The Manhattan Project and the World After It

Over time humanity has learned that it is hard to overestimate the effect that

the construction of nuclear weapons have had on the world we live in. The first time humans witnessed the destructive power of nuclear weapons they were able to see how two bombs were able to destroy two entire cities. It was destruction at an unprecedented scale. Nevertheless, even before the first nuclear bomb was used by the United States on Hiroshima, scientists had already been telling fellow contemporaries about the danger of making nuclear weapons. They were aware of the fact that the construction of the first nuclear bomb would represent an irreversible step, a step that would change the world forever. At the same time, circumstances were forcing the United States and their allies to act with incredible haste. When the United States received Enrico Fermi, a scientist who had just fled Fascist Italy, they were warned about the possibility of the Germans and their Axis allies building a nuclear bomb first. These suspicions were revived when Albert Einstein, another scientists who had just escaped Nazi persecution, sent a letter to President Roosevelt where he told him how indispensable it was for them to make a nuclear weapon. After considering all of these warnings many began to wonder whether or not the Manhattan Project was productive or counterproductive, and whether it was necessary or avoidable.

Note: Enrico Fermi(left), Albert Einstein(right)

The Manhattan Project was a U.S. government research project that was built

to construct a nuclear bomb as quickly as possible. Americans were already alarmed by the news of new advancements and discoveries being made by the Germans. Most recently, in 1939 German physicists had learned the secrets of splitting an atom of uranium. It became very clear to many in the American scientific community that it would only be a matter of time before German physicists used this knowledge and decided to apply it to the construction of weapons of mass destruction. Scientists like Einstein and Fermi that had been included in the Manhattan Project were particularly aware of it. Even after the members of the Manhattan Project sprung into action the Germans were still working diligently in the creation of their own nuclear bomb. Had the Manhattan Project not succeeded the very first nuclear weapons at the time would have probably been built by the Germans. Nevertheless, the question still remains today over whether or not actually using the bombs was a righteous act.

At the time the decision of using the bomb against the Japanese did not seem to be

very difficult. After all, many people in the United States had been brainwashed by Hollywood and the media into believing that the Japanese were somehow inhuman and even lower than the Germans. A lot of Americans firmly believed that Japan had achieved many victories in treacherous ways, and that their actions in China and in the Pacific were so deplorable that they deserved punishment. In addition, the United States had already spent a lot of time and energy in their war in the Pacific. The victories at Iwo Jima and Okinawa had been obtained at a gruesome price, and American military strategists were completely sure that the horrors at Iwo Jima and Okinawa were only a preview of the carnage that would take place if the American army ever attempted to force its way into Tokyo. Emperor Hirohito and his people still maintained a steely resolve and will to win the war. If the American army was to drive its way into the capital it would then risk losing thousand of lives and resources. A nuclear bomb would end the job a lot more quickly for the United States.

Atomic Bomb Dropped on Hiroshima

Despite all the reasons the United States had to justify their attack there will be always those who believe that the attacks were completely unjustified. The attack was indeed carried out on civilians. At Hiroshima there were approximately 135,000 civilian casualties, while at Nagasaki there were more than 64,000 civilian casualties. In addition, the already existing threat of nuclear destruction was a key factor in the atmosphere that was created during the Cold War, which took place right after the Second World War was over. The Cold War was already a serious conflict between two nations, the United States and the Soviet Union, that had emerged as the two new global giants and leaders of economy. Each side had their own agenda and their own goals. Very often the goals and the agendas of these two would interfere with each other. The existence of nuclear weapons on both sides simply blew this conflict out of proportions. For decades both the Soviets and the Americans would live under the constant threat of being nuked. It was a fear that had never existed before, and it thus showed how the construction of nuclear weapons had already changed the world just within a few years. It is hard to know what the Cold War would have been like without the existence of nuclear weapons. Nevertheless, it is safe to assume that without the existence of nuclear weapons the Cold War would have never created an environment where the danger of being wiped out by weapons of mass destruction was clearly present. Therefore the existence of nuclear weapons was what distinguished the Cold War from other conflicts, and it truly played a pivotal role in the development of events. The Cuban Missile Crisis would have never occurred if the Americans did not have to be afraid of the fact that the Soviet Union was deploying parts of its nuclear arsenal in Cuba. At the same time, the United States and the Soviet Union would have never had think about a policy of “Mutual Assured Destruction”, a policy that encouraged both countries to have the same nuclear power so that no one gained an advantage. In addition, the Soviets and the Americans would have never had to talk about limitations on their respective nuclear arsenals, like they did in the SALT treaties.

All in all, it seems as if we would be living much better now had the

atomic bomb never been created. Nevertheless, the creation of nuclear weapons has arguably had some positive effects on us. The threat of assured destruction for everyone made people chase after peace rather than victories. Furthermore, since now people would no longer be longing for war, negotiation would become the best vehicle towards peace and agreements. Somehow nuclear weapons made people more sensitive to what war is about and what it can do to an entire world.

Regretting the existence of nuclear weapons is easy. However, denying or

eliminating their existence is now futile.