Student Question
Why did President Truman feel the need to explain the atomic bomb's power in his 1945 press release?
Quick answer:
President Truman needed to explain the atomic bomb's power in his 1945 press release because the concept of an atomic bomb was unknown to the public. The Manhattan Project, which developed the bomb, was highly secretive to prevent Axis powers from developing their own. Since this was unprecedented technology with immense destructive capability, Truman had to clarify its nature and significance to the American public and the world.
The reason for this is simple. No one knew what an atomic bomb was at that time.
The Manhattan Project that was making the atomic bomb was one of the most closely guarded projects of the war. The US certainly did not want the Axis powers to find out about it for fear they might get to work on their own atomic bombs. This fact, and the fact that no atomic bomb had ever been created, meant that very few Americans knew that it was even possible to create an atomic bomb. Since this was a completely new technology that was more powerful than any then known, Truman needed to explain what it was and how powerful it was.
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