The World 's Understanding Of Science And Technology

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)

They came, unwarned. On the 7th of December 1941, the Japanese executed a full-fledged attack on Pearl Harbor. They mercilessly created havoc, with attacks that caused the sinking of eighteen American ships, as well as 170 aircrafts. The casualties were dreadful, with 1,177 of those lost lives had been of the crewmen. The very next day, President Roosevelt declared war on Japan, and thus the United States’ involvement of World War II. Americans of every state were absolutely enraged and bent on their will for vengeance against the Asian country. Within the shadows of galvanized America, Robert Oppenheimer had set his infamous Manhattan Project into action. This project was so disclosed that only a limited number of men truly knew of its purpose. The clandestine project held prior securities to the point in which famous scientists had to use codenames in order to visit Los Alamos, even wives were kept in the dark, and only key scientists could bring their wives along with them. (Source D) This project had been the discreet creation of the Atomic Bombs. Time and time again, this topic had never really dissipated, its controversial who, what and whys prompting generations to debate its palpable purpose. Was the aim really focused for the “good of all?” Was it for America’s self-preservation and wish to promptly put an end to all of the suffering? Many Americans to this day still believe and argue for the usefulness of the atomic bombings, that the droppings were justified.

The necessity of the atomic bombs have long been debated in America. Although they did contribute to stopping the war, Americans still wonder if murdering Japanese civilians was a necessary means to an end, or if it could have been avoided. Some people believe that the war would have ended without using the bombs. Others believe they were the sole purpose that the war finally ended. Many people were involved with bringing the bombs to fruition, such as the scientists, the government and military leaders, and the very teams that flew them to their targets. Then the President addressed the situation and American citizens spoke their minds. All of these people had their own thoughts on whether the bombs were needed. In this essay, the opinions on the atomic bomb’s necessity will be reviewed by presenting both the pros and cons from a variety of sources.

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).

On August 2, 1938, in the heat of World War II, Albert Einstein, a physicist born in Germany, sent a letter to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the 32nd president of the United States. The letter suggested America to build an atomic bomb before the Nazi Germany does. However, it took more than two months for the letter to reach Roosevelt. On October 19, 1938, Roosevelt agreed, replying, “I found this data of such import that I have convened a Board … to thoroughly investigate the possibilities of your suggestion regarding the element of uranium” (“President Roosevelt's response to Dr. Einstein”). As a result, America held a secret program, code named Manhattan Project, and started to build new, destructive weapons in a laboratory in Los Alamos,

September 1, 1939, marked the beginning of World War II. The war was long fought involving the three axis powers and several allied powers. Among those were Japan and the United States following Japan’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 (Praino, 2015). Hundreds of thousands of lives were lost amongst the battles from each side of the war. In 1939, Albert Einstein and Enrico Fermi fled to America and informed the elected officials that Germany had discovered new outbreaks in splitting atoms, which was one step closer to the creation of destructive weapons for the Axis power. With that news, American facilities launched a program that would later be codenamed “The Manhattan Project” which was the birthplace of the first nuclear atomic reactions. After the first reaction was created, it was a vicious cycle from there that continued to escalate. With the war reaching an all-time high in casualties, Truman was faced with a big decision as the programs had finally experienced breakthroughs to the atomic bomb. He could choose to remain in conventional war tactics and continue to prolong the war until Japan was ready to surrender, or attempt to save the lives of many American soldiers and citizens by dropping the atomic bombs onto two major cities in Japan (Praino, 2015). By choosing the latter, an estimated 225,000 Japanese lives were lost (Perkins, 2016) and the ethical merits of Truman’s decision are still questioned today while some views remain confident in the choice.

The response of the panel to which the concern was sent was that the use of the bomb would be “an obvious means of saving American lives and shortening the war.” While these scientists did not agree on the issue of its use, all believed it was necessary to control this new technology through international cooperation.

In 1939 President Roosevelt was told of the German exploration to yield atomic artilleries for war. Roosevelt determined that under the state of affairs of the looming World War II the United States would need to cultivate atomic weapons before the Germans. Research funding was provided to scientifically

The first origins of the Manhattan Project began as early as 1930, with physicists such as Albert Einstein, who knew of the power of the single atom. Though it wasn’t until later in the decade that German physicists were able to take those thoughts produce the first artificial nuclear reaction, and even document the theory. Due to the publication of the theory, many people began to realize the immense power that could come from such a tremendous reaction of atoms.

Scientists from Germany were making huge progress on the topic of nuclear fission. Fortunately, many of these scientists escaped the authoritarian Germany. These refugees, including Albert Einstein warned the United States about the German’s nuclear weapons capability. Consequently, the United States created the Manhattan Project in 1942 under fears of a nuclear attack by the Germans.

The Manhattan Project was a project made up of the top scientist, split into two teams. The project started in 1939 and ended in 1946. Scientists were gathered to construct the very first atomic bomb. The scientists were not told why they were making what they were nor were they told what they were making. The U.S. used it to bomb Japan, killing innocent people in order to end the war. Later, Scientists who had worked on the project, like Albert Einstein, stated that if he had known what they were using it for/what they were making, he never would have worked on it. The U.S. tricked it’s own people into creating a weapon that was created solely for killing thousands. This evil injustice wasn’t just harmful to those who were bombed, but to those who were instructed to create the bomb, oblivious to what horrendous

The Manhattan Project arose in the United Sates due in part to the scientific breakthrough by the Nazi’s allowing them to split the uranium atom. Over several years, the Manhattan Project developed a nuclear weapon with the capability to end the Pacific War. The Manhattan Project was in the hands of both president Roosevelt and Truman, each impacting its development course to suit the given situation of the time period. The Manhattan Project and the actions of President Truman are highly controversial in terms of inhuman methods utilized, though they resulted in both expenditures and lives being spared in the process. From 1942 to 1946, the development of the Manhattan Project and the decision by President Harry S. Truman to drop the Atomic

The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are encased in one of the most controversial presidential decisions of America’s history. The war on the European front was coming to an end, but Japan still held a firm fighting position against the Allied Powers. With each Japanese island the U.S. Army seized, American casualties increased. As the supply of American soldiers dwindled, alternative solutions had to be discussed before proceeding with one of the most costly invasions America would undertake. America’s chief priorities consisted of victoriously ending the war in the shortest time possible, and saving the most lives – Japanese and American alike. The only possible way to meet this was through the use of atomic energy.

In 1941 after the bombing of Pearl Harbor the U.S. was seeking a way to design an atomic bomb. Doing this would win World War II for the United States. The government tried and succeeded in acquiring all the materials and employees needed to do the job. One of those people was Enrico Fermi who led a small group and conducted the first controlled nuclear chain reaction. Now that milestones were reached to keep secret research was only to be based at few universities. Again, the reaching of milestones not only made secrecy a priority but also now the funds would

In 1941, The United States began an atomic bomb program called the “Manhattan Project.” The main objective of the “Manhattan Project” was to research and build an atomic bomb before Germany could create and use one against the allied forces during World War II. German scientists had started a similar research program four years before the United States began so the scientists of the “Manhattan Project” felt a sense of urgency throughout their work (Wood “Men … Project”).