Oak Ridge X-10: 1941- The United States Enters World War II

US DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

The X-10 Graphite Reactor is located on the secure grounds of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). In-person visitation is only authorized via guided tours.

Text at the top of this panel reads,“On December 7, Japanese planes attack U.S. Navy ships at Pearl Harbor. President Roosevelt calls for the U.S. Congress to declare war on Japan, and the United States enters World War II.” At upper right is an image of the front page of The Galveston Daily News with the headline “Japan Attacks U.S. in Pacific.”

Behind the newspaper is an aerial photograph of damaged ships in a harbor. To the left is a photograph of President Roosevelt signing a piece of paper. Next to that is an image of the front page of the S. Louis Post-Dispatch with the headline “Congress Declares War on Japan. 1500 Killed in Attack on Hawaii.”

On the lower half of the panel text reads,“1942. Leslie Groves of the Army Corps of Engineers is named director of the Manhattan Engineer District and the Manhattan Project is born. The goal of the project is production of uranium and plutonium and development of an atomic bomb on 59,000 acres of land purchased in East Tennessee between Clinton and Kingston. The area is selected for its abundant water and electricity (supplied by the Tennessee Valley Authority), sparse population, ready labor supply, and road and rail access. Oak Ridge is built as Clinton Engineer Works by the Corps of Engineers. Some 1,000 families are paid to leave their homes in less than 90 days.”

At lower left is a photograph with a bird’s eye view of a small community nestled among rolling hills. To the right is a photograph of a man in military uniform seated at a desk, papers in hand.