ONeill Essay3
ONeill Essay3
ONeill Essay3
The decision of when and where to deploy the first atomic bomb was
of destruction and many deaths, not to mention all of the injured civilians,
groups working on the development of the atomic bomb could not agree on
the circumstances regarding its use. Leo Oppenheimer and his team were in
favor of swift, decisive action. Szilard and his cohort were in favor of giving
options. Each party was able to defend their position with compelling
arguments.
Both groups were in favor of ending the Pacific Campaign, they just
had different ideas on the means required. Szilard and his team pointed out
that there were inherent dangers in the direct display of power.(Kordas) Their
idea was to take a more conservative approach with more diplomacy and a
firm warning of the potential for destruction. The concern was that when the
rest of the developed countries witnessed the power of the atomic bomb,
that they would start their own atomic programs.(Kordas) This instance could
potentially lead to all future conflicts becoming nuclear conflicts. Szilard went
as far to write a letter to Truman requesting that the atomic bomb not be
ultimate goal being to end the war promptly and demonstrate militaristic
superiority to the rest of the world. Oppenheimer was of the position that
saving lives was of the utmost importance. While both were well presented
both short term and long term consequences. It also foreshadowed the
concerned with the impact that the bomb would have on Japan or the
consequences for the United States. They also expressed concern for
bomb. Szilard stated that “If after this war a situation is allowed to develop in
these new means of destruction, the cities of the United States as well as the
annihilation.”(World History)
take Szilard’s advice and demonstrate the atomic bomb, or use the atomic
bomb. Conventional bombing and ground invasion were both ruled out as
people prior to that point and Truman was of the mindset that a ground
invasion would just result in a greater loss of American lives. In May 1945,
Truman formed the Interim Committee to advise him on nuclear energy and
the use of nuclear weapons.(World History) The general consensus was that
a demonstration could not be relied upon to bring an end to the war. This left
the final option, deploying the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and later,
Nagasaki. In the week prior to the deployment, Truman wrote in his personal
diary, “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.”(Letter from Truman) Based on these
statements, Truman had a healthy respect for the power of the atomic bomb
but he viewed it as the best possible option when presented with the
of the Szilard letter, there is clear evidence that Truman had a respect for the
power that he held in the form of being able to make the final call on how to
and if there was other strategic options that could render a similar
conclusion. Ethically, I don’t know how I would reconcile the idea of dropping
doesn’t mean that one shares the same ideals. Worse yet would be the idea
of killing innocent children. On the other hand, I am not sure how I would
also have issues with moving straight to dropping the bomb without a
making each weapon count but if I thought that there was even a remote
would’ve attempted that route first. Ultimately, I would drop the bomb if
there was no other feasible option, but the decision would likely haunt me.
Works Cited
“Harry Truman’s Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb (U.S. National Park
www.nps.gov/articles/trumanatomicbomb.htm#:~:text=It%20was
%20created%20to%20destroy,us%2C”%20the%20president%20wrote.
“J. Robert Oppenheimer (U.S. National Park Service).” National Parks Service,
scientists-j-robert-oppenheimer.htm?
utm_source=person&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=experience_mo
Truman, Harry S. “Letter from Truman to James L Cate.” SDA World History,
sdaworldhistory.edublogs.org/files/2016/09/DBQ-Buddhism-page-1-
MIT, web.mit.edu/21h.102/www/Primary%20source%20collections/World