The Atomic Bomb Changed The Course Of History

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)

The dropping of the Atomic Bomb changed not only warfare forever, but also all international relations. With that being said, the decision to do so was one of the biggest decisions made by any government in the history of time. Nuclear warfare was way more destructive and way faster than any other form of warfare preceding. With the United States seemingly always viewed to be “the good guys” it is puzzling that this country is the same one who killed hundreds of thousands of people all at once and essentially ruined not one but two entire cities within minutes of dropping two single bombs. This decision was not taken lightly, and with basically two schools of thought, liberalism vs. realism, insisting to do so or not to do so, and realism won out. Realism and the many counterparts that strengthen this school of thought is what drove the decision to go ahead and drop the atomic bomb.

It ended World War Two which claimed over 60 Million lives and was sure to do more damage had it not been ended. The bombs created scientific advancements in the nuclear field and eventually lead us into a race with the russians, but it also changed the way we deal with modern world politics. Although the dropping of the atomic bomb was something that killed many people, in the end it saved the lives of lots more. With tensions rising in our world today hopefully we will never have to use a weapon of that magnitude ever

The invention of the atomic bomb took several years and after many trials and errors the invention was finally complete. Albert Einstein wrote to President Roosevelt in 1939 about

“ 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.

The atomic bomb was seen as a weapon capable of ending the war, and it did just that. Due to its quick and magnificent destruction capabilities, the United States could avoid hand to hand combat and save the lives of many Americans. On the other hand, the bombs were seen as unnecessarily brutal. Because of its lethal range, hundreds of thousands of civilians were killed.

Few inventions have shaped war as much as the atomic bomb. The atomic bomb enabled massive indiscriminate destruction on a scale the world had never seen. The offensive capabilities of the atomic bomb were terrifying and many believed a nuclear war could destroy the world. Bernard Brodie, Albert Wohlstetter, Thomas Schelling, and André Beaufre describe the state of war the atomic bomb introduced in the Nuclear Age. Their writings show that atomic bombs changed warfare by changing the focus of arms development to avoid conflict and threats against civilians were now used to force surrender.

On August 6th, 1945, the Japanese woke up to their hometowns and country filled with flames and radioactive material. This event changed warfare as we know it, and will forever have an effect on the Japanese and American culture. These two bombs, Little Boy and Fat Man, killed thousands of people and in total, took a huge toll on the world then and today.

On the morning of August 6, 1945, a B-29 Bomber that was names Enola Gay had flew over the City of Hiroshima Japan and dropped the first atomic bomb to have ever been made. The motive for the creation and research of the bomb was a direct result of the Japanese bombing on Pearl Harbor. When the bomb was finalized after all the research of splitting atoms and combining plutonium and uranium and knowing what to use, many tests were done and the bomb was presumed ready. But no one could have guessed the magnitude of this bomb. The city was engulfed in flames as the power of the bomb being equivalent to 20,000 tons of TNT being dropped exploded. There was much work that went into making this project a success amongst all others. There was a wide variety of scientific brain knowledge, civilian knowledge and much military knowledge and assembly to make this project happen.

"You must not blame us scientists for the use which war technicians have put our discoveries."

Many of these men being from New Mexico. Theoretical Physicist Robert Oppenheimer, the leader of this project, led the scientists to success, after about three or four years, in 1945, the first bomb was ready for testing. Since this type of bomb had never been created before, no one was really sure of what would happen. They would soon find out.

As the last shots of World War II were fired in Europe, the U.S. had a plan for their new advanced weapons of mass destruction. The atomic bombs were dropped on Japan in early August of 1946 (Kennedy). These bombs and their short-lived history have had a huge impact on modern warfare and the essence of power surrounding a country. The Manhattan Project began in a frantic effort to end World War II before the Germans got their hands on the technology. As a result of this project, countries could now interact differently in terms of warfare and how they handle hostile foreign affairs.

August 6, 1941, the day that forever changed history. A nuclear bomb by the name of “Little Boy” was dropped over Hiroshima, wiping out the city and killing thousands of innocent people without warning. Three days later another bomb dubbed the name “Fatman” was dropped over top of Nagasaki, with the same result. These bombs were dropped as a response to the attack on Pearl Harbor and wreaked havoc on both cities wiping out almost everything in its path. While this saved the lives of American soldiers, it killed countless of innocent Japanese citizens. With the help of this new technology, a war could be won or lost in the blink of an eye. By being the first to use these bombs, the United States set the bar for nuclear war to be justifiable.

At the end of World War I and the beginning of World War II scientist started to develop new ways to to react to wars.Scientist like Julius Robert Oppenheimer with the help of Albert Einstein created the first atomic bomb called the “Little Boy” and the “FatMan”. Oppenheimer was the director of the Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico. He was incharge of gather the best minds to develop weapons of mass destruction. Oppenheimer along with 200 other physics developed weapons that would change the world forever.

In 1938, German scientists discovered nuclear fission. Nuclear fission is the process of radioactive atoms splitting into lighter atoms causing a sudden burst of energy. When America later learned of this new discovery, it brought alarm and fear that the Germans could possibly turn what they learned into a deadly weapon, thus the race for nuclear technology began. On Dec 28 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized the Manhattan Project. They brought in various scientists, mathematicians, and military