Unit 5: From Isolation to World WarAH.HI.F23 Notes

Content Statement 23

•Use of atomic weapons changed the nature of war, altered the balance of power and began the nuclear age.

V-E Day

•Adolf Hitler died in April of 1945 leading to the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany

•Benito Mussolini was captured and killed in April of 1945 as well

•This allowed the U.S. to focus all military actions in the Pacific against Japan

Manhattan Project• The name given to the development atomic

weapons in the United States with the support of Great Britain and Canada

• Began in 1939 and employed over 130,000 people

• Total operation cost over $2 billion mostly on the building of factories to produce nuclear materials

• First successful test was done in July of 1945 in New Mexico

Battles in the Pacific•Some of the bloodiest battles of WWII

occurred in the Pacific campaign•Most fighting occurred on islands in

extremely hot weather•The U.S. military was struggling to end the

Pacific war quickly•After the success of the island hopping

strategy toward Japan, plans for invading Japan were developing

•Estimated US loss of life for these invasions were between 100k and 1.5 million

Hiroshima• City of industrial and military significance during

WWII• In August of 1945, President Harry Truman

approved the use of nuclear force on Japan• Little Boy was the name of the bomb used on

Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 (Pilot Paul Tibbets)• The plane known as the Enola Gay was used to

drop the bomb • Effects of the nuclear weapon killed an estimated

90,000-166,000 people in Hiroshima• Large numbers died of burns and radiation

sickness

Nagasaki

•One of the largest seaports in Japan during WWII

•Fat Man was the name of the bomb used three days following the bombing of Hiroshima (Pilot Charles Sweeney)

•Approximately 60,000-80,000 people were killed.

•Most of the deaths in both bombings were civilians

Japanese Surrender and Occupation•Six days after the nuclear bombings the

Japanese surrendered•Japan would be occupied by Allied Powers

marking the first time in world history an island was occupied by a foreign power

•A democracy would be established in Japan

U.S. as a Superpower

•Immediately following WWII, the US was the only country possessing nuclear weapons

•This made the US a superpower following WWII

•The threat of using these weapons was seen as a deterrent of imperialistic ambitions of the Soviet Union

Start of Cold War

•The successful testing of a nuclear weapon in 1949 by the Soviet Union began a period known as the Cold War

•The Soviet Union became a world superpower alongside the United States

•This began an extreme arms race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union