Key learning points

1. The USA set up the secret Manhattan Project to develop the world's first atomic bomb by July 1945.
2. The USSR used espionage to find out about the development of the atomic bomb before it was announced.
3. The USA used atomic bombs to force Japan to surrender but also to demonstrate American power, especially to the USSR.
4. The Soviet response to the American atomic bomb was to develop their own atomic bomb, which they achieved by 1949.
5. The Long and Novikov Telegrams reveal that relations between the USA and the USSR had become very hostile by 1946.

Keywords

• Atomic bomb - a type of nuclear weapon; a powerful and destructive bomb that gets it power from the energy released when atoms are split

• Nuclear weapon - a highly destructive explosive device that gets its power from nuclear reactions

• Espionage - secret activities, such as spying, carried out by one government or group to gather confidential information from another, typically for strategic advantage

• Telegram - a short written message sent via a telegraph line

• Embassies - special buildings where diplomats work to represent their country's interests in other countries around the world

Common misconception