Introduction To The Nuclear Era

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Ryan Oh

US History Honors

Mr. Macaluso

The Manhattan Project: Introduction to the Nuclear Era

In today’s society, people around the world live in an era where nations are constantly threatened by the presence of nuclear bombs. Some historians even refer to this period as the "nuclear era" ("The Manhattan Project"). To defend these nations from such a threat, the United States government is still forcing nuclearized nations, most prominently Iran and North Korea to give up its nuclear facilities. The nuclear bomb has been considered a huge threat to the American security and has led mankind to question whether our scientific discoveries are truly beneficial to our society. Pacifists and environment experts have chastised major military powers, most notably the United States, for continually investing and developing new set of nukes for the last 30 years. Criticism has not only been directed towards the bomb, but also towards the power plants. For example, after the Fukushima power plant accident in 2011, the anti-nuclear movement was made (Oguma). These criticisms and the constant threat of the nuclear attacks lead people to question, "What caused all these messes?" The answer traces back to the Manhattan Project in 1940-1945, a turning point in American history that displayed the first major-scale use of nuclear technology and dynamically changed the international diplomacy from early 1940s to 21st century.

The Manhattan Project roots date back to the escape of Albert Einstein and Enrico Fermi from the European continent in 1940. Einstein escaped from Nazi persecution in Germany while Fermi fled Fascist Italy. Early in 1939, world’s scientists discovered that German physicists found a way to split a uranium atom. Both Einstein and Fermi acknowledged the massive danger of this atomic technology, since it was capable of emitting massive and unspeakable energy that no weapon has had before. Einstein and Fermi eventually left Europe to seek help, in order to stop the Axis from gaining an atomic bomb. In 1941, Einstein sent a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt urging the development of an atomic research program later that year. Roosevelt ultimately granted the research and gave the code name, "Manhattan Project" ("The Manhattan Project"). It was named "Manhattan" since the Army Corps of Engineers, who were responsible for the project, set their headquarters near Chambers Street in Manhattan (Broad). The project was kept number one secret for the U.S. government. Even Harry S. Truman, the vice president at that time, did not know about the project until he became the President. For the next four years, the circulation of sufficient funds and the aid of the U.S. government led Julius Robert Oppenheimer – an American scientist who directed the Manhattan Project – to test the first bomb near Alamogordo, New Mexico. The project was successful for the most parts, except that crucial information of the project was reported to Stalin through a Soviet spy named Klaus Fuchs ("The Manhattan Project").

Until Nowadays, the Manhattan Project was considered the most significant turning point since it elevated the United States to become the superpower of the world. It shifted the balance of power from Great Britain to the United States. The project allowed the United States to actually use the bomb toward its enemies without further American casualties. The explosion of atomic bombs, one in Hiroshima and the other in Nagasaki, showed the world that the United States has the capability to turn one major city into ashes if they are willing to. Other nations, who did not have the technology, were tempted to join the side of the U.S., even if they disagreed with the diplomatic policies of Truman administration. However, the status of the U.S. as sole superpower did not last long. The United States was about to pay the price for its failure to secure the information on the bomb, intercepted by Klaus Fuchs and the Soviet Union.

The significance of the Manhattan Project, specifically the spying activity of Klaus Fuchs in the project, lies on its pivotal role in introducing the period of the Cold War to American history. During the process of research in the project, Klaus Fuchs and perhaps, other "unidentified" spies of the Soviets, was able to steal technological information regarding the atomic bomb. Fuchs was able to have access to top-secret information about the project, since he worked as a member of theoretical division that was responsible for imploding the fissionable core of the atomic bomb: the most integral task of the project. Not only did he reveal the specifics of the Manhattan Project, but also the U.S. government’s plan to develop a hydrogen bomb: which theoretically has 1000 times more energy than an atomic bomb ("Klaus Fuchs"). The Soviet Union eventually obtained an atomic bomb of its own in 1949, which allowed the Soviets to effectively repel President Truman’s "containment." To be specific, "containment" was a policy that attempted to prevent the proliferation of communism. For instance, Truman provided $400 million to Greece and Turkey in order to help their government to successfully resist the communists in both countries ("Containment"). Of course, the invention of Soviet’s atomic bomb allowed Stalin to spread his communist ideals throughout the world, mainly on Eastern Europe and Asian countries ("Cold War"). This led to trouble for the U.S., such as the rise of Ho Chi Min in Vietnam and the Kim family in North Korea, whom both respectfully caused the Vietnam War and the Korean War.

The most significant facet of the Manhattan Project was that it forced the world to face the nuclear era. The introduction of the era is not just a bad one - indeed, it is somewhat ambivalent. The dark side of the nuclear era is that nations now have a device that could cause massacre in a humongous scale that no one has observed throughout the history. On the other hand, the invention of nuclear bombs decreased the chance of a large-scale warfare between two or more major powers, such as that happened in World War II. Due to the explosion in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the leaders of major nations in today’s modern society are well aware of the danger of nuclear power - it is common sense that nuclear bombs that nations are much more powerful than the ones dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Therefore, major powers use the nuclear weapon as a device to threaten other countries in international politics, rather than actually using it in warfare. Although we are exposed to the weapon of mass destruction, the chance of "actual" nuclear war between the major powers decreased. Iraq War was not a part of this trend, since Iraq was not major power 10 years ago. The products from the Manhattan Project and further nuclear developments, in reality, have been effectively preventing powerful nations from causing another worldwide catastrophic warfare.

In conclusion, the Manhattan Project was the most significant turning point in U.S history because it elevated the United States’ status in international politics, led to the period of Cold War, and introduced the nuclear era to modern history. Although the project led people of various nations to fear and be exposed to the perils of such a mass-murdering weapon, it has been exploited by major powers in the world not as an actual weapon exercised in battles, but as a diplomatic tool that has threatened other countries. However, this does not mean that we should not fear nukes at all; there are still violent fanatics such as Taliban and Al Qaeda who are willing to use the bomb, if acquired, on the United States. Although the denuclearization of the U.S. seems ideal, people should not agitate for it: for redirecting ourselves to securing America’s nuclear technology from terrorist cyber-attacks and spying activities are far more beneficial and possible to accomplish.