The making of American's first atomic bomb was a long and
triumphant journey. The United States set out on the development because
of fear-fear that the Nazi Germany would develop the bomb first which
would then use it against the U.S. In fact, the Germans had a head start
because the underlying scientific fact, the fission of uranium, was
discovered by two Germans. The effort to develop an atomic bomb was code-
named the "Manhattan Project."
On July 16, 1945, Oppenheimer's and Groves's units conducted a test
firing of the lethal weapon in the New Mexico desert. No one was prepared
for the awesome power the weapon actually possessed. The bomb was code-
named "Fat Man." The destructive power of the bomb is equivalent to over
17,000 tons of conventional explosive (TNT). The heat generated at the
center of the explosion rose to four times the hottest temperature of the
sun. The huge mushroom-shaped radioactive cloud climbed 42,000 feet in to
the New Mexico sky. At ground zero it vaporized the steel and concrete
tower that had held the bomb and created a crater 1,200 feet across. The
triumph of scientific creativity and genius entered us into the new Nuclear
Age.
President Roosevelt died of a stroke before he see the success of
the Trinity (the code name for the test of the first atomic bomb) in July
1945. Vice President Harry S Truman became the thirty-third president of
the United States. At the time, Truman didn't know anything on the
Manhattan Project, but he sought to carry out Roosevelt's plans.
Roosevelt's thought went beyond the use of the atomic bomb as a weapon of
war. He saw it also as a powerful tool of diplomacy which could be used to
influence postwar relationships among other nations. He thought it could
have an impact on both former enemies and uncooperative allies such as USSR.

By the time Harry Truman became president of the United States, the
war in Europe was winding down. On D-Day, June 6, 1944, Allied forces
under Supreme Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower had landed at Normandy and
gained the foundation in Europe that signaled the beginning of the end for
Germany. Over the next 11 months as Allied armies pushed German forces
from the west, the Russians shoved from the east. A desperate Nazi counter
offensive launched in December was effectively checked at the Battle of the
Bulge. On April 30, as the victors were entering Berlin, Adolf Hilter
committed suicide. Germany surrendered unconditionally on May 7, 1945.
The war in Europe, which had eaten up the lives of nearly 39 million people,
was over.
America now turned its full attention to the war in the Pacific.
The atomic bomb was originated as a weapon to be used against Germany. Now
it's being readied for possible use on Japan. U.S. strategists told the
president that the invasion of Japan would take one year or more and would
cost at least half a million American and several million Japanese lives.
Secretary Stimson pointed out that the Japanese would likely to fight to
their death to preserve honor. However, the US decided to give Japan the
choice to choose.
At the Potsdam Conference gave rise to the Potsdam Declaration,
which offered the Japanese the opportunity to end the war by "the
unconditional surrender of all armed forces," or risk the alternative of
"prompt and utter destruction." The Japanese did not know they were being
threatened by atomic bombs. Japanese Prime Minister ...