Justified or Unjustified: America Builds the First Nuclear Weapon

On July 16, 1939, at the insistence of Leo Szilard and Eugene Wigner, physicist Albert Einstein sent a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, warning the President of Nazi Germany's scientific research of the atomic bomb. His letter would acknowledge Roosevelt of the importance and the danger of this type of weapon in the hands of Adolf Hitler. Roosevelt immediately created the Advisory Committee on Uranium. After some time had passed, Einstein was forced to send another letter to Roosevelt because the government was not fully funding the committee because Leó Szilárd and Eugene Wigner were both born outside of the U.S. and were considered possible security risks. Roosevelt immediately ordered the government to give them the needed funds, and this brought about the Manhattan Project. After realizing the bomb would likely be used, Einstein regretted sending the letters to Roosevelt. Although a pacifist,

One of the most controversial and heavily scrutinized issue of the twentieth century was President Harry S. Truman’s decision to unleash atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. The motives behind Truman’s actions are shrouded in controversy as top military officials publicly denounced the use of such a disastrous weapon. There is overwhelming evidence supporting both sides of the decision, as historians are split in opinion. The United States had been using conventional bombing to try to push Japan over the edge to surrender, but with countless Japanese civilians loyal to their country, invading Japan proved to be more problematic than first thought. Harry S. Truman made the ultimate decision of dropping the atomic bomb in hopes that it would end the war, but the amount of casualties caused by it has historians questioning if it was morally right, “The bomb was unfortunate, but it was the only means to bring Japan to a surrender,” historian Sadao Asada states (Bomb 9). Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were justifiable because they would ultimately lead to the end of the war and would demonstrate U.S. supremacy.

The beginnings of the Nuclear Age started when Albert Einstein wrote to President Franklin Roosevelt warning him of a dangerous weapon the Nazis had begun researching, known as the atomic bomb. (1) Though, when President Roosevelt first read this letter, he was too preoccupied with events in Europe to be bothered with such ideas. He at the time did not take the creation of such weapon to seriously, nor did he believe America had the resources for such a task. (2) Finally, on October 19, 1939 President Roosevelt wrote back to Einstein stating that the United States had begun to research the power of uranium. (2) With the help of the British, whom reluctantly gave the United States leadership on this project, in June of 1942 the Manhattan Project had begun, though most of the world had no idea that this was even happening, not even Vice President Truman. (2)

In the 1930’s and the 1940’s there was a change in American leadership. Having this change not only changed the outcome of the war that we were currently in, but how the rest of the world would view our country after the war. The decision that Harry Truman was forced to make on the choice to drop the atomic bomb or to attempt more land invasions was a choice that shaped the outcome of the war. There were major influences and side effects from the dropping of the atomic bomb and what it did to the country of Japan. Having the option and the weight of the moral decision weighing on Truman’s shoulders about what decision should be made, he was the only one who was capable of making the decision that shaped the outcome of the war. Having dropped the bomb on Japan, as a statement of power and a means to an end in a form was the only way that American lives could have been spared as comparing that to the lives that would have been lost in a land invasion. Knowing what the issues with the bomb was; one has to look at the moral issues, the results of the incident, and also how it played in the rest of the development of the world.

“ The atom bomb was no ‘great decision.’ It was merely another powerful weapon in the arsenal of righteousness.” This quote was said by Harry S. Truman the first President who used an atomic bomb. The program that was able to create this monstrous power was known as the Manhattan Project. Creating this weapon was their main priority. The United States was in the midst of World War 2. The atomic bomb is considered to be the main factor that ended that war. It was a race against the multiple enemies of the United States, to be the first to acquire this power and use it when necessary. The Manhattan Project was kept strictly confidential and, created the foundation of the future and more powerful nuclear weapons to come.

Even before the outbreak of War, the United States was concerned with a fascist regime in Europe researching in nuclear weapons. In retaliation, the United States began to fund an atomic weapon development program which became known as “The Manhattan Project” led by J. Robert Oppenheimer. Over the next several years, the Manhattan project started obtaining key materials such as Uranium-235 and Plutonium and testing prototypes until they reached a working model (Coroner).

The first atomic bomb that Japan was to get a glimpse of was on August 6th, 1945, during World War II in the city of Hiroshima. The explosion annihilated 90 percent of the city; without hesitation killed 80,000 people. More than tens of thousands of people would have eventually died due to radiation exposure. Within three days of the attack, a second B-29 dropped another A-bomb in another location known as Nagasaki, killing an estimation of 40,000 people. Hirohito, Japan’s emperor announced his country’s unequivocal surrender in WWII in a radio address on August 15th, in allude to the calamitous power of “a new and most cruel bomb.” President Truman had to make one of hardest pre arrangements that he had ever faced. Truman based this decision off of the results of to justify the cost of the Manhattan project, in response of

Imagine yourself making the toughest decision in your life, whether sacrificing a million of our men and thousands of war ships and plans, verses several thousand of Japanese civilian populists. This decision was on the shoulder of Harry S. Truman, the United States President, who had to make this decision by deciding whether or not to drop a newly designed weapon. The atomic bomb was tested in the sands of New Mexico, where it proved to be very successful. Harry S. Truman made a very successful decision, because he wanted to end the war quickly, show others that the United States had power, and the retribution of Pearl Harbor.

The death of thousands in a moment, this was the power of the weapon the United States held in their possession. It was nearly the end of World War II. With Germany defeated and the Allied Forces ready for the cease-fire, only the Axis power of Japan stood in the way of the end of the World War. Worried about Nazi Germany’s technological advances earlier in the war, the United States began to research atomic energy and the possibility of creating an atomic bomb (Walker 10). When the bombs were created, the arguments for and against the use of it were gruesome, lengthy, and all understandable in some way. During the decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan, President Harry S. Truman and his fellow politicians had to consider the ethical

On August 6, 1945, American bombers dropped the Atomic Bomb over Japan, an event which had lasting effects on American history. Had the bomb not been dropped, there would have been an increased number of negative effects on various countries involved in World War II. The Atomic Bomb was beneficial to America, despite its controversies and negative effects. President Harry S. Truman made the correct decision to drop the Atomic bomb over Japan, because it saved thousands of lives, ended the war quickly, and deterred Stalin from future agression toward America (Tucker, 1). Dropping the Atomic Bomb saved thousands of American and Japanese lives.

As a person, sometimes, is hard to make decision that can change history, it is even harder for the president of the United States. When you are the president and there’s a war occurring you must understand that every decision you make impacts the country in every way. When another country attempts an attack on your country, as a president you need to make the best decision to overcome the attack and to protect every citizen of the country. These are the decisions that President Franklin D Roosevelt had to make it, however, when he passed away, Harry Truman had control power of the country and knew that he had to avenge Pearl Harbor. Before Truman can avenge Pearl Harbor, Albert Einstein endorsed a letter to President Roosevelt alerting him that there was an “extremely powerful bombs of a new type” and that the U.S. should begin a similar research. Eventually, this became the Manhattan Project, discovering nuclear fission as a weapon. In this essay we are going to speak about the decision that Truman made to drop the bomb, some arguments, and the interpretation.

Truman did not want to use the bomb but he would use it if he had to end the war quickly. Truman stated that his decision to drop the bomb was purley military and that he did it to save American lives but some critics have charged that Truman's decision was a barbaric act that brought negative long-term consequences to the United States. A new age of nuclear terror led to a dangerous arms race but others say the bombing of Hiroshima was necessary. Although the Bombing of Hiroshima was gruesome, It was the only way to stop World War II ("The Bombing of Hiroshima"). Japan was going to invade the US and the US would not be prepared for it. Military advisers had told Truman that a potential loss of about 500,000 American soldiers was at stake. The US was running out of supplies, people, bullets, guns, etc. It was either use the atomic bomb, or lose the war("51g. The Decision to Drop"). Truman dropped the bomb hoping it would scare and impress the Soviet Union. Japan did not know the power of the atomic bomb and so they were not afraid of the United

Nuclear research all started when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, and the United States entered into World War II. When the United States realized that Germany attempted to build an atomic bomb, Americans began to concentrate on their research about creating an atomic bomb more heavily. President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Manhattan Project, which included a group of top scientists, under General Leslie R. Groves, who worked around the clock to try to develop an atomic bomb within three years (Beyer, Page 15). The Americans and the British combined their efforts to research the development of the bomb and created plants and factories to work in the atomic bomb. They created plants for three separate processes: electromagnetic, gaseous diffusion, and thermal diffusion. These plants helped create the plutonium and uranium 235 needed to manufacture the atomic bomb ("Key Issues: Nuclear Weapons: History: Pre Cold War: Manhattan Project.", Web). The secrecy of the Manhattan Project was essential in order to develop the atomic bombs to end World War II.

During the early 1940’s atomic science had just began to mature. Many people were exploring the powerful mystery of the atom. Two of those people were Eugene Booth and John Dunning, who, in 1941, synthesized uranium-235. Immense scientific growth followed their contribution, since it allowed for nuclear fission (Griffith). In the years following this discovery, nuclear science took a turn. Once only used as a constructive power source, atoms began being explored for their destructive power. In 1942 the United States government funded the Manhattan Project that sole goal was to develop a nuclear bomb. The initiator for this endeavor was surprisingly the famous scientist Albert Einstein. He wrote to Franklin D. Roosevelt , and tipped him off

Through the efforts of the “Manhattan Project” and the scientists within it, several nuclear bombs were created. Two of which, “Little Boy” and “Fat Man,” ended up being dropped on Japan. “Little Boy,” the only uranium bomb created was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 (Batchelder 99-105). “Fat Man,” the second nuclear bomb ever used in warfare, detonated above Nagasaki on August 11, 1945 (Batchelder 95-105). The leaders of the United States, decided that dropping the newly developed atomic bombs on Japan was the smartest action they could take at the time, given the current situation that the United States and the world was in. Dropping the bombs on Japan was mainly motivated by the belief that human lives could be saved. A massive invasion of the Japanese mainland was the only other option if no bombs were going to be dropped. The fact that the Japanese main army of approximately two million had never before been defeated on top of the Japanese terrain which was much better suited for guerrilla warfare than the mechanical ways of the U.S. put estimated American deaths alone well over the deaths at Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined (Batchelder 114-118).