The Manhattan Project

The Manhattan Project was a government funded research project whose purpose was to create a nuclear bomb. It was created in response to a successful creation of atomic fission in Berlin. Fearing that the Germans might use this technology against America in WWII, Albert Einstein and other scientist convinced president Franklin D. Roosevelt to fund research with the goal of creating a nuclear weapon before Germany. This lead to the creation of the Office of Scientific Research and Development in 1941 which coordinated The Manhattan Project as well as other government funded scientific R&D. Once it was determined that a nuclear bomb could be created before the end of the war, the Army took full control of the project. Through hard work and top priority treatment, the project soon proved to be a success. At the launch, some of the scientist who worked on the project began to worry about the power of the weapon and the possibility of an arms race. Despite this, the Bomb was used several months later and helped bring an end to the second world war.

I have known of the Manhattan Project for many years, but my knowledge was filled with many common misconceptions and fallacies. I always pictured the government asking for the aid of high profile scientist to create the atomic bomb, not the other way around. I also never knew that the bomb was created in retaliation to German research. My perception of the Manhattan Project has always been that it was a highly secretive, aggressive government project in which brilliant minds were assembled by the government to create a weapon so powerful that it would redefine war, and I do not think that I am alone in thinking this. Learning about the project has been another sobering moment in American Studies in which I have learned that I too have fallen victim to popular misconceptions about American history. I too have become attached to a imaginary American history that only blinds me from the inherent complexity of all events of past, future, and present time.

"Manhattan Project." World History: The Modern Era. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 31 Jan. 2010. < http://www.worldhistory.abc-clio.com >.

Eric Foner and John A. Garraty. "Manhattan Project." The Reader's Companion to American History Dec. 1 1991: n.p. SIRS Researcher. Web. 31 January 2010. < http://sks.sirs.com >.