Dreadful Struggle for Controlling the Atomic Button

Alex Wellerstein’s Book

Alex Wellerstein is a Ph.d in the history of science with a particular interest in the history of nuclearization, its development, and its impact on politics, science, society. The Second World War was a period in recent history that marked the development and growth of nuclear weapons among the nations that strived for their supremacy in the world politics. It was a period in which the world had only read about the destructive power of atomic weapons but had not seen the calamity that could it brought on humans as they saw it later in the case Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The Most Awful Responsibility; Turman and the Secret Struggle for Control of the Atomic Age, the author Wellerstein describes the burden felt by the leaders like the President Truman about destructiveness and dangers with this new weapon. It was a formative phase both for the future Presidents of the United States as well as other world leaders if they got this weapon.

The Atomic Age Beginning

If the early years of 20th century is called the Years of Physics due to new discoveries in nuclear atomic technolgy it would not be a wrong connotation on it. With the start of WW II, it was feared that if Nazi Germany or other Axis powers got nucear weapons, they would surely use it aginst the Allied powers. It was a period in which a scientific question like the atomic energy was seriously discussed in military circles in the shape of nuclear weapon and its usage!!!

The ideological and economic rivalries between the major world political players served as driving force for their nuclear research. Albert Einstein letter to the President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1939 is often reffered to as a motivating force of the United States to take seriously the issue of nuclear weapons. Albert EinStein warned them about a potential Nazi nuclear program that would annihiliate them in case of its success.

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As response to this impending threat, the Office of Scientific Reaserch and Development (OSRD) was constituted by the US government which later on called the Manhattan Project. The successful first nuclear test was carried out on 16 July 1945 in New Mexico code named as the Trinity Test. The successful nuclear test gave the President Harry S. Truman the options of its usage as well as moral question about the war ending.

He believed that this new weapon would soon finish war in the Asia Pacific where Japanese forces were still fighting. The scientific, military, and political factors all mixed with each other making it difficult for anyone of them to be seperated from the other one. The leaders now knew the weight and results of their decisions.

Any miscalculation could destory the whole the planet. Negatively, these leaders felt energyzed and undefeatable due to this nuclear weapon presence making war, destruction, and manipulation easy and acceptable for them.

An Era of Transition

Harry S. Truman assumed the presidency on April 12, 1945, following the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt. At the time, the world was nearing the conclusion of World War II, and Truman was thrust into one of the most challenging periods in American history.

President Harry S. Truman spent his childhood in a farming community of Missouri. After serving as a soldier in WW I, he was a staunch believer on democracy and international cooperation and care. The decision whether to use nuclear weapon on Japan or not was not an easy one. Generals, scientists, and political advisors were giving their opinions to President Truman whose pros and cons were again putting ordeals to him.

Two advisors of him, General Groves and Scientist Oppenheimer prevailed on him to decide about the nuclear weapon. Faced with the revolutionary power of the atomic bomb, this decision was not an easy one. The military generals wanted to end the war quickly in order avoid further casualities. While President Truman was raking with loss of civilian lives if the atomic bomb was dropped on Japan. Thus, a swirling decision that President Truman had to do!!!!

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The advent of atomic weapons marked a pivotal moment in human history, shaping not only international relations but also igniting intense internal conflicts among U.S. government officials, military leaders, and scientists. Following the unprecedented bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a complex struggle emerged surrounding the control and application of nuclear technology. This discord stemmed from divergent interests and philosophical approaches regarding the future of atomic energy and warfare.

Perception and Propaganda

The use of propaganda during and after the Cold War was instrumental in shaping public perception of the atomic bomb and the nuclear arms race. The US government tacitly used the media in their favor for getting the justification of atomic bombing of Japan. Meanwhile, public at large both in America and outside feared of nuclear doomsday in future due to war or any miscalculatin. The handling of this fear and protest was another raising issue faced by the Washington.

President Truman often asserted that by going nuclear does not mean that US would attack or either destory other countries. The existence of atomic bomb means a protective shield to safeguard the United States from the attacks of other rival nations like the Soviet Union in future. Thus trying to sooth the growing fear both at home and abroad!!!

Media campaigns organized by the US governments to point out the potential benefits of nuclear research and technology in all walks of life. An attempt to soften the public opinion about the nuclear weapons and further governmental investments in the nuclear field !!!

The Nuclear Policy

The foremost and basic dynamic of Truman’s policy was the adoption of a nuclear deterrence strategy stressing that the maintainance a strong arsenal is essential to prevent the enemies from attacking the United States. This lesson was learnt in the WW II where nuclear bombing of Japan ended the war and also restructured the whole world politics.

The only thing it needed was a balance between military strenght along with a careful use of diplomacy to prevent the use of this bomb and get the required results from your opponents through political and diplomatic means with out any war.

The nuclearization of the Soviet Union compelled the United States to continuously assess and adapt new strategies and policies regarding its own nuclear waeopns. The two sides turned towards bloc politics by seeking campers for thier alliances. The only fear was the Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD), the fear that in case of any war or conflict the two side, USA and USSR, would annihilate themselves.

It was something new and unimaginable in the international relations turning the two super powers to control and negotiate on nuclear weapons reduction and existence both for their national and global security as well. It was a formative period for the nuclear policies and strategies of the United States.

Truman’s Legacy

The birth of nuclear weapons drastically changed the concept of deterrence in war. Other countries quickly realized the importance of this new weapon by earnestly seeking this new weapon for themselves. The Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) theory thus established a very delicate and cutting-edge balance in the international politics.

Nations realized that any traditional war may now turn into a nuclear war resulting into an unscalable destruction. So they must now be very careful in their behavior in world politics and avoid wars for their safety. Truman’s legacy, therefore, was a legacy of diplomacy plus with military might making its ramifications precaroius for international politics….

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