As the Manhattan Project moved toward achievement of nuclear weapons, Albert Einstein addressed a letter to the then president, Roosevelt, introducing the physicist Leo Szilard. The latter, like many of the other physicists working on the bomb, was concerned about participation in a project that might kill tens of thousands of Japanese including many civilians.

After Truman became president, Szilard and a friend called upon the new president's appointment secretary, Matthew J. Connelly, who after consultation with President Truman arranged for Szilard and two other physicists to see James F. Byrnes, at that time living in South Carolina. Byrnes was a member of the interim committee, which was considering problems involved in using nuclear weapons. Early in July 1945, Byrnes would became secretary of state. To the surprise of the three scientists Byrnes spoke almost triumphantly of how the bomb, not yet tested, would make Soviet Russia more amenable to American policy toward Europe and East Asia.

In July 1945, scientists at the Metallurgical Laboratory at the University of Chicago, which was one of the laboratories of the Manhattan Project, signed a petition against dropping bombs on Japan without warning. A similar petition was signed at Oak Ridge. Unfortunately the scientists sent those petitions to the War Department where either the rush of events, the absence of the highest administration officials including Secretary Stimson (who was at Potsdam), or - as the scientists afterward suspected the unwillingness of the military to consider their proposal prevented action in the subsequent days and weeks.

Sir:

I am writing you to introduce Dr. L. Szilard who proposes to submit to you certain considerations and recommendations. Unusual circumstances which I shall describe further below induce me to take this action in spite of the fact that I do not know the substance of the considerations and recommendations which Dr. Szilard proposes to submit to you.

In the summer of 1939 Dr. Szilard put before me his views concerning the potential importance of uranium for national defense. He was greatly disturbed by the potentialities involved and anxious that the United States Government be advised of them as soon as possible. Dr. Szilard, who is one of the discovers of the neutron emission of uranium on which all present work on uranium is based, described to me a specific system which he devised and which he thought would make it possible to set up a chain reaction in unseparated uranium in the immediate future. Having known him for over twenty years both for his scientific work and personally, I have much confidence in his judgment and it was on the basis of his judgment as well as my own that I took the liberty to approach you in connection with this subject. You responded to my letter dated August 2, 1939 by the appointment of a committee under the chairmanship of Dr. Briggs and thus started the Government's activity in this field.1

The terms of secrecy under which Dr. Szilard is working at present do not permit him to give me information about his work; however, I understand that he now is greatly concerned about the lack of adequate contact between scientists who are doing this work and those members of your Cabinet who are responsible for formulating policy. In the circumstances I consider it my duty to give Dr. Szilard this introduction and I wish to express the hope that you will be able to give his presentation of the case your personal attention.

Very truly yours,
[A. EINSTEIN]

Letter to Matthew J. Connelly from Leo Szilard Metallurgical Laboratory, August 17, 1945

Read the memo for James Byrnes from Matthew J. Connelly

Source Miscellaneous historical documents file, no. 345