The Manhattan Project (1942-46)
Trinity Test 16 milliseconds after explosion. (July 16, 1945)
The Manhattan Project was the United States’ nuclear research and development program active throughout most of World War II and all of US military involvement in the war. The Project was charged with gathering intelligence on nuclear weapons development and producing nuclear weapons for the United States. Its mission culminated in the Trinity Test, pictured above, where the world’s first atomic weapon was detonated at the White Sands Proving Ground in New Mexico. While most of the engineers who worked on developing the atomic bomb only saw the fruits of their labor with the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, those who witnessed the Trinity Test had a gut feeling that their work would profoundly change the world.
In the end the Manhattan Project exceeded its goals of not only producing the world’s first nuclear weapons but it, along with other equivalent programs in other nations, helped to issue in the nuclear age so dominant during the Cold War. The newfound destructive capabilities provided by the Project to the United States made nuclear weapons a clear alternative to the all-out invasion of Japan when the United States faced the decision of whether or not to deploy troops to Japan at the end of World War II. As history has shown, the decision was made and two atomic bombs were dropped on Japan in August of 1945.
In the end the Manhattan Project exceeded its goals of not only producing the world’s first nuclear weapons but it, along with other equivalent programs in other nations, helped to issue in the nuclear age so dominant during the Cold War. The newfound destructive capabilities provided by the Project to the United States made nuclear weapons a clear alternative to the all-out invasion of Japan when the United States faced the decision of whether or not to deploy troops to Japan at the end of World War II. As history has shown, the decision was made and two atomic bombs were dropped on Japan in August of 1945.
The Battle of Iwo Jima (June 15, 1944 - March 26, 1945)
US invasion force at Iwo Jima.
The Battle of Iwo Jima was the longest sustained offensive of the Pacific Theater during World War II. Iwo Jima, a small eight square-mile island several hundred miles south of mainland Japan, was targeted by the United States because its location and flat terrain made it an ideal staging area for bombers during the United States’ “island hopping” campaign. While US naval and air forces began bombarding the island in mid-June of 1944, troops didn’t physically land on the islands until February of 1945. The ground offensive is well-known for being one of the fiercest and bloodiest battles of the entire war. After over a monthlong offensive the island was taken by US forces and converted into a staging area for future bombing raids into Japan.
The ferocity of the battle had a profound effect on the American psyche, particularly as the United States was considering an all-out invasion of Japan in the near future. It was here and throughout the other battles of the “island hopping” campaign that American personnel viewed the extent to which Japanese nationalism had spread. Americans realized that if they were to carry out an invasion of the Japanese homeland that the battles ahead would be equally fierce of not more so and many were not prepared for that possibility. These factors made the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the coming months all the more attractive an alternative and ultimately the decision was made to bomb Japan rather than stage an amphibious invasion.
The ferocity of the battle had a profound effect on the American psyche, particularly as the United States was considering an all-out invasion of Japan in the near future. It was here and throughout the other battles of the “island hopping” campaign that American personnel viewed the extent to which Japanese nationalism had spread. Americans realized that if they were to carry out an invasion of the Japanese homeland that the battles ahead would be equally fierce of not more so and many were not prepared for that possibility. These factors made the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the coming months all the more attractive an alternative and ultimately the decision was made to bomb Japan rather than stage an amphibious invasion.
Kamikaze (attacks occurred between October 1944 - August 1945)
USS Columbia being attacked by a kamikaze off of Lingayen Gulf on January 6, 1945.
Kamikaze attacks, or “divine wind”, were suicide attacks carried out by Japanese pilots during the last year of World War II on American and other Allied vessels. Their inspiration lay in a hurricane that destroyed an invading Mongol fleet 1847 off the coast of Japan and the hurricane was believed to have been a sort of “divine intervention” on behalf of the Japanese. Their While kamikaze attacks themselves did not achieve their larger aim of driving the United States back and staving off defeat, the fear that they struck in Western hearts and minds was overwhelming as very few Westerners would even consider the tactic.
With most of their aces shot down Japan lacked the experienced manpower that was required to repel the US naval and air offensive in the closing months of World War II. The kamikaze was an effective terror weapon but its overall effect on the US war effort came too-little-too-late for Japan. However the attacks highlighted the desperation that the Japanese felt as the United States closed in on mainland Japan and made US commanders both reconsider their strategies and the proposed invasion of mainland Japan and double their efforts to win the war at “whatever cost necessary.” This sentiment coupled with widespread racism against the Japanese helped to sway US high command into believing that the most effective alternative to a conventional invasion would be dropping the new atomic bombs on Japan when they were ready.
With most of their aces shot down Japan lacked the experienced manpower that was required to repel the US naval and air offensive in the closing months of World War II. The kamikaze was an effective terror weapon but its overall effect on the US war effort came too-little-too-late for Japan. However the attacks highlighted the desperation that the Japanese felt as the United States closed in on mainland Japan and made US commanders both reconsider their strategies and the proposed invasion of mainland Japan and double their efforts to win the war at “whatever cost necessary.” This sentiment coupled with widespread racism against the Japanese helped to sway US high command into believing that the most effective alternative to a conventional invasion would be dropping the new atomic bombs on Japan when they were ready.
The Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima & Nagasaki (August 6 & 9, 1945)
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima , Aug. 6, 1945 (left) and Nagasaki Aug. 9, 1945 (right).
In August of 1945, the United States entered its endgame in the war against Imperial Japan. Due to fears that a conventional invasion of Japan would lead to massive casualties, the US decided to use the atomic bombs that it had been secretly developing throughout the war in order to hopefully bring the war to a rapid conclusion. On August 6 and 9 respectively, the US Air Force flew bombing raids over the Japanese industrial cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and dropped a single atomic bomb on each, completely annihilating large portions of each city.
The bombings were initially welcomed back in the United States as an effective measure for winning the war. Not only was the public overtly enthusiastic but depictions of the bombings, particularly depictions of the mushroom clouds, were used as symbols of American might and pride. However, in the long-run the bombings would signal the emergence of the Nuclear Age and would foreshadow the massive weapons buildup between the United States and Soviet Union throughout the Cold War. As the weapons buildup continued its potentially global effects would quickly become apparent as both the USA and USSR built enough weapons to “destroy the world 11-times over”. The reality of possible global nuclear holocaust would transform the public’s opinion of atomic weapons away from its initial euphoric reaction following the Hiroshima/Nagasaki bombings and towards controversy and even detest.
Today the bombings continue to stand in controversy, with some groups claiming that bombing both cities was a completely rational decision and a “necessary evil” to avoid massive casualties, while others decry the very existence of atomic weapons much less their use. Whether or not similar bombings occur in the future is still yet to be determined but the possibility certainly still stands.
The bombings were initially welcomed back in the United States as an effective measure for winning the war. Not only was the public overtly enthusiastic but depictions of the bombings, particularly depictions of the mushroom clouds, were used as symbols of American might and pride. However, in the long-run the bombings would signal the emergence of the Nuclear Age and would foreshadow the massive weapons buildup between the United States and Soviet Union throughout the Cold War. As the weapons buildup continued its potentially global effects would quickly become apparent as both the USA and USSR built enough weapons to “destroy the world 11-times over”. The reality of possible global nuclear holocaust would transform the public’s opinion of atomic weapons away from its initial euphoric reaction following the Hiroshima/Nagasaki bombings and towards controversy and even detest.
Today the bombings continue to stand in controversy, with some groups claiming that bombing both cities was a completely rational decision and a “necessary evil” to avoid massive casualties, while others decry the very existence of atomic weapons much less their use. Whether or not similar bombings occur in the future is still yet to be determined but the possibility certainly still stands.
Nuclear Arms Race & Mutual Assured Destruction [MAD] (1945 - 1990 & Present)
A graph representing the nuclear arms race between the United States and Soviet Union.
The use of the atomic bombs “Little Boy” and “Fat Man” over Hiroshima and Nagasaki ushered in a new age of warfare and brought with them a newfound destructive capability not known to man up to that point. However atomic weapons like these two quickly became the default weapon of choice in a possible all-out war with the USSR with the onset of the Cold War. Throughout the Cold War the United States and Soviet Union engaged in an arms race, particularly a nuclear weapons arms race, on a gargantuan scale. As both superpowers vied for political and military superiority they built up their nuclear stockpiles to epic proportions, constructing enough nuclear weapons to annihilate the world population 11-times over according to some sources; a situation that lead to the coning of the term Mutual Assured Destruction or MAD.
With the threat of nuclear annihilation a constant threat Americans (and Soviets alike) were largely unaffected in their day-to-day activities, attending school, working 8-hour shifts at work, and going about their daily lives as usual. However these were intermittently interrupted by air-raid drills where students would hide beneath their desks at school, despite the fact that a desk could never save them from a nuclear explosion, and where other citizens fled to nuclear bunkers built underneath their homes and other buildings. The threat, in addition to simply being a fact of life, also helped to encourage America’s youth to live in excess during the later years of the Counter-Culture movement because of the overhanging uncertainty that tomorrow wasn’t necessarily assured to them.
The Cold War buildup of nuclear weapons and other Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) caused many during and after the Cold War to believe that humanity had become lost in its quest for power and that total annihilation of the other side wasn’t necessary to achieve peace. In recent years nations have built-down their WMD stockpiles in accordance with UN weapon limitation agreements.
With the threat of nuclear annihilation a constant threat Americans (and Soviets alike) were largely unaffected in their day-to-day activities, attending school, working 8-hour shifts at work, and going about their daily lives as usual. However these were intermittently interrupted by air-raid drills where students would hide beneath their desks at school, despite the fact that a desk could never save them from a nuclear explosion, and where other citizens fled to nuclear bunkers built underneath their homes and other buildings. The threat, in addition to simply being a fact of life, also helped to encourage America’s youth to live in excess during the later years of the Counter-Culture movement because of the overhanging uncertainty that tomorrow wasn’t necessarily assured to them.
The Cold War buildup of nuclear weapons and other Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) caused many during and after the Cold War to believe that humanity had become lost in its quest for power and that total annihilation of the other side wasn’t necessary to achieve peace. In recent years nations have built-down their WMD stockpiles in accordance with UN weapon limitation agreements.
US Economic Prosperity & Ascendency to Superpower Status (1945 - 1964)
A 50s-circa advertisement in a magazine depicting what the future might hold in the next decade.
As World War II drew to a close the United States emerged as the premier superpower of Democracy, a titled “bastion against Communism.” During the war its economy had taken off spectacularly and US military might had reached an all-time high, ensuring an unparalleled level economic prosperity and civil security of its people at a time when their safety felt threatened by political and ideological forces abroad. It was a time of optimism for many and conformity for most and a time where the people of the United States felt secure in their nation’s military might to defend them from any threats abroad. This was in part due to the fact that America had taken the lead in nuclear arms race against the Soviet Union and had already shown its willingness and might when it bombed the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki days before the close of World War II.
The bombings had been a demonstration of US military might and throughout the Cold War the United States capitalized on its lead in the nuclear arms race and worked to develop more and more powerful nuclear weapons to deter the Soviet threat. In many ways the prosperity of the era was bought with blood money and the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki because those attacks earned the US the reputation of being truly ruthless on the battlefield and a nation to be feared. Americans could hide behind the shield of the Nuclear Triad and spend their worries away, ignoring the collapse of their traditional values as physical possessions occupied the spaces that virtue used to call home. It was a superficial time, but one that lent Americans unparalleled confidence and optimism, borne on the mushroom clouds of two atomic bombs in the summer of 1945.
The bombings had been a demonstration of US military might and throughout the Cold War the United States capitalized on its lead in the nuclear arms race and worked to develop more and more powerful nuclear weapons to deter the Soviet threat. In many ways the prosperity of the era was bought with blood money and the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki because those attacks earned the US the reputation of being truly ruthless on the battlefield and a nation to be feared. Americans could hide behind the shield of the Nuclear Triad and spend their worries away, ignoring the collapse of their traditional values as physical possessions occupied the spaces that virtue used to call home. It was a superficial time, but one that lent Americans unparalleled confidence and optimism, borne on the mushroom clouds of two atomic bombs in the summer of 1945.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration [NASA] (1958 - Present)
Seal of NASA
Established under President Dwight D. Eisenhower, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was begun as a civilian counterpart, and replacement, of NACA (the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics started in 1915) in response to the “Sputnik Crisis” after the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1 into low earth orbit. NASA benefitted initially from the research done by NACA and the US Air Force on supersonic aircraft and rocket delivery vehicles for nuclear weapons. However, NASA would move forward focusing primarily on civilian missions and space research and propulsion rather than weapons delivery systems and other military goals.
The United States’ move into the space race was initially driven by their desire to deliver nuclear weapons and other WMDs to their targets quickly and efficiently, particularly to the Soviet Union in the event of a nuclear war. These were integrated into what became known as the “Nuclear Triad,” a triad of delivery systems, both space-based and air-based to deliver nuclear weapons to their targets. The buildup for such a tense time was brought on by the onset of the Nuclear Age where any nation with sufficient manpower and technical prowess could bring any other to its knees with the threat of nuclear Holocaust. NASA’s task was to divert this destructive creativity into proving America’s technical prowess by other means and outshining the Soviet Union in a civil space race as well as providing potential alternatives for military applications. In an age where Hiroshima and Nagasaki’s near annihilation were foggy memories but destruction of that scale was only an order away from happening, NASA provided an alternative where mankind could explore space and make new discoveries rather than burying itself in nuclear fallout.
The United States’ move into the space race was initially driven by their desire to deliver nuclear weapons and other WMDs to their targets quickly and efficiently, particularly to the Soviet Union in the event of a nuclear war. These were integrated into what became known as the “Nuclear Triad,” a triad of delivery systems, both space-based and air-based to deliver nuclear weapons to their targets. The buildup for such a tense time was brought on by the onset of the Nuclear Age where any nation with sufficient manpower and technical prowess could bring any other to its knees with the threat of nuclear Holocaust. NASA’s task was to divert this destructive creativity into proving America’s technical prowess by other means and outshining the Soviet Union in a civil space race as well as providing potential alternatives for military applications. In an age where Hiroshima and Nagasaki’s near annihilation were foggy memories but destruction of that scale was only an order away from happening, NASA provided an alternative where mankind could explore space and make new discoveries rather than burying itself in nuclear fallout.