Cold War #4

I am starting to put the pieces of this project together. My most recent find was a very long telegram written by the scientists at Los Alamos, Chicago and Oak Ridge laboratories to President Truman about the dangers of atomic weapons. These were highly intelligent, moral men who were extremely concerned about what would happen next. 1945 seems to be an important turning point in the politics of the Cold War. Most students of the Cold War focus on the problems in Germany as the war came to a close. The decisions that were being made in Washington, D. C. concerning atomic technology would have a greater impact on the next 62 years than the problems of Germany and Eastern Europe. Even after the fall of Communism in 1991 the world still had to deal with the issue of nuclear weapons stockpiles. Hopefully by exploring this topic with students they can begin to question who was right when World War II came to a close. When my students discuss what to do about terrorists today some are quick to say we should just bomb the country that they live in. Other students realize that innocent lives could be lost. Maybe if the students knew the facts from the scientists and the politicians perspectives they would take their time making a decision about what to do with the problems the United States is dealing with today.