Celeste Basken

March 4, 2019

Green Group

Byrnes Perspective on the Manhattan Project

James Francis Byrnes supported the Manhattan Project during World War II without

considering moral or scientific objections because he thought that it was his key to gaining

power and influence in Truman’s administration. Byrnes hadn’t been chosen by the Democratic

National Committee to be Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Vice President in 1944, and instead

Truman got the role (“James F. Byrnes Biography”). When FDR died in 1945, Truman, instead

of Byrnes, became the president. Byrnes wanted the power and influence back, and he decided to

angle himself to Truman as the “bomb guy” in hopes of rising in Truman’s administration

(“James”). Truman trusted him and turned over full control to Byrnes. Amid his concerns about

power and his role in the government, Byrnes gave little thought to the moral and scientific

questions that the Manhattan Project posed.

Byrnes met frequently with top scientists, such as Oppenheimer, who tested the bomb in

New Mexico ("James F. Byrnes Biography.”). Byrnes pitched himself as the bomb expert in the

upper cabinets of Truman’s administration, but he actually understood very little about the

science of the atomic bomb (Alperovitz, 348). Byrnes supported the project and “ensured that the

project had access to the necessary material and financial resources and ensured it continued to

receive top priority” ("James F. Byrnes Biography.”). Byrnes barely considered the moral

implications that creating such a destructive bomb could have. In Interim Committee meetings,
he relentlessly pushed the creation of the bomb and did not listen to scientists’ concerns about

the scientific impacts (Alperovitz, 96).

Truman turned over most of his oversight of the Manhattan Project to Barnes. When

Secretary of War Henry Stimson created the secret Interim Committee in 1945, tasked with

overseeing the Manhattan Project among other things, Byrnes was selected as Truman’s personal

representative (“The Interim Committee”). As such, Secretary of State Byrnes held immense

power over the risky project. Byrnes was “one of Truman’s advisors on the atomic bomb” and he

saw the Manhattan Project as a way to gain influence in the president’s administration

(Alperovitz, 196). In this role, he had the “most power” on the committee and he oversaw the

scientists and the funding (“The Interim Committee”). Since the project was rushed and

secretive, there aren’t detailed records on specific changes that Byrnes made to the project, but it

is agreed that he had a lot of influence (“James”). Byrnes also had an “attitude that the atomic

bomb assured ultimate success,” and he wanted Truman and others to buy into the idea of the

bomb (Alperovitz, 282). Byrnes saw the Manhattan Project as a promising endeavor that could

help the United States out in the war and help him out in the government.

Secretary of State Byrnes missed out on the opportunity to be Franklin Delano

Roosevelt’s successor and become the President, the position instead going to Truman, but

Byrnes still had a massive impact on the Manhattan Project with a unique perspective (“James”).

He fully endorsed the project and the creation of the atomic bomb, not truly for military or

scientific reasons, but for more personal ones. He hoped that his involvement in the Manhattan

Project and the Interim Committee would grant him greater influence in Washington politics.
Works Cited:

Alperovitz, Gar. ​The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb​. New York, Vintage Books,

1995.

"The Interim Committee." ​Atomic Heritage Foundation​, 5 June 2014,

www.atomicheritage.org/history/interim-committee. Accessed 4 Mar. 2019.

"James Byrnes." ​Nuclear Pathways​, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation,

www.nuclearfiles.org/menu/library/biographies/bio_byrnes-james.htm.

Accessed 5 Mar. 2019.

"James F. Byrnes Biography." ​Atomic Heritage Foundation,​ www.atomicheritage.org/

profile/james-f-byrnes. Accessed 4 Mar. 2019.