The Museum of Curiosity project requires a symbolic donation of an object that represents an event that is historically important. My donation is a handpainted propaganda sign from the secret, government town of Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The decision to choose this as my donation was simple considering the way that the compound of Oak Ridge has changed both Tennessee and the world. But how does this particular sign represent the secrecy and importance of the goings on in Oak Ridge? This sign was constructed as a reminder to all who saw it that they were being trusted with top secret information, and that silence was vital to its success.
Each individual worked, completely unaware that they were a part of the Manhattan Project, a cooperative between America, Canada and Great Britain racing against the axis to develop the Atomic bomb, in hopes that it would bring an end to World War II. The purpose of the Manhattan Project was to develop nuclear weapons during World War II. The work required to bring this dangerous and classified endeavor to fruition required two things: a safe and secure place to conduct tests and develop new technology, and a reliable task force.
In late September of 1942, the Secretary of War approved the acquisition of nearly sixty-thousand acres of land in the hills of Anderson County Tennessee. Local farmers came home to find eviction notices on the doors of homes that had been passed down through generations, with many having two weeks notice to find a new home. As soon as the land was obtained, the area was made secure by building a fence that prevented anyone from entering except through military checkpoints that required security clearance.
As soon as a security system was in place, the Army Corp of Engineers set to work constructing a massive complex to house the factory, research facility, and also living quarters for more than seventy-thousand workers who would soon call the complex home. Three plants were built within the confines, the Y-12, S-50 and K-25 which impressively spanned forty-four acres, and “enclosed some 2 million square feet of space, making it the largest building in the world at the time” (“The Scientific History of the Atomic Bomb. ) .
The town was built adjacent to the plants and was equipped with dormitories for single men and women, and three different housing options that were assigned based on job as well as family size ranging from one story with two bedrooms to two story with three bedrooms and extra living space. The town also boasted fifty-five miles of train tracks and three hundred miles of road that allowed for one of the largest and most efficient bus systems in the United States.
Shortly after its completion, workers were hired from all over the United States and brought into the complex; Men and women and even entire families were welcomed in and trained to work factory lines with good pay and were provided housing. The opportunity and benefits offered to work in Oak Ridge were difficult to ignore. In addition to dormitories and family housing, workers and their families were offered top medical care by excellent doctors in state of the art military hospitals and extremely affordable health insurance plans.
These perks made the stresses of the job bearable and were the greatest pull factor of the entire project. Even with the air of mystery and strict security droves of people came to work the plant, and while it seemed to all to be a cut and dry job there was a catch,the workers were hired on a need to know basis and no one had any idea what they were building and they were forbidden to talk about their specific jobs even with each other. (LIFE p. 108)
The scale and importance of the project required absolute secrecy, and when considering the number of people involved it was unrealistic that that many people could be trusted with what was actually going on, so in order to ensure that sensitive information didn’t fall into the wrong hands, each and every person worked on a need to know basis. The workers were warned that fraternization and too many questions would not be tolerated, and those who spoke too liberally were used as examples and promptly fired.
As could be expected, working under such strict and precarious circumstances took a toll on the workers. Morale began to fall, stress replaced patriotic duty and excitement turned to monotony. So in order to keep production up in the face of long work hours and limited information, the town was equipped with many modern features and opportunities for socialization. In addition to the single family homes, dormitories and apartments, they built ten schools, seventeen restaurants, seven theatres, thirteen grocery stores, seventeen churches, a library and even a symphony hall. LIFE p. 94)
Even with the precautions and explicit instructions not to divulge anything that was happening behind the scenes in Oak Ridge, there were still instances of individuals inadvertently saying too much to the wrong people and making common mistakes that nearly exposed the entire project. On one such occasion, an employee of an engineering company was carrying a briefcase with top secret engineering and building plans for the construction team at Oak Ridge, allegedly the man made a phone call to his wife while waiting for his train to arrive.
While running to catch his train, the man realized that he had mistakenly left the briefcase and chose to board the train after calling his boss and asking that someone come look for the briefcase. One of the security workers hurried to find the papers and eventually found them in the lost and found of the train station. (“Foreign Intelligence Part I” p. 352) Another fascinating albeit unlikely source of exposure was a pamphlet circulated by the Moody Bible Institute which claimed that although Uranium 235 is one of the most powerful substance on earth, the power of God’s Holy Spirit is greater.
An engineer read this pamphlet and thought it could be an asset to his company and looked further into it which led to a brief investigation to learn how the institute knew about the Uranium and its specifics in the first place only to find that the source was a common pamphlet with simple facts about Uranium as an element. (“Foreign Intelligence Part I” p. 346) More common instances of information being intercepted before disaster included a letter written by a young factory worker to her uncle in which she said that once the “product” that was being created was finished it would end the war.
On her way to mail the letter it was dropped and the content found, before being terminated the woman apologized and confessed that she should never have tried to share the information. (“Foreign Intelligence Part I” p. 351) Even with the numerous instances of leaked information, the workers at Oak Ridge were able to manufacture the ten foot long, nine-thousand seven hundred pound atomic bomb “Little Boy”. On August sixth, nineteen forty-five the United States dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan.
Three days later “Fat Man” was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan and shortly after Japan surrendered, effectively ending World War II and allowing the thousands of workers at Oak Ridge to finally discover what they were helping to create. As fascinating the science behind the creation and usage of the atomic bomb was, the impact that the building of the Oak Ridge facility had on Tennessee and the United States position as a global superpower is nothing to overlook.
Tennessee was chosen among other locations scattered throughout America and Canada as a location for the project because of its remote qualities as well as the power available since the recent construction of the Norris Dam. By choosing such a remote area away from the oceans, major capitals and military bases they could rest relatively assured that even in the event of a worst case scenario the damage would be less than devastating. ( “The Manhattan Project: Making the Atomic Bomb” p. 0)
The impact that the project had on Tennessee immediately can be measured on a local scale. Anderson county lost one seventh of its total land when the government exercised eminent domain, also losing the county almost four hundred thousand dollars annually in missed property taxes. Since the end of the war Oak Ridge has been relinquished from military control and remains an active town with important ties to nuclear development and scientific advancement.
The Oak Ridge National Laboratory is home to one of the world’s top scientific supercomputers “Titan” and also the Spallation Neutron Source which are both used currently for further development in the field of nuclear science. On a more national and even global scale, the goings on in Oak Ridge changed the future of science and warfare forever. The intense amount of focus that went into the research and development of nuclear weapons and energy laid a solid foundation for future inventions and opened up new ways of applying the information learned in those short five years.
Allegedly, the majority of the scientists who helped develop the Atomic bomb warned against its use as a weapon of war saying it’s destructive capabilities were unethical, yet the deciding forces chose to use it against the Japanese and for better or worse its’ power led to the end of one of the most expensive and expansive wars this country has been involved with. The use of the Atomic bomb is seen as both a black mark on our country’s history and a shining example of what is possible when patriotic citizens and modern science meet.
There is an argument to be made for both sides, but the undeniable facts are, the government, however unethical it may be, worked in secret, exposing unexpecting citizens to radioactive materials, pulled off one of the grandest scientific projects in recent history and produced an earth shattering weapon capable of unprecedented power which placed North America at the top of the global food chain. In conclusion, the product of the Manhattan Project was awesome and terrifying, leaving us with a legacy of progress and destruction.
The scale of what was accomplished in the five year period during World War II shows that for better or worse, this great country is capable of rallying citizens to do their best even in situations where information is limited, and in this particular instance the efforts of Tennesseans and those who came from all over to call Tennessee home, worked tirelessly to contribute to a cause bigger than themselves. With their hard work and the countryside of Tennessee, the Manhattan Project was a success and the creation and use of the atomic bomb impacted the United States of America and ultimately the world.