How Did President Truman Shaped The Development Of The Atomic Bomb

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In 1938 scientists in Germany discovered that the nucleus of an atom could be split in two, or fissioned. The United States, along with other nations quickly confirmed this discovery . One month before the start of World War II, Albert Einstein brought this discovery to President Roosevelt’s attention. Roosevelt then created a government committee to organize and fund early Uranium research . Uranium, one of earth’s periodic elements, made up the atomic bomb. After Germany invaded Europe, scientists believed that the United States would quickly be involved in World War II, causing them to push for an acceleration of atomic research. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States entered the war, and in the following months Roosevelt created the Manhattan Project, which proceeded with the construction of the atomic bomb . While the Manhattan Project was initiated to further study the advances in …show more content…

In the first few weeks President Truman was unaware of the development of the atomic bomb. Stimson and Groves, generals in charge of the Manhattan Project, briefed President Truman on the atomic research and development as well as future plans for the atomic bomb. A letter from Groves states, “The Secretary and myself both emphasized to the president that our present interest was purely military…our immediate prospects were military only and it was toward that field that our entire efforts were devoted” . In the memorandum that was given to the president the same day it also states, “The successful development of the atomic fission bomb will provide the United States with a weapon of tremendous power which should be a decisive factor in winning the war more quickly” . After the meeting that was held on April 25, 1945 with the president it was very clear that the atomic bomb became more militarized, straying from the scientific