United States Nuclear Program Essay

     When the first atomic bomb was detonated in Alamogordo New Mexico on June 16, 1945, all the scientists involved in the Manhattan Project understood the great destructive power of radio-active isotopes. Although the atomic bomb was a very destructive force our world would not be as good without it. Because of the government funding involved in the project coupled with the need for an atom bomb, much research that otherwise may not have occurred took place in the US. The Manhattan project opened the door to nuclear advancements and applications.

First, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki marked the beginning of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. During World War II, the United States originally used the atomic bomb as a means to end the war with Japan. Many historians, however, believe President Truman had an ulterior motive behind the use of the weapon. The Soviet Union planned to create a series of communist buffer states after the war, but this did not bode well with American interests. Thus, America used the atomic bomb in Japan to deter the Soviet Union and have more influence in post-war decisions (Davis 398). This action would start a period of rivalry and uncertainty for both countries. From this point on, political decisions made were greatly influenced by the opposite

In 1939 the president of America, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was informed that the axis powers scientists have discovered how to split the uranium atom. The power produced by this is very large and could be used as a nuclear weapon against the Allies. Before WWII America knew that nuclear weapons were being studied and were afraid the axis powers would discover it first. Thankfully Albert Einstein and Enrico Fermi fled their countries to inform the American president on how dangerous this could potentially be. Einstein eventually wrote a letter to roosevelt, telling him the seriousness of this power, and urging Roosevelt to create a research program for their own atomic bomb. Roosevelt eventually agreed but told his scientists to proceed

Einstein sent a letter to President Roosevelt urging the development of an atomic research program in 1939. Roosevelt saw neither the necessity or the utility for the project, but agreed to proceed slowly. The American effort to design and build an Atomic bomb received it’s code name, in late

Early in 1939, the scientific community discovered that German physicists had learned the secrets to splitting a uranium atom. The fears of Nazi scientists using that energy to produce a bomb soon spread all over the United States. Scientist Albert Einstein wrote a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt urging him to fund research for building the first atomic bomb. Roosevelt saw the project as unnecessary, but agreed to proceed slowly. In late 1941, the American effort to build the atomic bomb received its code name of the Manhattan Project.

The Manhattan Project was preceded by a variety of scientific discoveries in the 1920’s and the 1930’s. During this time of scientific discovery, Hitler had been steadily rising to power in Germany, and before long, physicist Leo Szilard and fellow Hungarian Jews Eugene Wigner and Edward Teller became worried. They decided that the President of the United States must be informed about the new fission technology that had been discovered, which they believed was capable of making bombs. The three physicists enlisted the help of Albert Einstein, the foremost scientist in that period, and together they drafted a

Before the U.S. could start the progress and research, they had to have the right scientists and enough uranium and plutonium to design the bomb (Crewe and Anderson 10). The U.S would travel the country in need of a scientist and would come across many who would possessed exactly what the development needed. The U.S. also needed plutonium and uranium to discover how it works and learn its explosive power, which led them to create factories to manufacture these elements. In the late 1930s, leading physicists like Enrico Fermi, Albert Einstein, and Leo Szilád recommended the U.S. work on the Atomic Bomb (“Manhattan Project”). In 1942, a secret government program called the Manhattan Project was launched to develop the Atomic Bomb (“Manhattan Project”). Eventually the U.S started this project which was kept in secrecy and under the radar. Where they set up shop was in Los Alamos, high in the mountains, which helped out with their secrecy (Crewe and Anderson 13). The head of this operation was J. Robert Oppenheimer, who told Groves that the Manhattan Project needed a central laboratory, where scientists could work together and design the Atomic Bomb (Crewe and Anderson 11). Throughout this project, J. Robert Oppenheimer, was important in

The atomic bomb was built during ww2 and was a major factor in winning the war against the japanese. Germany began to develop the atomic bomb and roosevelt caught wind of this and he put a group of scientist together to develop the atomic bomb before the germans developed it. Einstein found proof that the germans were going to use uranium to build the atomic bomb “I understand that Germany has actually stopped the sale of uranium from the Czechoslovakian mines, which she has taken over”(Einstein).Soon a letter from albert einstein after hearing about the germans trying to build a bomb said that “through the work of Joliot in france as well as fermi and szilard in america-- that it may be possible to set up a nuclear chain reaction in a large mass of uranium”(Einstein). After a while of working on the first atomic bomb it was finally made and codenamed “Gadget” and tested in the mexico desert on a unpopulated landscape. The development of the atomic was made a secret by roosevelt and the name of the project for the development of the nuclear bomb was called the manhattan project .

The process of building the Atomic Bomb began during the Roosevelt Administration. In 1939, there was fear from scientists around the world that Germany was experimenting with the possibilities of nuclear warfare. Albert Einstein escaped from Nazi Germany and wrote a detailed letter to President Roosevelt expressing his concerns. There were developments in physics and chemistry to make the idea of using atomic energy as a possible weapon. If Hitler became in control of such weapons, there was no doubt that he would not hesitate to put them to use. The race to discover the effects of uranium and the chain reactions that it can create began officially in 1940. The project was officially operated under the Manhattan Project in 1941. During this

Fears spread in 1939, when it was discovered that the secrets of splitting a uranium atom was discovered by German physicists. Enrico Fermi and Albert Einstien fled to the United States and they wrote to President Roosevelt urging him to create an atomic research program after both deciding that the Roosevelt should be told about the possible dangers of atomic technology. The Manhattan Project became the name of the effort to create an Atomic bomb in 1941. Over 120,000 people worked on the Manhattan Project and nearly two billion dollars were spent on research and development. Secrecy was important, not even Truman, the Vice-President, knew until he was President. On the 16th of July, the year 1945, near Alamogordo, New Mexico, the first detonation of an atomic bomb took place.

In fear that Nazi Germany was developing an atomic bomb, on December 6 1941, scientists, engineers and the army raced to build the first man-made atomic bomb. These combined efforts provide the United States with wartime military advantage was dubbed ‘The Manhattan Project’. However, when by late 1944, concrete intelligence confirmed that Germany’s work on atomic weaponry had

During the mid 1950’s, society began having further concerns. The United States had produced ultimately the most destructive bomb, the hydrogen bomb, and it was becoming public knowledge that radiation was released into the atmosphere in the testing of new weapons. By 1964, both the united States and Soviet Union populations were considered vulnerable because "assured destruction" (Pazulla 46) was the central idea to the nuclear strategy. By the 1970’s, many policies, strategies, etc. had been put into effect, helping decay the nuclear rage. The world powers began to behave with enhanced logic by not producing ridiculous amounts of nuclear weapons.

The United States had basically opened the largest can of worms the world had ever seen that it could not close. The country that seemed to go toe to toe with the US in nuclear weapon research was the United Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR). The US and the USSR competed in a nuclear arms race which started after World War II and ended in the 1980s. It was only until the 1963 Partial Test Ban did the two countries even begin start to ease tensions, but there was still a long way to go (Tucker). For what seemed like an eternity, the people of America waited with faded breath to see what would become of their country’s nuclear arms race. This time period was known as the Cold War, and in this time period nuclear policy was always at the forefront of the news. United States President Harry Truman, the man who had called for the first atomic bomb to be dropped defended his decision even after all the events that transpired afterwards because he saved so many lives and ended the war earlier than it would have gone on (Long). Truman saw the first bombing and the aftermath as a necessary evil. In Truman’s mind, the atomic bomb was retribution against the Japanese for their attacks on Pearl

As a result, FDR created a top secret process called the Manhattan Project. The Manhattan Project was conducted in many laboratories but the main one was in Los Alamos, New Mexico along with many universities helping contribute to the production of the first atomic bomb. It’s main thinkers are commonly known as Albert Einstein and Enrico Fermi who were both some of the greatest scientists during their time and possibly all time, and who were also escapees of the Nazi’s reign and persecution. However, Einstein did not intend for his knowledge to be abused in order to develop this

In 1939, Albert Einstein and a group of scientists were concerned and heard rumors that the Nazis had developed an atomic weapons program and when word of it got to the President of the United States, who at the time was Franklin Roosevelt, he urged and funded the scientist so they can have the proper needs to ensure the making of the atomic bomb. Albert Einstein and other scientists argued that atomic weapons were theoretically possible and wanted to develop the weapons before the Nazis were able to get their hands on a devastating weapon that can change the lives of millions forever. The Americans later then started working in secret in New Mexico on a project which was codenamed the ‘Manhattan Project.’ Unfortunately, soon before the theoretical weapon was soon a reality, the President of the United States had died. Moments after President Harry Truman was sworn into presidency, he was told about the atomic bomb and what kind of destruction the bomb could actually do. Truman was told the bomb would be ready in a matter of four months but come to find out, Germany had surrendered on