Panama Canal Case

The atomic bomb was a great marvel in the world of physics. To be able to create an enormous amount of energy from a single microscopic atom is a true paradox. The trappings of World War II catalyzed the creation of the atomic bomb. Nazi Germany was at its peak of Hitler’s conquest for world domination. The Americans believed that the Germans were very close to creating the atomic bomb and that the U.S needed to create the bomb first to stop nuclear warfare.

Leo Szilard, a Hungarian physicist, came to the United States seeking Albert Einstein’s help in getting the U.S to start working on the bomb. Szilard had been working on a project to split an atom and release its energy. He was initially successful, being able to break apart a single atom and he greatly feared what would happen if a chain reaction was realized. He knew that Einstein was his only key to getting the bomb before the Germans. Szilard was one of Einstein’s greatest students. Albert Einstein was a pacifist and greatly against the war and also greatly against a weapon of such destruction.

Szilard finally got Albert Einstein to sign a letter that he had written to be placed on the desk of President Franklin Roosevelt, warning him of Germany seeking to create the atomic bomb. The next issue was getting the letter on the desk of the president. For this Szilard got his friend Alexander Sachs, a close economical friend of FDR. The president initially did not take action on the letter thinking that the United States was not at great risk. Eventually he created the Uranium committee who worked in labs at Columbia University. Einstein was invited to this group but declined. Eventually Enrico Fermi showed up and work on the controlled chain reaction began. The Army and Navy saw the uranium club as a waste of money and their funds were cut off.

Szilard went to Albert Einstein to write another letter urging that FDR give more funds to the club and that the Germans were getting