Historical Time Period

The Year of the Bomb

Historically Accurate• The story includes or mentions historical figures: Joseph

McCarthy, Klaus Fuchs, Richard Feynman, and Jerry Zorthian.

• The setting takes place in an actual town outside of Los

Angeles called Sierra Madre and the characters go to real

places, such as C.C. Brown’s and Bronson’s Canyon.

• The story also includes real events, such as the filming of The

Invasion of the Body Snatchers in Sierra Madre.

• Readers get a good idea of what time was like during the Cold

War with details about drop drills, the Manhattan Project, the

Hollywood blacklist, and the fear of communism.

The Cold War“But now we’re in another war, a cold war. It’s us against the Russians, democracy versus communism. Both sides have the bomb.” Pages 17 and 18, Paragraph 4.

• “Cold War” describes hostility and rivalry between the U.S. and the Soviet Union from 1945 to 1991.

• U.S. feared the spread of communism and the Soviets feared U.S. power.

• Arms race between both counties and development of nuclear weapons.

• Height of tension during late 1940s and through the 1950s.• There was a great fear of World War III and nuclear war and

destruction.

Manhattan Project

Replicas of Fat Man and Little Boy, bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki

“Scientists were brought to Los Alamos, a secret base in New Mexico, and put to work on a special program called the Manhattan Project. There was a theory that if you split an atom, incredible amounts of energy would be released, causing an explosion bigger than the world had ever seen.” Page 17, Paragraph 1.

• Codename for the project to design the first atomic bomb.• In 1942 scientists worked together at Los Alamos, New Mexico to

develop the bomb.• J. Robert Oppenheimer was the project’s director. • The first bomb was tested on July 16, 1945 in New Mexico.• President Truman ordered the atomic bomb to be dropped on

Nagasaki and Hiroshima in August of 1945.

Richard Feynman

“He was one of the leaders of the Manhattan Project. He helped develop the atomic bomb.” Page 82, Paragraph 9

• First worked on the atomic bomb at Princeton (1941-42).

• Worked on the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos (1943-1945).

• In charge of the theoretical division.• His wife Arline died of tuberculosis in

1945.• Became a professor of theoretical physics

at Cal Tech.• Died in 1988.

Klaus Fuchs

“Meet Klaus Fuchs. He was one of the scientists working on the A-bomb at Los Alamos. He was also a Russian spy. Everything he knew, he passed along to them. Because of Klaus Fuchs, the Russians have the bomb.” Page 20, Paragraph 2.

• German refugee and Soviet spy.• 1943, he began work on the Manhattan Project.• Gave designs of atomic bomb to Soviet spy Harry

Gold.• In 1950 he was arrested and imprisoned for 9

years in England.• Released in 1959 and went to East Germany

where he joined the Communist party.• The information he provided to the Russians

allowed them to create their own nukes earlier.

Joseph McCarthy

“Senator Joseph McCarthy had held hearings in Congress. J. Edgar Hoover, head of the FBI, was leading the investigations.” Page 19, Paragraph 9.

• Senator from Wisconsin, 1947-1957• In a 1950 speech he claimed he had a list of

205 known communists in the Truman Administration

• Beginning in 1953, he held hearings to find “communist influence” in the government

• His accusations of treason without proof were known as “McCarthyism”

• The Senate censured McCarthy in 1954

Drop Drills“Once a week, we had drop drills at school. It was up to each teacher to decide when. Suddenly, in the middle of a reading exercise or math problem, the teacher would whirl and yell, ‘Drop!’” Page 16, Paragraph 3.

• The Federal Civil Defense Administration (FCDA) was created by President Truman in 1951.

• The FCDA gave information to schools and citizens to prepare for a nuclear attack.

• The FCDA created a video with Bert the Turtle called Duck and Cover to show kids what to do if there is an attack.

• Schools across the U.S. conducted air raid drills when teachers told their students to drop.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers“Invasion of the Body Snatchers will be filmed

in our hometown, Sierra Madre.” Page 11, Paragraph 10.“The movie’s based on a short story that was in two issues of Colliers.” Page 35, Paragraph 6.

• Directed by Don Siegel.• In theaters in 1956.• Critics believe it’s an allegory about

McCarthyism and paranoia.• Based on a novel by Jack Finney and

published in Colliers Magazine in 1954.• Filmed in Sierra Madre, California, Bronson

Canyon in Griffith Park, and Los Angeles.

Jerry Zorthian “Jerry’s one of the most famous muralists in the world,” he said, “but some of us think this place is his greatest creation.”

Zorhian said, “I call it the center for Research and Development of Industrial Discards. Page 118, Paragraph 2 and 3.

• Painted over 42 murals in government buildings• Jerry Zorthian lived at Zorthian Ranch in Altadena.• Zorthian actually referred to the ranch as “the center for

research and development of industrial discards, with an emphasis on aesthetics.”

• He was a close friend of Richard Feynman

Hollywood and Communism“Communists are infiltrating Hollywood-

the studios, the unions. Have you heard of the HUAC?” Page 57, Paragraph 9.

“A few years back, the committee got interested in Hollywood. We believe they’ve just scratched the surface.” Page 58, Paragraph 2.

• House Un-American Activities Committee

investigated the Hollywood film industry for communist propaganda.

• In 1947 the HUAC accused over forty people in the film industry of being communists.

• Known as the Hollywood 10, 10 screenwriters and directors refused to cooperate with the HUAC.

• The Hollywood 10 were imprisoned and blacklisted.

• People accused of being communists were unable to find work in Hollywood because of the movie industry blacklist.

Anti-communist tract, Wikimedia Commons

C.C. Brown’s“We had a lot of favorite ice-cream shops, but the best was C. C. Brown’s on Hollywood Boulevard, where the hot fudge sundae had been invented.” Page 7, Paragraph 1.

• Opened by Clarence Clifton Brown in 1906.

• C.C. Brown invented the hot fudge sundae.

• In 1929, Brown’s son moved the place to 7007 Hollywood Boulevard.

Works Cited“C.C. Brown’s.” Old Los Angeles Restaurants. Mark Evanier, 14 Feb. 2012. Web. 17 Mar. 2013.

Donoghue, Michael E. "Cold War." World Book Advanced. World Book, 2013. Web.  17 Mar. 2013.

Greenberg, David. “Fallout Can Be Fun: How the Cold War Civil-defense Programs Became Farce.” Slate. The Slate Group,

20

Feb. 2003. Web. 17 Mar. 2013.

"Fuchs, Klaus." Encyclopedia of World Biography. 2nd ed. Vol. 28. Detroit: Gale, 2008. 129-131. Gale Virtual Reference

Library. Web.

17 Mar. 2013.

"Invasion of the Body Snatchers." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online Library Edition.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2013. Web. 17 Mar. 2013.

“Hollywood Ten.” History.com. A&E Television Network, n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2013.

“Invasion of the Body Snatchers.” Internet Movie Database. IMDB.com, n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2013.

Morales, Desiree. “His Life, His Words.” Pasadena Weekly. Southland Publishing, 1 Sept. 2005. Web. 17 Mar. 2013.

O’Connor, J.J., and E.F. Robertson. “Richard Phillips Feynman.” The MacTutor History of Mathematics. JOC/EFR, Aug. 2002.

Web. 17 Mar. 2013.

Oshinsky, David. “McCarthy, Joseph.” American National Biography Online. Oxford University Press, Feb. 2000. Web. 17

Mar.

2013.

Rezelman, David, and Lawrence Badash. "Manhattan Project." Dictionary of American History. Ed. Stanley I. Kutler. 3rd ed.

Vol. 5.

New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2003. 221-222. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 17 Mar. 2013.

Works Cited for Images“C.C. Brown’s (Image).” Hollywood Historic Site Walk. Peter D. Sabatino, n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2013.

Drop Drill Images from Greenberg, David. “Fallout Can Be Fun: How the Cold War Civil-defense Programs Became

Farce.”

Slate. The Slate Group, 20 Feb. 2003. Web. 17 Mar. 2013.

Flag Image from “Is It Time for a Cold War Victory Medal?” USNI. U.S. Naval Institute, Apr. 2010. Web. 17 Mar. 2013.

Jerry Zorthian Image from

“Klaus Fuchs (Image).” AtomicArchive.Com. A.J. Software & Multimedia, n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2013.

Morales, Desiree. “His Life, His Words.” Pasadena Weekly. Southland Publishing, 1 Sept. 2005. Web. 17 Mar. 2013.

“Replicas of Fat Man and Little Boy (Image).” Los Alamos National Laboratory. Los Alamos National Security, n.d.

Web. 17 Mar.

2013.

“Richard Feynman (Image).” AtomicArchive.Com. A.J. Software & Multimedia, n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2013.

“Senator Joseph McCarthy Displaying a Document.” America’s Story from America’s Library. The Library of

Congress, n.d. Web. 17

Mar. 2013.

“The Year of the Bomb Cover (Image).” Ronald Kidd. Www.ronaldkidd.com, 2006. Web. 17 Mar. 2013.