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Learn about the top-secret program that developed the first atomic bombs during World War II. This article provides an overview of the scientists involved and the race against time to create this powerful weapon.

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Jack Aeby/Los Alamos National Laboratory

The code name for the United States program to develop an atomic bomb during World War II, the Manhattan Project was the largest scientific effort undertaken to that time. It involved 37 installations throughout the country; at least 13 university laboratories; and 100,000 people, including the Nobel prizewinning physicists Arthur Holly Compton, Enrico Fermi, Richard Feynman, Ernest Lawrence, and Harold Urey.

The origin of the Manhattan Project is often traced to a 1939 letter from the physicist Albert Einstein to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The letter warned of German efforts to build a nuclear weapon and urged Roosevelt to appoint a committee to monitor nuclear developments. It was not until two years later, however, that Roosevelt took the step of ordering the Office of Scientific Research and Development, a government agency, to investigate the possibility of creating an atomic weapon. In 1942 the project was taken a step further when the Army Corps of Engineers was assigned the job of building facilities at which the research and testing would be carried out. This job was managed by the Corps of Engineers' Manhattan District, from which the project ultimately derived its name, and Roosevelt appointed the Army's chief engineer, Brig. Gen. Leslie R. Groves, as director.

From the beginning Groves pursued a policy of utmost secrecy on the Manhattan Project. Scientists worked in isolation, many of them in different parts of the country, unaware of the larger project in which they were involved. One of these scientists, the physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, became concerned that the scientists' isolation from one another would jeopardize the project, and he discussed with Groves the need for a central laboratory. Oppenheimer identified an isolated site at Los Alamos, N.M. When Groves approved the site, the Corps of Engineers began construction of a laboratory and compound in late 1942. In early 1943, Groves appointed Oppenheimer to head the laboratory.

The scientists at Los Alamos worked out the technology of the bomb itself, and elsewhere in the country citylike industrial complexes worked to produce enough U-235, a form of uranium, and plutonium to power the bomb. The largest of these complexes were the Clinton Engineer Works (CEW) at Oak Ridge, Tenn., and the Hanford Engineer Works (HEW) on the Columbia River in Washington State. ( See also nuclear energy, "Development of Technology"; nuclear weapons.)

In 1945 Roosevelt died and Harry S. Truman became president. During the spring and summer of that year, the United States was making preparations for a proposed invasion of Japan. Some military experts predicted that United States casualties from the offensive could reach between 500,000 and 1 million. The Truman Administration and military leaders also knew that the Manhattan Project scientists expected to have a weapon ready to test by July.

On July 16 the scientists conducted the first test of the bomb at a site near Alamogordo, N.M., 250 miles (400 kilometers) south of Los Alamos. The blast was equal to the force of about 40,000 pounds (18,000 kilograms) of dynamite-2,000 times greater than the most powerful bomb in existence at the time.

Upon learning of the success at Alamogordo, Truman, who was anxious to avoid an invasion of Japan, to bring the war to a decisive end, and to intimidate the Soviet Union, decided that the United States would use an atomic bomb on Japan. On July 26, Truman and other Allied leaders issued the Potsdam Declaration, threatening "complete and utter destruction" of Japan if it did not unconditionally surrender. Days later, Japan declared that it would continue the war, and on August 6, under Truman's orders, the United States dropped a uranium bomb, nicknamed Little Boy, on Hiroshima. Three days later, Fat Man, a plutonium bomb, was dropped on Nagasaki. On August 10 Japan announced its intention to surrender, and it did so formally on September 2.

Additional Reading
Fermi, Rachel, and Samra, Esther. Picturing the Bomb: Photographs from the Secret World of the Manhattan Project (Abrams, 1995). Groves, Leslie R. Now It Can Be Told: The Story of the Manhattan Project (Da Capo, 1975). Nichols, K.D. The Road to Trinity: A Personal Account of How America's Nuclear Policies Were Made (Morrow, 1987). Rhodes, Richard. The Making of the Atomic Bomb (Simon & Schuster, 1988). Stein, R.C. The Manhattan Project (Childrens, 1993). Stoff, M.B., ed. The Manhattan Project: A Documentary Introduction to the Atomic Age (McGraw, 1991).

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The code name for the United States program to develop an atomic bomb during World War II, the Manhattan Project was the largest scientific effort undertaken to that time. It involved 37 installations throughout the country; at least 13 university laboratories; and 100,000 people, including the Nobel prizewinning physicists Arthur Holly Compton, Enrico Fermi, Richard Feynman, Ernest Lawrence, and Harold Urey.

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Explore the events of August 1945 when atomic bombs were dropped on these two Japanese cities. This resource discusses the immediate and long-term impacts on the people and the environment.

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The Father of the Atomic Bomb: J. Robert Oppenheimer

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The Father of the Atomic Bomb: J. Robert Oppenheimer

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Read about the life and work of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the physicist who led the Manhattan Project. Learn about his contributions to science and his later reflections on the atomic bomb.

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Explore the properties of uranium and plutonium, the key elements used in atomic bombs. This article discusses their place on the periodic table and their unique characteristics.

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Environmental Consequences of Nuclear Weapons

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Discover how atomic bombs impact the environment, from immediate destruction to long-lasting effects on ecosystems. This article covers topics like nuclear winter and radioactive contamination.

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