"Now I have become Death, the destroyer of worlds." These words uttered by Robert Oppenheimer were quoted from the Hindu scripture the Bhagavad-Gita. Oppenheimer was one of the head scientists in charge of research on the Manhattan Project. Little did Oppenheimer know just how strongly these words rang true. The development of the atomic bomb was the most consequential scientific discovery ever made. The Manhattan Project changed the entire world. This paper will examine its effects on warfare, science, and public safety. In 1942, the secret quest to create the atomic bomb began under the supervision of General Leslie Groves and Robert Oppenheimer. This mission was nicknamed the Manhattan Project. This project lasted until 1946 with the successful completion of constructing atomic weapons and other developments in nuclear science. The project employed 130,000 scientists, engineers, and other workers and cost $2 billion, the equivalent of $24 billion in today's economy. On July 16, 1945, the first atomic bomb ever created (nicknamed Gadget) was tested in Trinity, New Mexico. This test led to the creation of the two final products, Fat Man and Little Boy. On August 6, 1945, Little Boy was dropped over the town of Hiroshima, Japan, and later on August 9, 1945, Fat Man was released over Nagasaki, Japan (New World Encyclopedia). These two bombs are one of the most controversial subjects in history and killed over 200,000 innocent Japanese citizens. Regardless, the bombing of Japan brought about Japanese surrender and ended the Second World War. The atomic bomb completely changed warfare. Long gone were the days of lining up in rows and firing at each other. Now, warring nations had the power to wipe out entire cities in the blink of an eye. The Manhattan Project brought on a new era of nuclear war. "Their [the U.S.] releasing of the nuclear genie opened the way for a nuclear arms race between the US and the Soviet Union that led to a massive proliferation of nuclear armaments" (New World Encyclopedia). Once it was made known that the United States had these weapons of mass destruction the Soviet Union developed their own atomic bomb. These two nations were now locked in an atomic arms race that would lead to the Cold War. The Cold War was a stalemate between the United States and the Soviet Union. If the U.S. decided to launch an attack against the Soviet Union they would fire their atomic missile right back at us, this concept