Nuclear Bombs essays

Nuclear Bombs essays On April 12th 1945, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt died. His successor, Harry S. Truman, took hold of the American presidency and immediately had immense pressure upon his shoulders. He was briefed on the recent completion of the worlds first atomic bomb, made in Los Alamos, New Mexico. The project, called the Manhattan project, was headed by President Roosevelt to quickly end World War II. This was the most powerful weapon ever constructed, and the new President had the stress of determining if the bomb would be used on human beings. The war in Germany ended only a month later, thus closing one front of the war. With the European theater closed, the US could focus more on fighting the war in the Pacific with Japan. Many factors were now involved in President Trumans decision. An invasion of Japan was already planned in November of that same year, with the expected casualties in the millions. The Soviet Unions leader, Joseph Stalin, had agreed to help end the war with Japan, but Soviet help would only help the nation to conquer more land. Truman needed to decide which factors would persuade him to act. Many of the creators of the bomb were horrified at what they saw in Alamogordo New Mexico on the day of detonation. The head creator of the bomb, Enrico Fermi stated, Good God in heaven, what have we done! This creation of ours can only bring nothing but utter destruction to civilization. The idea of its use on human beings appalls even the most heinous life forms on this Earth. May God have mercy on our souls.1 After the testing, the creators of the bomb had a meeting with the United Nations war council to deter the use of the weapon. They suggested demonstrating the power of the weapon to the Japanese instead of using it. This way the Japanese would be persuaded into surrender. Dr. Oppenheimer, the head of the council stated that the US should have the Japanese ...view a demonstration...