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The
Atomic Bomb
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Photo
of first test of the atomic bomb at Almagordo, New Mexico,
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When
Harry Truman assumed the presidency upon the death of
Franklin D. Roosevelt on April 12, 1945, he had no knowledge
of The
Manhattan Project, the program to develop an atomic
bomb. The potential of developing a nuclear weapon had
been first suggested to President Roosevelt in a letter
from Albert
Einstein delivered to the President in 1939, well
before the U.S. entry into World War II. The letter was
based primarily on information provided to Einstein by
his fellow physicist Leo
Szilard, and may indeed have been drafted by Szilard
for Einstein's signature: |
...In the course of the
last four months it has been made probable--through
the work of Joliot in France as well as Fermi and
Szilard in America--that it may become possible to
set up a nuclear chain reaction in a large mass of
uranium, by which vast amounts of power and large
quantities of new radium-like elements would be generated.
Now it appears almost certain that this could be achieved
in the immediate future.
This new phenomenon would
also lead to the construction of bombs, and it is
conceivable--though much less certain--that extremely
powerful bombs of a new type may thus be constructed.
A single bomb of this type, carried by boat and exploded
in a port, might very well destroy the whole port
together with some of the surrounding territory. However,
such bombs might very well prove to be too heavy for
transportation by air....
Excerpts
from letter dated August 2, 1939, from Albert Einstein
to
President Roosevelt
Source:
U.S. Army Trinity Site
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While
research continued at scattered university sites, the concentrated
effort to develop an atomic weapon escalated after the entry
of the U.S. into the War following Pearl Harbor. The work
also gained urgency when American scientists learned that
the Nazis also were pursuing atomic weapons research. In 1941,
the Manhattan Project was formally organized, and the next
year General
Leslie Groves of the Army Corps of Engineers was appointed
to manage the overall program, with physicist J.
Robert Oppenheimer named to head the nuclear research
laboratories that were constructed at Los Alamos, New Mexico.
When Roosevelt died, the scientists were optimistic that they
would soon be ready for their first test
of a bomb.
At his
first Cabinet meeting on April 12, the day of Roosevelt's
death, President Truman was advised briefly of the project's
existence by Secretary of War Henry
L. Stimson. Stimson later followed this up with a much
more extensive session at the White House on April 25 at which
a memorandum was given the President projecting that the bomb
would be ready for use within four months and suggesting that
the President appoint a committee to review the options for
possible use of the weapon. Soon, with the surrender of Germany
in May, any fear that the Nazi atomic research would produce
a weapon was removed.
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President
Truman's account of his first Cabinet meeting as president,
April 12, 1945, the day of President Roosevelt's death
That
first cabinet meeting was short, and when it adjourned,
the members rose silently and made their way from
the room--except for Secretary Stimson.
He asked to speak to me
about a most urgent matter. Stimson told me that he
wanted me to know about an immense project that was
underway--a project looking to the development of
a new explosive of almost unbelievable destructive
power. That was all he felt free to say at the time,
and his statement left me puzzled. It was the first
bit of information that had come to me about the atomic
bomb, but he gave me no details.... The next day Jimmy
Byrnes, who until shortly before had been Director
of War Mobilization for President Roosevelt, came
to see me, and even he told me a few details, though
with great solemnity he said that we were perfecting
an explosive great enough to destroy the whole world.
Source:
Memoirs
by Harry S. Truman, 1945: Year of Decisions (New York:
Smithmark, 1995), pp. 10-11, published online
by Nuclear
Age Peace Foundation
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President
Truman accepted Stimson's recommendations, and named Stimson
to chair what would become known as the Interim
Committee. At the Committee's June 1, 1945 meeting, they
reviewed options for the bomb's use, as reported in the Committee
meeting notes,
" Mr. [James] Byrnes recommended, and the Committee agreed,
that... the [atomic] bomb should be used against Japan as
soon as possible; that it be used on a war plant surrounded
by workers' homes; and that it be used without prior warning."
On June
18, the President met at the White House with the Joint
Chiefs of Staff to review the military situation and to seek
estimates on the potential casualties that would result from
an invasion of the Japanese home islands. During the meeting,
he expressed concern that the action could produce a rate
of loss similar to that suffered in the fighting for Okinawa,
when over a third of Amercan troops were casualties, with
more than 25,000 killed and 55,000 wounded. A joint army and
navy war plans committee estimated that 25,000 men would be
killed in an invasion of the Japanese island of Kyushu on
two fronts; 40,000 might die if an invasion on a single front
was followed by invasion of the island of Honshu, where Tokyo
was located; and 46,000 deaths were projected from a two-front
invasion of Kyushu followed by an invasion of Honshu.
Excerpt
of minutes of meeting held at the White House on June 18,
1945. Source: Harry
S. Truman Presidential Museum & Library
Despite
the recommmendation, there continued to be debate within the
government, as well as among the scientists working on the
bomb's development, over the moral and military issues relating
to its use. Leo
Szilard, the physicist whose work led to Einstein's contacts
to Roosevelt that ultimately produced the Manhattan Project,
became a leading spokesman for restraint in the use of the
weapon. In March, Szilard had drafted another letter
for Einstein to send to Roosevelt asking the President to
hear Szilard's concerns, but the letter failed to reach Roosevelt
prior to his death on April 12. Szilard also attempted to
organize support from other scientists urging that the U.S.
not act alone in the use of the weapons.
...the
way in which nuclear weapons, now secretly developed
in this country, will first be revealed to the world
appears of great, perhaps fateful importance.
Nevertheless,
it is not at all certain that the American public
opinion, if it could be enlightened as to the effect
of atomic explosives, would support the first introduction
by our own country of such an indiscriminate method
of wholesale destruction of civilian life.
Thus,
from the "optimistic" point of view - looking
forward to an international agreement on prevention
of nuclear warfare - the military advantages and the
saving of American lives, achieved by the sudden use
of atomic bombs against Japan, may be outweighed by
the ensuing loss of confidence and wave of horror
and repulsion, sweeping over the rest of the world,
and perhaps dividing even the public opinion at home....
"The
Franck Report" (Report of the Committee on Political
and Social Problems of the Manhattan Project chaired
by James Franck and including Leo Szilard) dated June
11, 1945
Source:
Atomic
Bomb: Documents on the Decision to use Atomic Bombs
on the Cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Gene Dannen
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On June
27, Undersecretary of the Navy Ralph A. Bard wrote to Secretary
of War Stimson that use of the bomb without warning was contrary
to "the position of the United States as a great humanitarian
nation," especially since Japan seemed close to surrender.
Others argued, however, that the Japanese military, as illustrated
by the suicide kamikaze campaigns launched late in the war
against U.S. ships, would never accept a surrender.
On July
16, 1945, the first atomic bomb was tested at the Trinity
site near Los Alamos. The heat of the explosion on exposed
skin was felt up to 20 miles from the site.
The explosion took place
at about 5:30 A.M. I had my face protected by a large
board in which a piece of dark welding glass had been
inserted. My first impression of the explosion was
the very intense flash of light, and a sensation of
heat on the parts of my body that were exposed. Although
I did not look directly towards the object, I had
the impression that suddenly the countryside became
brighter than in full daylight. I subsequently looked
in the direction of the explosion through the dark
glass and could see something that looked like a conglomeration
of flames that promptly started rising. After a few
seconds the rising flames lost their brightness and
appeared as a huge pillar of smoke with an expanded
head like a gigantic mushroom that rose rapidly beyond
the clouds probably to a height of 30,000 feet. After
reaching its full height, the smoke stayed stationary
for a while before the wind started dissipating it....
Enrico
Fermi eyewitness
account of first test of bomb on July 16, 1945
Source:
Atomic
Bomb: Documents on the Decision to use Atomic Bombs
on the Cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Gene Dannen
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On the
day following the successful test, Leo Szilard forwarded a
petition to the President from himself and 69 others working
on the bomb program:
We, the undersigned scientists,
have been working in the field of atomic power. Until
recently, we have had to fear that the United States
might be attacked by atomic bombs during this war
and that her only defense might lie in a counterattack
by the same means. Today, with the defeat of Germany,
this danger is averted and we feel impelled to say
what follows:
The war has to be brought
speedily to a successful conclusion and attacks by
atomic bombs may very well be an effective method
of warfare. We feel, however, that such attacks on
Japan could not be justified, at least not unless
the terms which will be imposed after the war on Japan
were made public in detail and Japan were given an
opportunity to surrender.
If such public announcement
gave assurance to the Japanese that they could look
forward to a life devoted to peaceful pursuits in
their homeland and if Japan still refused to surrender
our nation might then, in certain circumstances, find
itself forced to resort to the use of atomic bombs.
Such a step, however, ought not to be made at any
time without seriously considering the moral responsibilities
which are involved.
In view of the foregoing,
we, the undersigned, respectfully petition: first,
that you exercise your power as Commander-in-Chief,
to rule that the United States shall not resort to
the use of atomic bombs in this war unless the terms
which will be imposed upon Japan have been made public
in detail and Japan knowing these terms has refused
to surrender; second, that in such an event the question
whether or not to use atomic bombs be decided by you
in light of the considerations presented in this petition
as well as all the other moral responsibilities which
are involved.
Excerpts
from Petition to the President of the United States
dated July
17, 1945, signed by Leo Szilard and 69 co-signers
at the Manhattan Project "Metallurgical Laboratory"
in Chicago.
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At the
time of the test, President Truman was in Europe meeting with
Stalin and Churchill at the
Potsdam Conference. The President had postponed the meeting
in hopes that the test would take place, thus giving him leverage
with the Soviets in the sensitive negotiations on how the
Allies would govern the post-War world.
Stalin
showed little visible reaction to the news. Later, however,
evidence was disclosed that he promptly directed the Soviet
scientists to expedite their existing atomic development schedule.
I was perhaps five yards
away, and I watched with the closest attention the
momentous talk. I knew what the President was going
to do. What was vital to measure was its effect on
Stalin. I can see it all as if it were yesterday.
He seemed to be delighted. A new bomb! Of extraordinary
power! Probably decisive on the whole Japanese war!
What a bit of luck! This was my impression at the
moment, and I was sure that he had no idea of the
significance of what he was being told. Evidently
in his immense toils and stresses the atomic bomb
had played no part. If he had the slightest idea of
the revolution in world affairs which was in progress
his reactions would have been obvious. Nothing would
have been easier than for him to say, "Thank
you so much for telling me about your new bomb. I
of course have no technical knowledge. May I send
my expert in these nuclear sciences to see your expert
tomorrow morning?" But his face remained gay
and genial and the talk between these two potentates
soon came to an end. As we were waiting for our cars
I found myself near Truman. "How did it go?"
I asked. "He never asked a question," he
replied. I was certain therefore that at that date
Stalin had no special knowledge of the vast process
of research upon which the United States and Britain
had been engaged for so long...
Winston
Churchill, Triumph and Tragedy (Boston: Houghton-Mifflin,
1953) pp 669-70
Nuclearfiles.org
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The leaders
at Potsdam also issued a Declaration
demanding that Japan surrender, but without any mention of
the potential for nuclear destruction. During the Potsdam
meeting, the President also conferred with his advisers over
the options in continuing with the prior plan to invade Japan
or to employ the new weapons in an attempt to end the War.
...I
called a meeting of the Secretary of State, Mr. Byrnes,
the Secretary of War, Mr. Stimson, Admiral Leahy,
General Marshall, General Eisenhower, Admiral King
and some others, to discuss what should be done with
this awful weapon.
I
asked General Marshall what it would cost in lives
to land on the Tokyo plain and other places in Japan.
It was his opinion that such an invasion would cost
at a minimum one quarter of a million casualties,
and might cost as much as a million, on the American
side alone, with an equal number of the enemy. The
other military and naval men present agreed.
I
asked Secretary Stimson which cities in Japan were
devoted exclusively to war production. He promptly
named Hiroshima and Nagasaki, among others.
We
sent an ultimatum to Japan. It was rejected.
I
ordered atomic bombs dropped on the two cities named
on the way back from Potsdam, when we were in the
middle of the Atlantic Ocean....
....Dropping
the bombs ended the war, saved lives, and gave the
free nations a chance to face the facts.
Letter
dated January 12, 1953, of President Truman to Professor
James L. Cate responding to Cate's inquiry for information
on the decision reached following the Potsdam Conference
to use the atomic bomb against Japan
The
Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb: Truman and the Bomb,
a Documentary History
Robert
H. Ferrell, Harry S. Truman Presidential Library &
Museum
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Despite
the dissent within the government and the scientific community
over the need and morality of the bomb's use, the President
decided to use the weapon on Japan, although there remains
controversy over whether there was full appreciation of the
high civilian populations in both the initial target--Hiroshima
and Nagasaki.
We have discovered the most
terrible bomb in the history of the world. It may
be the fire destruction prophesied in the Euphrates
Valley Era, after Noah and his fabulous Ark.
Anyway we "think"
we have found the way to cause a disintegration of
the atom. An experiment in the New Mexico desert was
startling - to put it mildly. Thirteen pounds of the
explosive caused the complete disintegration of a
steel tower 60 feet high, created a crater 6 feet
deep and 1,200 feet in diameter, knocked over a steel
tower 1/2 mile away and knocked men down 10,000 yards
away. The explosion was visible for more than 200
miles and audible for 40 miles and more.
This weapon is to be used
against Japan between now and August 10th. I have
told the Sec. of War, Mr. Stimson, to use it so that
military objectives and soldiers and sailors are the
target and not women and children. Even if the Japs
are savages, ruthless, merciless and fanatic, we as
the leader of the world for the common welfare cannot
drop that terrible bomb on the old capital or the
new.
He and I are in accord.
The target will be a purely military one and we will
issue a warning statement asking the Japs to surrender
and save lives. I'm sure they will not do that, but
we will have given them the chance. It is certainly
a good thing for the world that Hitler's crowd or
Stalin's did not discover this atomic bomb. It seems
to be the most terrible thing ever discovered, but
it can be made the most useful...
Truman
diary entry on July 25, 1945,
quoted in The
Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb: Truman and the Bomb,
a Documentary History >>Robert
H. Ferrell, Harry S. Truman Presidential Library &
Museum
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Twenty-one
days after the Los Alamos test, on August 6, 1945, the B-29
bomber Enola Gay dropped the bomb on Hiroshima. Three days
later, a more powerful bomb was used to bomb Nagasaki.
Subsequent
studies have estimated
the deaths occurring as a result of the bombings either immediately
or through radiation exposure as ranging between 90,000 to
140,000 of Hiroshima's then population of 310,000 and 60,000
to 80,000 of Nagasaki's population of 250,000. See Radiation
Effects Research Foundation. On the day after the
bombing of Nagasaki, the Japanese government offered
to surrender on the condition that the role of the Emperor
be maintained. After further exchanges between the State Department
and the Japanese government, Japan agreed to an unconditional
surrender
on August 15, 1945, bringing an end to World War II. In addition
to the six million Jews and other civilians who died in the
Holocaust, total estimates of deaths toll attributable to
the war for military and civilian casualties have ranged upward
to 60 million. See Casualties
in World War II: Jason McDonald.
Resources:
The
Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb: Truman and the Bomb, a Documentary
History >>Robert
H. Ferrell, Harry S. Truman Presidential Library & Museum
President
Harry Truman and the Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb >>The
National Archives (U.K.) Learning Curve
Atomic
Bomb: Documents on the Decision to use Atomic Bombs on the
Cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki >> Gene
Dannen
Fifty
Years from Trinity >> The
Seattle Times
Hiroshima
Archive
A-Bomb
WWW Museum
World
War II History Info
Franklin
D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum
Suggestions
for the Classroom: The Holocaust, anti-Semitism, U.S. immigration
policy, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, World War II,
PBS.org
Winston
Churchill and Dresden, The
National Archives (U.K.) Learning Curve
Educational
Tools:
Lesson
Plans: The Manhattan Project >>
The
History Teaching Institute, The Ohio State University
Student
Activity: Atomic Bomb-Truman Press Release-August 6, 1945
>>
Harry S. Truman
Presidential Library & Museum
Lesson
Plans: Nuclear Science: Understanding the Development and
Control of Nuclear Energy >> Harry
S. Truman Presidential Library & Museum
Ending
the War Against Japan: Science, Morality, and the Atomic Bomb
>> Choices
for the 21st Century Education Program, Watson
Institute for International Studies, Brown University
Contemporary
History of Civilization, Professor
Joseph V. O'Brien, John Jay College of Criminal Justice
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