Atomic Bomb Morality

Just like people, countries cannot be perfect. On August 6, 1945 a B-19 dropped the “Little Boy” on Hiroshima, Japan. Forty seven square miles were obliterated. Later, a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. More than 150,000 people died between the two blasts. The morality of the atomic bomb drops are often questioned. “Few doubt that the United States would have developed the weapon before the end of the war if it had not been for the persistence of…Leo Szilard… [and] Albert Einstein.” (178). One of the revelations made that lead to the construction of the atomic bomb happened at a traffic light. Szilard thought that it may be possible to split a nucleus with a neutron causing nuclear fission. He conducted numerous experiments. In theory,

He then recruited Robert Oppenheimer. A team of scientist was then brought in, but Einstein was not one of them.

“The FBI considered him a security risk…” (190). Einstein knew when the Manhattan Project began as nearly all of the nuclear physicists were unable to be contacted. The project was becoming less relevant due to several military victories. Then, “they found documents revealing that the Germans were at least two years behind the Americans in developing the bomb.” (191).

Roosevelt then died which put Truman into office. Truman did not know very much about the bomb and its project. By then, the Manhattan Project already had enough

On August 6, 1945 a B-19 dropped the “Little Boy” on Hiroshima, Japan. Forty seven square miles were obliterated. Later, a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. More than 150,000 people died between the two blasts. The world has become a completely different place because of these events. Einstein’s, Szilard, and Oppenheim’s contributions changed the world. In the words of Voltaire, “With great power, comes great responsibility.”. Atomic weapons and the issues that come with them all sparked from Einstein’s letter. As a war ended with an atomic weapon, another war began. The cold war can be viewed as directly stemming from atomic weapons. In more recent times, the presence and capabilities of creating atomic weapons is a constant problems. Between the nuclear capabilities of the Middle East and the testing of atomic weapons in North Korea, there is a constant threat. With that threat, some of the greatest arguments of a lifetime have been brought to light. There are definite positive and negative aspects of the atomic bomb. It could save thousands of lives, while only hitting high priority targets. It could be used as a deterrent as dictated by mutually assured destruction (M.A.D.). The nuclear capabilities of a country could be used to generate power and not weapons. There are also serious repercussions. With the detonation of an atomic bomb, massive amounts of radiation is