(H)our History Lesson: Oak Ridge, TN: Comparing and Connecting WWII Home Front Cities

Display of atomic bomb model at the former K- 25 uranium-enrichment plant, now a history museum, in Oak Ridge, TN.

Photo by Carol Highsmith. Courtesy Library of Congress.

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, readings, and one optional activity to contribute to learners’ understanding of the Manhattan Project in Oak Ridge during and after World War II. It combines themes from the other three lessons in the collection to summarize the city's contributions and encourage connections to the overall US home front efforts. This lesson was written by educator Sarah Nestor Lane.

Objectives

In a culminating product:

1. Identify important WWII location(s) in Oak Ridge, Tennessee and describe its historical significance
2. Summarize the contributions of Oak Ridge, Tennessee civilians to home front wartime efforts and challenges overcome to make these contributions
3. Evaluate the short- and long-term impacts of the contributions of Oak Ridge and the Manhattan Project
4. Optional: Describe similarities and differences of Oak Ridge, Tennessee and other WWII Heritage city(s) / home fronts.

Materials for Students

1. Photos 1-4 (displayed in photo album below)
2. Readings 1-3
3. Maps, project materials (as needed)
4. Student graphic organizers (see information below)

Student Graphic Organizers

1. Create Comparison Matrices for your students to use. To compare two cities, create a one-page sheet with three columns and four rows.  Label the left column Theme/Topic and the other columns City 1 and City 2.  For a Comparison Matrix for three cities simply add an additional column.
2. Create two Single-Point Rubrics to assist students’ self-assessment. One is for assessing proficiency in meeting teacher-selected standards. One is for assessing proficiency in meeting objectives.
3. For the rubric on standards, create a one-page sheet with three columns and four rows of content. Label the first column “Areas for Improvement,” the second column, “Proficient (Meeting Standard),” and the third column, “Areas of Exceeding Standard.”  Leave the first and third columns blank.  In each row of the second column identify a Standard and indicate a space for noting the evidence for meeting the standard.  Include a space at the bottom of the page for assigning points for each column.
4. For the rubric on objectives, create a one-page sheet with three columns and four rows of content. Label the first column “Areas for Improving toward Objective,” the second column, “Proficient (Meeting Objective),” and the third column, “Areas of Exceeding Objective.” Leave the first and third columns blank. In the four rows of the second column identify these four objectives:
   1. Objective: Identify important WWII location(s) in Oak Ridge, Tennessee and describe its historical significance
   2. Objective: Summarize the contributions of Oak Ridge, Tennessee civilians to home front wartime efforts and challenges overcome to make these contributions
   3. Objective: Evaluate the short- and long-term impacts of the contributions of Oak Ridge and The Manhattan Project
   4. Objective (optional): Describe similarities and differences of Oak Ridge, Tennessee and other WWII Heritage city(s) / home fronts.
5. Include a space at the bottom of the page for assigning points for each column.

Essential Question

Why was Oak Ridge, Tennessee chosen as an American World War II Heritage City, and what are its similarities and differences to other home front cities?

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Read to Connect

Reading 1: The Manhattan Project and Oak Ridge (Overview)

The purpose of the Manhattan Project was to develop the first atomic bomb during World War II. It was a top-secret research project led by the United States, with the goal of building this powerful weapon before Germany or Japan could. The project aimed to harness the energy of nuclear reactions to create a devastating weapon that would help bring an end to the war.

Scientists used two materials: plutonium and uranium. Plutonium is a heavy metal that can release a lot of energy when its atoms split apart. Uranium is a type of metal that can also release energy when its atoms are split. Scientists combined these materials in a way that created a chain reaction, where the splitting of one atom led to the splitting of more atoms, releasing a huge amount of energy. Plutonium, or uranium, was put in a bomb to create the atomic bombs used at the end of the war.

Oak Ridge made important contributions to the Manhattan Project during World War II. Located in Tennessee, Oak Ridge played a crucial role in developing and producing enriched uranium for the atomic bomb. Scientists and workers at Oak Ridge worked to refine and purify uranium through a process called gaseous diffusion. This helped create the necessary fuel for the bomb's powerful chain reaction. The work done at Oak Ridge was top secret and greatly aided in the success of the Manhattan Project. Most workers did not know the overall project they were contributing to.

Manhattan Project National Historical Park is three sites: Los Alamos (New Mexico), Hanford (Washington), and Oak Ridge (Tennessee). Each had its own part in developing the atomic bombs.
 

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Quotation to consider

“Oak Ridge will have a unique place in history. It will be a landmark in the field of atomic development.”

--General Leslie R. Groves, USA, Commanding General (Manhattan Project, 1942-1947)

Reading 2: Heritage City Designation

Excerpt from “House Report 115-998, “To Direct the Secretary of the Interior to Annually Designate at Least One City in The United States as An ‘American World War II Heritage City,’ and for other purposes” (October 30, 2018)
 

“. . .PURPOSE OF THE BILL

The purpose of H.R. 6118 is to direct the Secretary of the Interior to annually designate at least one city in the United States as an "American World War II Heritage City''.                 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION   

On December 7, 1941, military forces of the Empire of Japan attacked the U.S. Naval Fleet and ground bases at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. On December 8, 1941, one day after what President Roosevelt referred to as, "a date which will live in infamy,'' the United States declared war against the Empire of Japan. Three days later, on December 11, 1941, Japan's ally, Germany, declared war on the United States. Sixteen million Americans, mostly young working-age men, served in the military during World War II, out of an overall United States population of 113 million.

While an unprecedented number of Americans served in World War II, the country drastically increased its war production on the home front, serving not only the needs of the armed forces of the United States but her allies as well--in what President Franklin Roosevelt called "The Arsenal of Democracy.'' The combination of millions serving in the military, during a period of necessary and drastic increases in production, led to significant social changes on the American home front.

The World War II period resulted in the largest number of people migrating within the United States in the history of the country. Individuals and families relocated to industrial centers for good paying jobs out of a sense of patriotic duty. Many industrial centers became "boomtowns,'' growing at phenomenal rates. One example, the City of Richmond, California, grew from a population of under 24,000 to over 100,000 during the war. . . .”

Reading 3: Newspaper Excerpt

Teacher Tip: Support students in this understanding: “Nips” is a derogatory term for Japanese people. It is offensive and should not be used today.
 

“Bomb Cheapest Way to Beat Nips”

Newspaper Excerpt from The Knoxville Journal (Knoxville, Tennessee)
August 8, 1945

Despite the $1,600,000,000 initial outlay that went into plants at Oak Ridge and elsewhere, the Atomic Bomb is “far cheaper than any other way of bombing Japan,” Col. Kenneth D. Nichols, district engineer of the Manhattan Engineer of the Manhattan Engineer District in charge of the Oak Ridge Project said yesterday.

The Army officer, who yesterday conducted the first press conference ever held on the recently “blacked-out” project, explained this mathematical conclusion in this way:

“The atomic bomb is estimated to have the explosive power of 20,000 tons of TNT. It would probably take 2000 bombers to carry that much TNT to the target.

“But the atomic bomb delivered the blow with the help of just one airplane.”

“And there are more coming,” he added.Another beauty of the atomic bomb discovery is that the manpower involved in production is kept well behind the lines, he added. . .

He was warm in his praise of what he called “the greatest accomplishment we have ever had in the history of this country so far as teamwork is concerned.”

“There are no individuals who will take all the credit for this job, although certain key individuals deserve lasting credit,” he declared.

“The girl washing dishes in the cafeteria and the man building roads all did their part, and perhaps they deserve more credit than the man who knew what he was doing.

“A real cross-section of America did this job,” He concluded.

Single-Point Rubric (Standards; Blank). Teacher selects priority standards for assessment.

Courtesy of Sarah Lane.

Culminating Activity/Mastery Product

To demonstrate student understanding, support students in creating a final product that meets the following objectives:

1. Identify important WWII location(s) in Oak Ridge, Tennessee and describe its historical significance

2. Summarize the contributions of Oak Ridge, Tennessee civilians to home front wartime efforts and challenges overcome to make these contributions

3. Evaluate the short- and long-term impacts of the contributions of Oak Ridge and The Manhattan Project

4. Optional: Describe similarities and differences of Oak Ridge, Tennessee and other WWII Heritage city(s) / home fronts.

Mastery products should be:
. . . student-led. Students work as individuals or in collaborative groups.
. . . student-directed. Students are offered a variety of choices for product type (report, slide presentation, artwork with written descriptions, video product, etc.).
. . . student-organized. Teacher facilitates by providing students with the comparison matrices and/or resource links from throughout the series of lessons.. . . student-assessed. Teacher supports student self-assessment and reflection by providing students single-point rubrics to assess for meeting standards and/or lesson objectives.

Note: Depending on time and scope, the comparison of Oak Ridge to another WWII Heritage city(s) within the mastery product (objectives) may be omitted. However, comparing cities is recommended, as it connects students to a deeper understanding of the WWII home front.

Please view this page about the American World War II Heritage City Program for information and resources on other cities.