Atomic Age Began on Illinois Squash Court

On August 6, 1945, 81 years ago today, the world entered the nuclear age with the first wartime use of an atomic weapon, when the United States bombed Hiroshima. Three days later, a second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. Within days, Japan accepted the terms of surrender, bringing World War II to a close. These events forever demonstrated both the extraordinary power of scientific discovery and the profound responsibility that accompanies it.

Yet the Atomic Age did not begin with the bombing of Hiroshima. Its origins can be traced to a letter, a world-changing scientific breakthrough on an Illinois squash court, and a series of scientific, political, and military decisions that would alter the course of history forever.

EINSTEIN-SZILARD LETTER

In 1939, physicist Albert Einstein warned President Franklin D. Roosevelt that advances in nuclear physics could make extraordinarily powerful weapons possible and that Nazi Germany might be pursuing them. An Einstein-signed letter, featured in The Promise of Liberty, written by Einstein and fellow physicist Leo Szilárd, reflected the growing concern that scientific discoveries could alter the course of the war in a truly devastating manner, and with it, the future of the world.

ILLINOIS EXPERIMENT BEGINS THE ATOMIC AGE | WORLD’S FIRST NUCLEAR REACTOR

Just three years after Albert Einstein’s letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt warned of the military potential of nuclear fission, one of the most consequential scientific experiments in history took place – not in a remote laboratory, but beneath the football stadium at the University of Chicago.

On December 2, 1942, at 3:25 p.m., the Atomic Age truly began in Illinois when a team led by Italian-American physicist and Nobel laureate Enrico Fermi achieved the world's first controlled, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction. The experiment took place inside Chicago Pile-1 (CP-1) – the world’s first artificial nuclear reactor – constructed on a former squash court beneath the West Stands of Stagg Field at the University of Chicago. The reactor, a 20-foot-tall pile of graphite blocks embedded with uranium, proved that humanity could deliberately release and control the enormous energy locked within the atom. Read more about it here.

Fermi had fled Fascist Italy in 1938 after Benito Mussolini’s anti-Jewish racial laws endangered his wife, Laura, who was Jewish, and their family. Like Albert Einstein before him, Fermi found in the United States not only refuge from dictatorship, but also the freedom to pursue scientific discovery. His work in Chicago became one of the defining achievements of the twentieth century.

For the first time, Einstein's famous equation, E = mc², had moved from elegant theory to demonstrated reality. Humanity had successfully harnessed the energy contained within the atomic nucleus, opening the door to revolutionary advances in medicine, energy production, scientific research, and, ultimately, nuclear weapons. Few moments in history have so profoundly reshaped civilization or so clearly illustrated the dual-edged nature of scientific progress.

Like the Wright brothers’ first powered flight, Thomas Edison’s electric light bulb, and the Apollo missions that would follow, this achievement stands among the defining milestones of American ingenuity. It transformed what was thought possible, revealing both the immense promise of scientific discovery and the profound responsibility that accompanies it.

THE MANHATTAN PROJECT

The breakthrough in Illinois paved the way for the Manhattan Project, one of the largest scientific and engineering undertakings in history. Led by the United States in partnership with the United Kingdom and Canada during World War II, the top-secret program brought together thousands of scientists, engineers, and workers to develop the world’s first nuclear weapons.

Illinois remained at the heart of this unprecedented effort. While pioneering nuclear research continued in Chicago, the secret Houdaille-Hershey plant in Decatur manufactured the specialized nickel diffusion barriers essential for enriching uranium. Thousands of Illinois workers contributed to the project without knowing its true purpose; many did not learn what they had helped build until after the war had ended.

ATOMIC AFTERMATH

The United States Constitution entrusts presidents with immense responsibility, but not omniscience. America’s leaders have always been called upon to make decisions based on the best information available at the time – often under extraordinary pressure and with consequences that reach far beyond their own generation.

When the Constitution was written in 1787, its authors could not have imagined nuclear weapons, global wars, or scientific discoveries capable of reshaping civilization. Yet they created a system of self-government in which leaders would be entrusted to confront challenges they could not foresee.

Reflecting on his decision to use atomic weapons against Japan, President Harry S. Truman said in his Farewell Address to the American People on January 15, 1953:

“The war against Japan was still going on. I made the decision that the atomic bomb had to be used to end it. I made that decision in the conviction it would save hundreds of thousands of lives – Japanese as well as American ...”

Truman also distilled what he believed was the central responsibility of the presidency:

“The President – whoever he is – has to decide. He can’t pass the buck to anybody.”

Whether one agrees or disagrees with Truman’s decision, his words underscore a fundamental truth about constitutional government: presidents must make consequential choices in moments of uncertainty, accepting responsibility for decisions whose effects may be judged for generations.

The story of the Atomic Age illustrates this enduring reality. Albert Einstein’s warning to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Enrico Fermi’s breakthrough on an Illinois squash court, and President Harry S. Truman’s decision to use the atomic bomb each demonstrate how scientific discovery, constitutional leadership, and the weight of history can converge in moments of profound consequence.

Visitors to The Promise of Liberty can explore this remarkable story through artifacts connected to these pivotal events, including Einstein's warning to Roosevelt and Truman's reflections on the burdens of presidential decision-making.

Throughout America 250, the Peoria Riverfront Museum is exploring the people, ideas, and defining moments that continue to shape our nation. Through The Promise of Liberty, visitors can encounter the original, rare documents, artifacts, and stories that reveal not only what happened in our nation’s past, but how liberty has inspired discovery, welcomed extraordinary talent, challenged leaders to make difficult decisions, and continues to shape the American experience today.