"The Bomb that Turned the War Cold"
by Nathan Reed
The new American acquisition of the atomic bomb brought about significant changes in the relationship between Russia and the joint countries, Great Britain and the United States. Russia's discovery of America's nuclear weapon compounded Russia's already existing disagreements with democratic countries such as the U.S. and England. Mistrust between the diverging countries replaced the alliance they had during World War II. This mistrust led to the cold war between communist Russia and the democratic countries of America and western Europe. The coming about of the atomic bomb marked the beginning of this seemingly inevitable conflict.
During World War II, Albert Einstein alerted the U.S. government that nuclear fission could have powerful and devastating effects and that a mass destruction bomb could be developed to cause this destruction. The government, afraid that the Nazis would beat them to the invention, set up the Manhattan project in 1942 to research and build this awesome device. With the help of British research, American scientists formed the contraption. On July 16, 1945, America successfully tested its first nuclear weapon in New Mexico. This new super power was immediately viewed as a way to pressure other nations, especially the Soviet Union, to submit to the U.S..
At the very beginning, conflicts arose concerning the issues surrounding the bomb. Great Britain felt that it, along with the United States, had a right to the bomb. An Anglo-American union in the matter of atomic energy became a highly debated subject. Many Americans mistrusted the British and doubted their right to an exchange of atomic information with the United States. Most of these people were not worried so much with the alliance during the war as they were concerned with how it would affect postwar relationships.1 However, in mid-1943 President Roosevelt renewed the free exchange of information with Great Britain's Winston Churchill. They now shared the atomic bomb.
The next major debate developed around the question of whether the Soviets should be informed of the bomb's existence or if the Anglo-American force should control the power brought about by such a bomb. Niels Bohr, a Danish physicist, firmly pushed for international control of atomic energy.2 He predicted that if Russians found out on their own that America possessed an atomic bomb, the relationship between the countries would be mortally wounded. And not only this, but an arms race between the countries would also be triggered. Bohr met with both Roosevelt and Churchill to explain his ideas. Churchill flatly dismissed them, and Roosevelt, who usually agreed with Churchill, largely ignored them without even consulting his advisors. The President soon received word that the Soviets had obtained knowledge of the bomb. Still, Roosevelt refused to take the Russians into confidence.
Bush and Conant, the President's advisors, sanctioned the same beliefs as Bohr, but their advice to the President went ineffective. Thus, the advisors looked to another sympathizer of their views-- Henry Stimson, the Secretary of War. They hoped that he would have more of an influence on the President than they had.
Their belief that Russia should be included in the knowledge of the atomic bomb is explained in the following quote from Stimson: ". . . the only way you can make a man trustworthy is to trust him; and the surest way to make him untrustworthy is to distrust him and show your distrust."3 Stimson, Bush, Conant, and Bohr all believed that the relationship with Russia would be better if Russia was trusted with knowledge of the atomic bomb than if America and England manifested their distrust by keeping the bomb a secret from the Russian dictator, Joseph Stalin.
In early 1945, Stimson met with the President to discuss this issue. Stimson's meeting with Roosevelt may have been effective in persuading Roosevelt of the relevance of this idea, but soon after their meeting Roosevelt died. He left the office of President to Harry S. Truman.
Truman was entangled in a particularly difficult position. He had to deal not only with his country and the war, but also with all of the policies Roosevelt left behind when he died. Although Truman doubted some of the policies, he determined to carry them out.4 The atomic bomb secret was also carried over into Truman's Presidency. On July 24, 1945, eight days after the bomb was proven to function, Truman informed Stalin that the bomb existed without giving him any details. Stalin merely said that he hoped the bomb would be used on the Japanese. The possibility of that happening appeared completely open and feasible. The Anglo-Americans hoped that dropping the bomb would bring about a quick end to World War II and also demand the cooperation of Russia with the United States and its allies.5
On August 6, 1945, the atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese city, Hiroshima. Three days later another one was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan. On September 2, 1945, Japan surrendered to the Allies, marking the defeat of the Axis forces and the end of World War II. Not only did World War II end, but another war was about to start. As Martin J. Sherwin stated, "Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the culmination of that process, became the symbols of a new American barbarism, reinforcing charges, with dramatic circumstantial evidence, that the policies of the United States contributed to the origins of the cold war."6
Although Truman rejoiced at first in the dropping of these bombs, he soon came to value a "strategy of peace."7 Still, he approved the development of the hydrogen bomb in order to stay ahead of Russia, which had already built their own atomic bomb in 1949. This began the endless race between countries to have the most powerful weapons.
Such a race is obviously a result of distrust between the nations. Truman's harsh (compared to Roosevelt's) dealings with the Russian implanted in them a sense of hostility from the Americans.8 Americans were also in constant doubt of Soviet intentions, and they finally realized that the Russians just could not be trusted. A conflict seemed ominous.
One of the greatest challenges facing Truman was this possibility of entrance into a "cold war" with Russia. As the author John Gaddis stated, "American leaders did not want a cold war, but they wanted insecurity even less. By early 1946, President Truman and his advisors had reluctantly concluded that recent actions of the Soviet Union endangered the security of the United States."9
Thus, the Cold War had well begun. The distrust and conflicts would continue from that time until the early 1990's. The atomic bomb triggered some of the distrust between the countries Russia and America and marked the beginning of the arms race. In short, the whole atomic bomb ordeal set off the four decade "Cold War" between the West and the Soviet Union.
Endnotes
1. Martin J. Sherwin, "The Atomic Bomb and the Origins of the Cold War," Gary B. Nash, ed., Retracing the Past (New York, 1986), 256.
2. Ibid., 259.
3. William Dudley, ed., The Cold War: Opposing Viewpoints. (San Diego, 1992), 43.
4. John Lewis Gaddis, The United States and the Origins of the Cold War: 1941-1947. (New York, 1972), 198.
5. Ibid., 244-246.
6. Sherwin, 267.
7. Stewart L. Udall, The Myths of August. (New York, 1994), 149.
8. John Lewis Gaddis, Russia, the Soviet Union, and the United States: An Interpretive History. (New York, 1978), 180-181.
9. Gaddis, Origins, 353.
Back to Perspectives