destruction they endured. While "Little Boy" and "Fat Man" caused the deaths of many innocent Japanese civilians, these atomic bombs secured a win for the United States in WWII without taking a hit on military personnel.
Impact on today's world
After seeing the utter destruction that atomic weapons are capable of, many countries set out to create their own weapons of mass destruction. In recent years the number of countries with these types of weapons have rapidly increased, thus creating more tension and unrest throughout the world. Almost all wars and battles that are fought across the world today are related to the threat of weapons of mass destruction. Even though the atomic bomb has not been used since WWII, the idea and threat of the atomic bomb has caused more issues than the actual use of the bomb. An interesting fact is that more people have died in wars due to the threat of the atomic bomb rather than the actual destruction of the atomic bomb. If the atomic bomb was ever used in modern day world, it would cause hundreds of thousands of deaths if not millions of deaths. If you go back and see the major impact of the atomic bomb in 1945, just imagine all of the technological advances that have occurred since then and would create an even more deadly bomb in 2009. Worldwide people hope and pray that they never will see the effect that the atomic bomb will have on the modern world.
Primary source
This is the actual letter that Albert Einstein wrote in President Roosevelt citing the importance of the creation of the atomic bomb. This is important to our studies because it shows the origins of the atomic bomb and how this one letter has caused a totally different world today with weapons of mass destruction. If Albert Einstein would not have written this letter, then Nazi Germany might have created the atomic bomb before the U.S. which would have altered the outcome of WWII, thus impacting the current situation of the world today.
http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bl_einstein_letter.htm
Visual
Sources
1.http://inventors.about.com/od/astartinventions/a/atomic_bomb_2.htm
2.http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bl_einstein_letter.htm
3.http://www.worldhistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display.aspx?categoryid=31&entryid=435611&searchtext=atomic+bomb&type=simple&option=all&searchsites=1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,
The Atomic Bomb was a key element within World War II that had a direct impact on the United States and Japan. After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, the United States felt that they needed to create a bombing strategy to help expedite WWII. The U.S. knew that they had the war won, but believed that the use a weapon of mass destruction would clearly finish things off to order to avoid lingering battles for years to come. Albert Einstein made the initial remarks to President Roosevelt citing the need for a massive weapon or bomb to eliminate the enemy. Einstein was a Jewish man who lived in Germany, so he first hand saw the evil destruction that the Nazis and enemy forces were capable of. Einstein was forced to flee Germany to avoid being killed by the Nazis. His fear of of the Nazis influenced him to write the letter to President Roosevelt. President Roosevelt acknowledged Einstein's fear and agreed to meet with him. (Click here to view the exact letter that Einstein wrote to Roosevelt http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bl_einstein_letter.htm). Together they contrived the "Manhattan project" which was a race to develop atomic weapons before Nazi Germany. Roosevelt appointed Robert Oppenheimer to led the Manhattan Project in order to create the ultimate weapon of mass destruction in order to have the upper hand on countries such as Germany and Japan. The Manhattan project was a success and was able to create the atomic bomb using enriched uranium and nuclear fusion. After successful testing of the bomb, the U.S. knew they had advantage over everyone else, so the next step was using the Atomic Bomb to help advance the efforts of U.S. troops in Japan during WWII.
Impact on the war
After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, the U.S. entered WWII. The U.S. began fighting along the pacific rim. The U.S. endured many deadly battles over Pacific islands, such as the battle at Midway. After the U.S. controlled the islands, the progress to the European battles. Africa was the first place that the U.S. invaded during the European battles. All of these battles were very deadly and took out many U.S. soldiers. As the was continued on the U.S. slowly made their way towards Japan. After the victory in the Battle of Iwo Jima, the U.S. felt that they had Japan under control and that they were going to be able to win the war. Prior to advancing into battle with Japan, U.S. advisers took a careful look at the toll that the battles with Japan might cause on the U.S. military. The U.S. was in no fear of loosing the war, but they felt that many soldiers would be lost if fighting continued. The U.S. searched for options that could end the war quickly, rather than prolonging it for years to come. The Atomic Bomb was the perfect weapon that the U.S. could use to completely wipe out Japan. Prior to giving the clearance to use this massive weapon, U.S. advisers weighted out the impact that this weapon would have on the U.S. and Japan and how it would influence WWII. Key U.S. officials took into account that the Atomic Bomb would kill thousands of innocent Japanese civilians; however they believed that this death tool was minor compared to the number of Japanese soldiers and U.S. soldiers that would die if fighting prolonged on for years to come. On August 6, 1945 the U.S. dropped the atomic bomb named "Little Boy" over Hiroshima. Instantly 66,000 people were killed and 69,000 people were injured. Three days later, on August 9, 1945 the U.S. dropped a second atomic bomb named "Fat Man" over Nagasaki. Even though the bomb missed its target by more than a mile and a half, Nagasaki's populations decreased from 422,000 to 383,000. The U.S. accomplished its goal of completely eliminating Japan without loosing any of our soldiers in battle. On August 10, 1945 Japan was forced to surrender due to the utter destruction they endured. While "Little Boy" and "Fat Man" caused the deaths of many innocent Japanese civilians, these atomic bombs secured a win for the United States in WWII without taking a hit on military personnel.
Impact on today's world
After seeing the utter destruction that atomic weapons are capable of, many countries set out to create their own weapons of mass destruction. In recent years the number of countries with these types of weapons have rapidly increased, thus creating more tension and unrest throughout the world. Almost all wars and battles that are fought across the world today are related to the threat of weapons of mass destruction. Even though the atomic bomb has not been used since WWII, the idea and threat of the atomic bomb has caused more issues than the actual use of the bomb. An interesting fact is that more people have died in wars due to the threat of the atomic bomb rather than the actual destruction of the atomic bomb. If the atomic bomb was ever used in modern day world, it would cause hundreds of thousands of deaths if not millions of deaths. If you go back and see the major impact of the atomic bomb in 1945, just imagine all of the technological advances that have occurred since then and would create an even more deadly bomb in 2009. Worldwide people hope and pray that they never will see the effect that the atomic bomb will have on the modern world.
Primary source
This is the actual letter that Albert Einstein wrote in President Roosevelt citing the importance of the creation of the atomic bomb. This is important to our studies because it shows the origins of the atomic bomb and how this one letter has caused a totally different world today with weapons of mass destruction. If Albert Einstein would not have written this letter, then Nazi Germany might have created the atomic bomb before the U.S. which would have altered the outcome of WWII, thus impacting the current situation of the world today.
http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bl_einstein_letter.htm
Visual
Sources
1.http://inventors.about.com/od/astartinventions/a/atomic_bomb_2.htm
2.http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bl_einstein_letter.htm
3.http://www.worldhistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display.aspx?categoryid=31&entryid=435611&searchtext=atomic+bomb&type=simple&option=all&searchsites=1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,
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