(H)our History Lesson: Oak Ridge, TN and the Atomic Bomb

People enter and leave a movie theater showing "The Beginning or the End" - Story of the Atomic Bomb and Oak Ridge, c. 1940s.

Courtesy US Department of Energy, via Oak Ridge Public Library.

Introduction

This lesson is part of a series teaching about the WWII home front. The subject is Oak Ridge, Tennessee, which is an American World War II Heritage City. The lesson contains photographs, three primary source readings, and two optional extensions to contribute to learners’ understanding of the contributions of the Manhattan Project in Oak Ridge during World War II, and the atomic bomb's short- and long-term impacts on the community. This lesson was written by educator Sarah Nestor Lane.

Objectives

1. Describe the contributions of Oak Ridge to the Manhattan Project and the development of the atomic bombs.
2. Analyze local citizens’ connections to, and opinions of, the role of Oak Ridge in developing the atomic bombs.
3. Compare the short- and long-term impacts of the atomic bomb production on the city of Oak Ridge.

Materials for Students

1. Photos 1-4 (displayed in photo album below)
2. Three primary source readings
3. Recommended: map of the Oak Ridge, Tennessee area to plot locations.
4. Extension activities 1 & 2: devices for students to explore digital resources

Essential Question

How did the dropping of the atomic bombs impact Oak Ridge immediately and in the future?

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Read to Connect

Reading 1: Interview Excerpt (Mary Alexander)

Teacher Tip: The following excerpt is from an oral history interview with Mary Elizabeth Alexander conducted on December 19, 2012 by Don Hunnicutt of the Center for Oak Ridge Oral History. The full interview is catalogued with the Oak Ridge Public Library. Ms. Alexander lived at Oak Ridge as a child; her father worked there.

MR. HUNNICUTT: Do you remember in 1945 when they announced about dropping the bomb on Japan? Do you remember that event?

MS. ALEXANDER: Yes and no. We moved right after that to Oak Ridge. I was still living in Madisonville. I had friends whose parents went to the war and we had a neighbor boy that was killed. We had another one that lost both legs. So I was well aware of the war. And that's the reason I think my dad got 1-A. I was scared. I was really frightened.

So when we got the word all we knew was Dad worked and of course, you had nothing to get visually that showed you what devastation was there. And Hiroshima and Nagasaki, you just knew that bomb was over there and the war was over. When the war was over, I remember our street just celebrated. The kids ran up and down the street and said, “The war is over, the war is over!” I remember that very well.

But I don't know that I really realized the impact that Oak Ridge had on the war. Because you just didn't have all that information. Now, as time went on, you begin to know and be aware of what contribution Oak Ridge had. I think things when I began to appreciate that.

Reading 2: Newspaper Article

Teacher tip: The bolded text is originally bolded in the newspaper. Explain the importance of bolded sentences as an author’s choice in historically long newspapers.

“Newsman From All Over U.S. Besiege Oak Ridge for Stories on Atomic Bomb” (excerpt)

The Knoxville News-Sentinel (Knoxville, Tennessee), p.12
August 8, 1945

Want Stories and Pictures

And thus it goes. The press, magazines, and newsreel people want stories and pictures. They already have come from all over the country and more are coming.

Oak Ridge gates are not open to all comers, however, and armed Military Police still guard the gates. When a reporter arrives he is given military escort to the Press Headquarters building on Oak Ridge Turnpike.

There, Lt. Robinson, in civilian clothes, issues identification passes and off goes the reporter with an Army officer as guide. But, the newsman is restricted to the residential and business sites. He must not, and cannot approach the industrial plant sites where the atomic bomb elements are produced. This secret is kept from prying eyes.

Not Open to Sight-Seers

Oak Ridge is not open to sight-seeing visitors. Not even the townsites. Residents here may invite their guests and relatives, but they must have passes waiting on them at the many gates.

Soon after President Truman revealed the atomic bomb had been dropped on Japan – obliterating mile after mile of Hiroshima, reporters threw an extra shirt in a traveling bag and came to Oak Ridge.

At Col. Kenneth D. Nichols’ first press conference there were some 30 disseminators of news on hand. They came from New York, Washington, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Memphis, Nashville, Asheville, Atlanta and elsewhere. …These newsmen knew the atomic bomb was the biggest news story of the century. Newspaper extras in Oak Ridge were far in excess of the German surrender or the Normandy invasion of Europe. And more were sold, with many still complaining there weren’t enough to go around.

Newsmen Seek New Angles

Grasping the meaning of this spectacle, visiting newsmen knew their papers at home were going just as rapidly to a news-hungry America. They still are searching every nook and corner for new angles—new stories on the most destructive force on earth.

Newsmen are housed in either Casper Hall or Oak Ridge Guest House as guests of Oak Ridge officials. They take their meals wherever they can catch them, at one of the many cafeterias or restaurants.

And more are coming. Oak Ridge has catapulted from a hidden city in East Tennessee’s hills to the most publicized place on earth.

Reading 3: Newspaper Editorial

Teacher Tip: Support students in this understanding: The term “Jap” is a derogatory slur that was used to build anti-Japanese sentiment. It is offensive and should not be used today.

“Oak Ridge Development As ‘Atomic Capital of World’ Anticipated”

From the Editorial Page of The Knoxville Journal (Knoxville, Tennessee), p.6
August 10, 1945

It will occur to a good many Oak Ridgers that, now their city has become Atomic Capital of the World, they have more or less worked themselves out of jobs. That is to say, the actual production of the new bomb in its effective form has definitely shortened the Jap war and thus lessened the time in which atom-cracking, for war purposes, will be necessary.

It immediately becomes apparent, however, when one looks at the whole picture that Oak Ridge and its people almost certainly have ahead of them peacetime objectives, and jobs, of even more far-reaching importance than the one they have just brought to such an astounding conclusion. The development of atomic processes to bless, rather than obliterate, mankind must now become one of the prime objectives of science and industry.

If such a forecast is reasonable, then it follows that Oak Ridge, having been released from the cocoon of secrecy which has surrounded it for sound military reasons all these months, will now begin to take on additional lines of development as an independent and growing city. This is a natural process and one which will add immeasurably to the satisfaction of Oak Ridge residents, many of whom have been humanly irked, from time to time, by the feeling that their community was considered a sort of suburb of Knoxville.

It seems to us that this development adds definitely to the logic of a piece which appeared here several weeks ago in anticipation of the close of the war. At that time The Knoxville Journal, pointing out the possibilities for development in this territory, urged that war workers, who might be displaced from their present positions by the ending of the war, should undertake to relocate permanently in this area. In extending this invitation on behalf of East Tennessee, we also suggested that the ‘natives’ would be glad to assist in this process in any way they could.

We should like to renew and reemphasize this invitation in view of the imminent ending of the war, and also to call attention to the fact that our invitation has been endorsed by a large number of local civic organizations and other groups.

We close on the note that if, perhaps, there are some things about East Tennessee that some of our newcomers don’t like, then take this as an invitation repeated to stay with us and help change them.

By the numbers

• By April 1945, 25 kilograms of bomb-grade uranium had been produced at Oak Ridge and by mid-July 1945, about 50 kilograms
• By July 1945, the Y-12 facility at Oak Ridge had consumed about 1.6 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, which was 100 times the energy produced by "Little Boy," the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima
• 2 atomic bombs dropped on Japan, both using materials produced at Oak Ridge
• 14,000 people let go in layoffs from Oak Ridge in summer to October 1945

Quotation to consider

“I was a good, loyal American. I have a good feeling for having contributed to the war effort. It was tragic that we had to have that big of a war, but it had to be.”

--Herman I. Summerfield, worker from Oak Ridge. He had finished college with a degree in Chemical Engineering prior to arriving at Oak Ridge. Full interview here.

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Student Activities

Review Readings 1 and 2 and photos 1 and 2 in the above album. Answer the following questions:

1. Describe Ms. Alexander’s perspective as a child in Reading 1. How do you think her perspective has changed over time?
   1. Why may she have added, “you had nothing to get visually that showed you what devastation was there,” when referring to the bombing sites in Japan?
2. In Reading 2, the role of the press and media is described. If you were a reporter at the time, what would you ask? What would you try to document?
3. In Photo 2, the movie / news reel being shown was titled “The Beginning or the End.” Considering what you have read, why do you think the news of the atomic bomb and connections to Oak Ridge would be titled this?

Review Reading 3 and photos 3 and 4 in the above album. Answer the following questions:

1. Photo 3 shows celebration at Oak Ridge on Victory over Japan Day, or “V-J Day,” when Japan surrendered. Why is this photo significant to Oak Ridge’s history?
2. Why does reading 3 call Oak Ridge the “Atomic Capital of the World?”
3. Connect Reading 2’s descriptions to Reading 3’s phrase, “released from the cocoon of secrecy.”
4. Why would the writer from Reading 3 be inviting residents of Oak Ridge to stay in the area?
5. Using all resources from the lesson, answer the essential question: How did the dropping of the atomic bombs impact Oak Ridge, both immediately, and in the future?

Extension Activities

If time permits, teachers may offer the following optional activities.

1. Ed Westcott: Oak Ridge Photographer

Support your students’ understanding with more visual and multimedia resources.

Ed Westcott was the Oak Ridge photographer who produced many of the images used throughout the (H)our History lessons on Oak Ridge. Explore more photos by Ed Westcott and of Oak Ridge. Pick one or more to share with others. Consider its importance and the details that make it interesting.

1. Department of Energy Photograph Collection - ORPL Digital Collections (oclc.org)
2.  Ed Westcott - Explore Oak Ridge

To learn more about the photographer Ed Westcott, you may choose to share this video with students: “Ed Westcott – Photographer." (This video runtime is 14:52, but it can be broken into parts or you can share a highlight.)

2. The City of Oak Ridge today

In Reading 3, the writer urged Oak Ridge residents to consider staying in the area.

 

• Make a prediction: What do you think the area of Oak Ridge looks like today? Do you think people stayed, and/or developed it as more of a city? Why, or why not?

• Investigate the City of Oak Ridge’s website. What surprises you? Do you think the writers from 1945 would be surprised today?

  • Use the site to find mentions, or details, of the origin of the city. What connections do you make to the primary sources?

• Read about the International Friendship Bell in Oak Ridge. Why do you think the Friendship Bell is important to the city’s identity today?

Additional Resources

The links below provide additional information about Oak Ridge, the Manhattan project, and the atomic bomb.

From Treasury Vault to the Manhattan Project (American Scientist)
Oak Ridge, TN - Nuclear Museum (Atomic Heritage Foundation)
The Atomic City: Why Oak Ridge Was Chosen for the Manhattan Project (City of Oak Ridge)
Jackson Square, Oak Ridge (National Park Service)

This lesson was written by Sarah Nestor Lane, an educator and consultant serving the National Park Service’s Cultural Resources Office of Interpretation and Education. This lesson was funded by the National Council on Public History's cooperative agreement with the National Park Service.