The workers at these facilities were never told what they were working on, just that they were helping with the war effort. The efforts of all the facilities eventually culminated in a test of the first atomic bomb, which took place in Los Alamos, New Mexico on July 16, 1945. The test of the atomic bomb was named "Trinity," and it was a major success. The test bomb was detonated resulting in a shockwave that could be felt over 100 miles away and heard as far as El Paso, Texas. The bomb created a crater at the test site spanning 250 feet and a mushroom cloud reaching 7.5 miles into the air (Wikipedia).
President Truman was told of the success of the project during a conference with the leaders of Great Britain (Winston Churchill) and the Soviet Union (Stalin) in Potsdam, in occupied Germany. After learning of the project's success, President Truman told Stalin that the United States now possessed a super weapon capable of "awesome destructiveness" (Davidson 554). This was extremely significant because President Truman could now use "Atomic Diplomacy" when dealing with the Russians. During meetings with Stalin, it was noted by Winston Churchill that Truman "told the Russians just where they got on and off and generally bossed the whole meeting" (Davidson 554). With this new bargaining chip, the United States possessed the ability to influence other countries and shape postwar negotiations more effectively.
With the success of the Manhattan Projection, President Truman was immediately confronted with the question of whether or not the United States would use the bomb to end the war that was still raging in the Pacific theater. President Truman and Churchill decided to warn the Japanese of the weapon in an attempt to negotiate surrender without having to use an atomic bomb. However, the Japanese made no reply this attempt. Truman therefore decided to drop a bomb on Hiroshima, Japan.
