The Manhattan Project was the research and making of the world’s first atomic weapons. This was a major asset that led the US into beating Japan and caused the war to cumilate. However, there is a conflict of whether the US made the right decision in killing so many
It all began in 1939 with physicist Leo Szilard, who wrote a letter to the US President Franklin Roosevelt to warn about the German scientists who are developing the atomic bomb. Because the president wouldn't respond to a letter from your average unknown scientist, Leo asked his friend Albert Einstein to sign the letter. The letter was delivered by economist Alexander Sachs to president Franklin Roosevelt. Roosevelt did not want the Nazis to create a successful bomb, if done that would mean that the Nazis would win the war. This letter resulted in the establishment a top secret, highest priority, and tightest security project, called The Manhattan Project. The Manhattan Project began in 1939, it slowly built up to employ about 130,000 people and cost nearly $2 billion,which is about 26 billion dollars today! Over 90% of the cost was for building factories and producing the materials need, and 10% of the costs were for the development of the weapons. Research and production took place in numerous locations all throughout Canada, UK, and the United States. |