NHD Regional Fair

Senior Division
Group Website
Website Word Count: 1177
Process Paper Word Count: 497

A Tale of Two Bombs:

President Truman and the
Manhattan Project

Alex Demers
Joe Bertagna
Liam Prior
Thomas Dowd
Tommy Riccio

For National History Day our group studied the Manhattan Project, focusing on
the leadership of President Truman and the long-term legacy of the bombings of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki. We debated a range of potential topics, but it was clear that the
Manhattan Project had the strongest relation to the 2015 NHD Theme of Leadership and
Legacy. Our group had been fascinated by the concept and immense efforts of the
Manhattan Project and we were eager to conduct further research. The Manhattan Project
was the ideal topic because our group had great interest in investigating it, and it jived
perfectly with the theme.
Our research began by gathering biographies on the major figures in the
Manhattan Project in order to get a background on the dynamic of the top-secret project.
These included David McCulloughs Truman, scholarly journals via JSTOR, and multiple
analyses of physicist Robert Oppenheimer. Then, we began to dissect the details of the
project by accumulating valuable primary sources. These sources included the EinsteinSzilrd Letter, chilling stories from bomb survivors, first-hand accounts from the
bombers themselves, and President Trumans address following the bombings. Later, we
analyzed the great legacy of the Manhattan Project, specifically the arms race, nuclear
proliferation, and nuclear weapons in todays world. Beyond book and journal research,
we sought out interviews to gather opinions of experts. We conducted interviews with a
Boston College Professor, and a historian specializing in nuclear weapons. Throughout
the project we continued researching our topic in order to leave no loose ends and bolster
areas of need. Our research of the Manhattan Project was a blend of analytical secondary
sources, essential primary sources, and expert analysis.

We elected to make a website because we felt it was the template that we could
best present our topic with. The website offers a more interactive experience than the
alternatives and we have the ability to go beyond just words by including such features.
Also, we had previous experience with Weebly from last NHD, so we knew the important
tools needed to create an informtive website. We embedded interactive features for the
viewer such as a Prezi, timeline, and brief video clips. We mixed in these features along
with iconic photographs, powerful quotes, and strong analysis. Using our Weebly
experience, interactive features, and extensive research we were able to create an
effective website.
Our topic fits extremely well with 2015 NHD Theme of Leadership and Legacy.
The theme of leadership is represented in our project by President Trumans decision to
drop the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Our group believed the first bomb was and
example of decisive and confident leadership while the second bomb was hard to justify.
The second part of the theme, legacy, is also extremely prevalent in our project. The
Manhattan Project triggered the atomic age and the arms race. These events led to the
Cold War and the atomic world today. The Manhattan Project is the perfect topic for the
2015 NHD Theme of Leadership and Legacy.