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Letter to Franklin D. Roosevelt (1939)1

Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein
Old Grove Road
Nassau Point
Peconic, Long Island
August 2, 1939
F. D. Roosevelt
President of the United States
White House
Washington, D. C.
SIR:
Some recent work by E. Fermi and L. Szilard, which has been communicated to me in
manuscript, leads me to expect that the element uranium may be turned into a new and important
source of energy in the immediate future. Certain aspects of the situation seem to call for
watchfulness and, if necessary, quick action on the part of the Administration. I believe, therefore,
that it is my duty to bring to your attention the following facts and recommendations.
In the course of the last four months it has been made probablethrough the work of
Joliot in France as well as Fermi and Szilard in Americathat it may become possible to set up
nuclear chain reactions in a large mass of uranium, by which vast amounts of power and large
quantities of new radium-like elements would be generated. Now it appears almost certain that
this could be achieved in the immediate future.
This new phenomenon would also lead to the construction of bombs, and it is
conceivablethough much less certainthat extremely powerful bombs of a new type may thus
be constructed. A single bomb of this type, carried by boat or exploded in a port, might very well
destroy the whole port together with some of the surrounding territory. However, such bombs
might very well prove to be too heavy for transportation by air.
The United States has only very poor ores of uranium in moderate quantities. There is
some good ore in Canada and the former Czechoslovakia, while the most important source of
uranium is the Belgian Congo.
In view of this situation you may think it desirable to have some permanent contact
maintained between the Administration and the group of physicists working on chain reactions in
America. One possible way of achieving this might be for you to entrust with this task a person
who has your confidence and who could perhaps serve in an unofficial capacity. His task might
comprise the following:

Otto Nathan and Heinz Norden, eds., Einstein on Peace (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1960), 294-297.

a) To approach Government Departments, keep them informed of the further

developments, and put forward recommendations for Government action, giving particular
attention to the problem of securing a supply of uranium ore for the United States.
b) To speed up the experimental work which is at present being carried on within the
limits of the budgets of University laboratories, by providing funds, if such funds be required,
through his contacts with private persons who are willing to make contributions for this cause,
and perhaps also by obtaining the cooperation of industrial laboratories which have the necessary
equipment.
I understand that Germany has actually stopped the sale of uranium from the
Czechoslovakian mines which she has taken over. That she should have taken such early action
might perhaps be understood on the ground that the son of the German Under-Secretary of State,
von Weizscker, is attached to the Kaiser Wilhelm Institut in Berlin, where some of the American
work on uranium is now being repeated.
Yours very truly,
A. EINSTEIN

This letter, addressed by the then greatest living scientist to one of the most important
political leaders of the world, bearing on dramatically important scientific and military
developments and suggesting crucial moves by the American Government, was actually not
submitted to President Roosevelt for over two months, during which period the Germans might
have made much progress in the search for a nuclear chain reaction. The available documents in
Einstein's files and all other sources of information fail to provide an adequate explanation for the
delay in transmitting Einstein's communication. In a letter of September 27, 1939, Szilard
conveyed to Einstein his impression that the letter "had already been in Washington for some
time." But in another letter, dated October 3, 1939, Szilard reported that he and Wigner had
called on Sachs, and Sachs admitted still having Einstein's letter in his possession; Sachs explained
that he had gained the impression from several telephone conversations with Roosevelt's secretary
that it was advisable to see the President at a later time since he was overburdened with work. In
his testimony of November 27, 1945, before the Special Committee on Atomic Energy of the
United States Senate, Sachs stated that he had not wanted to accept an appointment with the
President as long as the President was involved in revising the existing neutrality legislation.
However, the neutrality legislation did not become an acute issue until the war broke out in
Europe on September 1, 1939, which was more than four weeks after Einstein had signed the
letter.
In his letter to Einstein of October 3, 1939, Szilard remarked that he and Wigner had
begun to wonder whether it might not become necessary to entrust another person with the
mission Dr. Sachs had volunteered to perform. But Sachs did finally see President Roosevelt on
October 11, 1939, and submitted to the President Einstein's letter, a more technical memorandum
by Szilard, as well as considerable background material. The Szilard memorandum stated that, if
fast neutrons could be used, "it would be easy to construct extremely dangerous bombs with a

destructive power far beyond all military conceptions." Sachs also submitted to the President a
written statement of his own in which he summarized the main problems involved and listed the
steps which he thought should be taken by the United States in the matter of further exploring the
problem of nuclear fission.
President Roosevelt acted at once. He appointed an "Advisory Committee on Uranium,"
which was to report to him as soon as possible; a few days later, he addressed the following letter
to Einstein:

The White House

Washington
October 19, 1939
MY DEAR PROFESSOR,
I want to thank you for your recent letter and the most interesting and important
enclosure.
I found this data of such import that I have convened a board consisting of the head of the
Bureau of Standards and a chosen representative of the Army and Navy to thoroughly investigate
the possibilities of your suggestion regarding the element of uranium.
I am glad to say that Dr. Sachs will co-operate and work with this committee and I feel
this is the most practical and effective method of dealing with the subject.
Please accept my sincere thanks.
Very sincerely yours,
FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT