Knowing I had to pick a topic I would not lose enthusiasm in, I remembered how

interested I was in the World War II Unit, specifically the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I
decided to make my topic: The Manhattan Project and the Exploration of the Atomic Bomb.
In the beginning stages of my research, finding sources was almost effortless. However,
as I continued to delve in deeper, I found that many sources were simply repeating the same
information I had already learned. I slowly came across smaller details relating to the time
surrounding the Manhattan Project, leading me to have specific questions that I could research.
The Potsdam Conference at Yalta is an example of this. In order to better understand what was
going on with the creation of the bombs, I had to understand the significance of that meeting
between Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill. Some of my original research questions that I had
included: How was the atomic bomb created? Why was the atomic bomb created? Who created
the atomic bomb? As I got further into my research my questions became: Why was it significant
that the U.S. developed the bomb before the Potsdam Conference? How was it determined what
government officials were allowed knowledge of the Manhattan Project?
I plan on creating a website to explain how the Manhattan Project scientists worked to
create the bombs as well as the effects they had on the two Japanese cities. My original plan was
to create an exhibit, however as I tried to draw out what it would look like it was very difficult to
visually showcase all of the information I learned. I decided to switch my platform to a website
because I felt it would be a more effective way to display the research I have done over the
course of this project.
My topic relates to this years theme of Exploration, Encounter, and Exchange in
History by directly relating to the Exploration and Encounter portions. Prior to the U.S. using
this deadly weapon, the world had next to no knowledge of what atomic weapons were,
nevermind the amount of destruction they could cause. Beginning in 1941, the United States
established a top secret program, which later became known as the Manhattan Project, directed
by physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer. The project aimed to construct atomic weapons before their
rival, Germany. The exploration of atomic weapons led to the creation of the two weapons of
mass destruction that were used to wipe out two Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The
possibility of a nuclear arms race challenged the rules of war making the Cold War an extremely
dangerous encounter.