7) The Manhattan Project
During World War II, the United States government was asked a lot of questions about the possibility of using nuclear weapons. No matter what was asked, they simply would not acknowledge that the U.S. had nuclear weapons at the forefront. It took nearly a quarter century until the truth was unearthed.
“The Manhattan Project” was the codename for the project to develop the first atomic bomb. As The Anti-Media points out, the project was led by the U.S. and included participation from the UK and Canada. The project refers specifically to the period of the project from 1942–1946 under the control of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, under the administration of General Leslie R. Groves. The project’s roots lay in scientists’ fears since the 1930s that Nazi Germany was also investigating nuclear weapons of its own.
Born out of a small research program in 1939, the Manhattan Project eventually employed more than 130,000 people. All in all, the US spent $22 billion (adjusted for inflation) on the project, which ended up making a big impact on the course of history. It resulted in the creation of multiple production and research sites that operated in secret. Entire towns were built for short periods of time, employing people, all under secrecy and top national secrecy at that. For 25 years, no one knew the truth about the project.
