Letter To Albert Einstein
The Einstein Letter is a letter to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed by Physicist Albert Einstein to inform Roosevelt of Germany’s plans to develop uranium weapons to use against America. This letter was written on August 2nd, 1939 by physicist Leó Szilárd and a group of other physicists at Columbia University in New York, which was read, agreed upon, and signed by Albert Einstein. It is a primary source intended to be viewed by Roosevelt in regards of using such a weapon and Germany’s likelihood of being able to produce a nuclear weapon of the sorts. Einstein was decided to be the best person to sign such a letter for his internationally known prestige in physics and his personal relations to the Roosevelt family. The letter reached
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This letter exposed crucial information to Roosevelt, like the destructive power of a uranium bomb, Germany’s intentions of creating such a weapon, and the importance of America developing their own bomb. Since the need to use the atomic bombs on Germany never arose, America was granted the option to use it on other threats. The threat that the bomb was used on was Japan several times. The Japanese, believing that surrendering was more shameful than death, were unwavering in their effort to fight America, even when their defeat was evident. To finally crush the Japaneses’ spirit, the bombs were used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, bringing the end of WWII into the very immediate future. Although the atomic bomb was never necessary for the purposes of fighting Germany, It saved time, American lives, and prevented a drawn out painful and gruesome for everyone except Japan. The atomic bombs created because of this letter also prominently put America on top as the strongest Military force for a four year period. A negative side to this would be that it inspired Russia to create an atomic bomb (followed by numerous other countries) and a long running competition between the two countries. While it is unlikely that the Allies would have lost the war without the atomic bomb it did benefit the Allies greatly by reducing the casualties of the Allies and time spent on the war, while still retaining the a part of Japan’s country and
This letter exposed crucial information to Roosevelt, like the destructive power of a uranium bomb, Germany’s intentions of creating such a weapon, and the importance of America developing their own bomb. Since the need to use the atomic bombs on Germany never arose, America was granted the option to use it on other threats. The threat that the bomb was used on was Japan several times. The Japanese, believing that surrendering was more shameful than death, were unwavering in their effort to fight America, even when their defeat was evident. To finally crush the Japaneses’ spirit, the bombs were used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, bringing the end of WWII into the very immediate future. Although the atomic bomb was never necessary for the purposes of fighting Germany, It saved time, American lives, and prevented a drawn out painful and gruesome for everyone except Japan. The atomic bombs created because of this letter also prominently put America on top as the strongest Military force for a four year period. A negative side to this would be that it inspired Russia to create an atomic bomb (followed by numerous other countries) and a long running competition between the two countries. While it is unlikely that the Allies would have lost the war without the atomic bomb it did benefit the Allies greatly by reducing the casualties of the Allies and time spent on the war, while still retaining the a part of Japan’s country and