It was published last year, she has published other books on the history of science. You might have noticed that a number of the panelist today dont have academic training in history, or have not been academic historians or their entire careers. Im quite certain that angela is the only one in our panel who has a phd in biochemistry. She actually worked as a scientist and a graduate student with radioisotopes of berkeley before she decided she wanted to be a historian. She is now a professor of history at princeton university. She is also the incumbent president s of the history of science societies. She has done pretty well for a biochemist. [laughter] creager. [applause] i would like to give my warm thanks to the key west harry s. Truman foundation, for bringing me here. I am enjoying the sunshine, and the sea, as well as these marvelous panels. Where thisn with morning sessions left off. The Nuclear Detonations at hiroshima and not a socket world war ii by demonstrating a devastating power of the atom that. Turned toovernment publicizing the peacetime dividends of nuclear mileage knowledge. Pioneering usage of isotopes in medicine and science have actually proceeded the atomic age by two decades. Of radioisotopes remains smallscale, until the development of Nuclear Reactions for the bomb project in the 1940s. Before the war ended, leaders of the secret Manhattan Project proposed to convert the large senior into aor production site after the war for radioisotopes for outside users. Commissionenergy then inherited this plan, overseeing a program of preparation and distribution as the means to promote the peaceful use of the atom. Those who are trained or member what the radioisotope is, this is illustrated with a simple element of hydrogen. Here we have normal hydrogen, which is just one proton. Isotopes are various developments which have usually extra neutrons. There you see, if you add an extra neutron to hydrogen, it is still hydrogen, chemically. But it has a heavier mass. This is a stabilizer taupe. It remains like that. Youou add one more neutron, get the unstabilized tro here isotrope. It decays and gives off radiation. That is how they are detected when they are used. There are a number of radio isotropes that are useful in biological research. I have listed some of the most common regular elements. The number of neutrons that are in them with the variation is if they are stable, and what it is if they are radioactive. The thing that is striking is they are very different from one another. To give off different kinds of radiation as they decay. The halflife, the time during which half of the radioisotope will decay, very different. For this midst well beers, or carbon14, its 5730 years. For sodium, its 15 hours. The truman years, radioisotopes became political elements, instruments in the struggle over the control of the adamant. Of the atom. See el lawrence, who invented the first cyclotron. This is next to one of the larger cycle sounds cyclotrons. These were producing radioisotopes. The government got involved on a much larger scale. Governmented, as the began to supply radio i stroked with the Manhattan Project radioissotopes otropes. Particular, there were concerns about sending radioisotopes to foreign researchers. It resulted in an embargo of american produced review isotopes that lasted about a year. It reverberated through congress. Tion resulted in their politicization. Of 1946ic energy act was aimed at protecting or at least for tom prolonging the American Nuclear monopoly. It prohibited the export of fissionable materials. It charged the new civilian agency with developing the benefits of Atomic Energy for civilians, including distributing byproduct materials. There were references in the initial announcement to national distribution. A general need that domestic need to be filled first. The situation was more dire than that for people who lived outside United States border. It was and that they were at the back of the line, they couldnt get them at all. One in this country knows if any regulations against sending isotopes to foreign users, the conviction is widespread abroad that scientists in this country are unwilling to share their material. The first2, 1946, shipment was made. It was a personal shipment, handdelivered, from the physicist who was the director of Oak Ridge National laboratory, to a cancer researcher from st. Louis. It wasnt that he happened to be in oak ridge that day, picked up his military of carbon14, it was a photo opportunity to launch the whole program. You can see all the journalist and newspaper men crowded around the shipment. It was being stage right in front of the reactor. Shipments that had been pending all summer began being sent out, even as the confirmation hearings for the commissioners for the new agency resurfaced contentious political debates over Atomic Energy. But not all orders were being shipped by the Manhattan Project. By 1947, oak ridge had 73 unfilled for and request for radioisotopes from medical research and therapy. And were from england, carnival europe, including researchers in belgium, spain, and sweden. This is a picture of the first commissioner. They had an unusual organization, headed by this commission of five individuals, all of whom voted. There was a chair, but it was more of a spokesperson that i had. Head. There was only one scientist, and then william way back there were early commissioners. They had more pressing political problems. Particularly responding to allegations of Mission Files and misplaced fissionable materials. Werebritons additives unhappy that the agency was a civilian agency at all. They had lobbied for a military agency. , and theye watchdogs were especially critical of the commissioner, former head of the Tennessee Valley authority. His role in the new deal tainted him for many congressmen. The general Advisory Committee strongly advocated that the aec begin to export radioisotopes. It was made up of scientists, all physicists, headed by oppenheimer. They argued that releasing isotopes would have important political benefits. You can see from their document, i think oppenheimer had a heavyhanded drafting this. Thus proved that this democratic country will do all he can, consistent with its own defense and security, to improve the Public Welfare and raise the standard of living throughout the world. Despite the strong recommendation, the commissioners could not reach him unanimity. Opposedose they expanding the program be on the u. S. He felt like the safeguards were not sufficient to prevent radioisotopes to advance delivery operations in other nations. These review isotopes could not be used to build obama. Could notadioisotopes be used to build a bomb. He recognized that like other aspects of Atomic Energy policy, the issue of radioisotope distribution revealed contradictions in u. S. Foreignpolicy. The aim of slowing Russian Development of the bomb was interfering with aiding and assisting the rest of europe. This is what was called the Marshall Plan. He felt that the United States should use it scientific resources to reinforce strong alliances with european friends. It should be noted that many of these friends were people who actually developed Nuclear Science in the first place in europe, individuals like meals or. Many were located in other countries. Radioisotope might be used to gain information about the Nuclear Programs of other countries. Both ring security through intelligence. His is because any laboratory that this is because any laboratory that received radioisotopes would be open to having it reviewed. It would be useful to the United States to know that certain foreigners were busy with no more mischievous work then radioisotope research. Am i suggesting corey and the possibility that these men are employed against the interest of the United States. He came to view the distribution of radioisotopes to foreign scientist is part of a larger pattern of exchange that would benefit u. S. Interests. Three of the other commissioners agreed with him. He by contrast remain convinced that sending review isotopes abroad created a National Security risk. When the Commission Program voted, a past four to one. At the beginning of the Fourth Annual or National CancerResearch Congress in st. Louis, on september 3, 1947, president truman announced that the radioisotopes would be available to foreign scientists. Science to carry over into other problems of world concern. Out 356 shipments of radioisotopes to laboratories in treatment centers. You can see the iron curtain was an iron curtain also for the dissolution of radioisotopes distribution of radioisotopes. Sweden was actually the largest consumer, followed by england. Beyond australia and new zealand, the other noneuropean countries included argentina, chile, rew, and south africa. 90 of these shipments were being used in the field of medical therapy. Was Even Stronger in the foreign shipment program. It was important politically to allay fears that radioisotopes might be being used in military research. The assumption tended to be the physics and engineering might be used for military things. Ill it in medicine were more humanitarian in their orientation. Aec was at pains to emphasize the new isotope escorts exports didnt endanger National Security. Their credibility weekend by allegations including new charges of security lapses and objection to the screening of actions members for their political allegiances. In the spring of rising 49, ourher Security Breach gon was missing, ar missing. An inquiry was launched. Before hearings began, concerns about the radio Isotope Program began to surface in the press. A Senate Appropriations a senatoree meeting, from wyoming drew attention to the fact that lewis deviated from the process. The agency also approved an application from finland, which was considered even more problematic because they had a mutual defense fund with the soviet union. Story can see it, and a in the new york times, the commission was really caught by this. They try to regularize our relationship with finland. The joint committee on Atomic Energy soon picked up the alarm about isotopes in their investigation. Acs ramr charged the clearly violates the intentions of the radioisotopes program. More specifically, the initial policy was to try to further medicine and biology in foreign countries, particularly a shipment of radioactive iron that had been sent that april to highorwegian resents temperature steel. Because this might possibly have an application to jet engines. Hickenlooper, these violated the Atomic Energy act. It is interesting that the critics often conflated information and materials when talking about what should be allowed by the law. This accusation was reported in newspapers the next day under bylines such as the program also had a strong defender. Including brian mcmahon, who was the person who helped to author the initial Atomic Energy act. A newly appointed commissioner and physicist of the governments Manhattan Project. Oppenheimer testified on june 13 as head of the general Advisory Committee. He defended the radioisotope export decisions. Congressman asked him whether the radioisotopes being sent to europe might find their way to russia. I couldnt resist including what was probably the most famous quote from this hearing when oppenheimer talks back to hickenlooper and says no one can force me to say that you cannot use these isotopes for Atomic Energy. That is not true of all isotopes. Tony am is a good one. Big one. Ium is a these exports are as innocuous as a shovel or bottle of beer when it comes to making an atomic bomb. But of course, this response was seen as very arrogant and didnt help the case at the aec. Three months later, the announcement of the russians had detonated their first atomic bomb, reinforced suspicions that american scientist mightve given away their country secrets. These hearings exacted a toll on the agency. The export program for radioisotopes was not discontinued. The chair resigned. Actually expanded their export program in 1951 to include industrial uses, not just medical and scientific uses. Was byson they did this this time, the british and canadian Atomic Energy agencys were beginning to produce and sell their own radioisotopes to foreigners. Their policies were less restrictive than those of the u. S. Lose the market share in radioisotopes, the u. S. Expanded its program. In 1951, the press release stressed that these were not National Security risks. There is nothing secret or evil about radioisotopes in the forms in which they are sold in this country and abroad. As of today, isotope constitute the single most contribution of Atomic Energy to peacetime welfare. This is in part by the ,evelopment of Nuclear Power thinking the aec would be an atomic tba. By this time, france had its own experiment reactors. The u. S. Had evidence of a reactor operator russia and several other countries. The window of opportunity for the u. S. To show itself generous with its radioactive resources is closing. Recognize theec operation of reactors and several other countries might lead American Researchers to request them permission to import foreign isotopes. Later,end, a few years the Political Association that conservatives had crafted between the foreign distribution of isotopes and lacks National Security was finally severed by a republican president. Had a coreisenhower proposal to the u. S. Contribute visual materials to a program aimed at peaceful Atomic Energy. The country she did not materialize. But the program to take shape. It highlighted civilian benefits, which the radioisotope Solution Program had implement ties in the beginning. Eisenhowers program, and the broad overhaul of the Atomic Energy act in 1946, shifted in from guarding secrets and materials to sharing technology. Until this new political environment, radioisotopes had been viewed with suspicion by conservative americans. In the early postwar years, i suggested allergy, agriculture, and medicine represented these civilian or peaceful side of the agency to the public. Sending ofing the isotopes was politically thatable in the ways foreign use was not. He toured the same political meaning that the domestic shipment did. The message that adams could cure as well as killed. That is the part of trumans legacy of Atomic Energy that i want to highlight for todays panel. If you are more interested in this, and in the myriad ways in which radioisotopes from the government were used in the postwar. , you might look up my book. , you the postwar period might look up my book. Our next speaker is the author of a book called atomic age america, which was published last year. It is a survey of the history of Nuclear Energy that covers Nuclear Energy from the beginning to fukushima. He has published more books than i can name it. If were going to have lunch today, more books than most of us can count. Not only in the field of Nuclear Energy, but also in environmental history, urban history, history of technology, and a wide variety of fields in which he is published really important books. It is a great pleasure to have with us today marty melissa. Thank you. I want to thank the organizers. It is wonderful to be back in key west. One littleknown relationship that sam and i have, we both came out of graduate school the same year. We competed for the same jobs. Neither one of us got those jobs. [laughter] made sense then, we say how unfortunate it is for those universities that didnt hire us. We have maintained a good strong ego structure through all of this. I do spend a lot of my time writing environmental history, areas ofmy major research. Sam suggested i focus on this topic. I am really glad i did. Looking at the arms race especially through its origins in the Truman Administration, really gave me a sense of the monumental events that grew out of the war. And certainly grew out of the years of the truman presidency. The Nuclear Arms Race really does begin with the Manhattan Project. It leads to the development of the first atomic bomb. There is not competition immediately for the development of the bomb. There is certainly other countries that have stopped and started and started again. Efforts to develop atomic weapons. The bombing in the aftermath redefined the prosecution of war. I think that is important that we move into a time of total war. Total war of a whole new kind. Secondly, it kind of defines vulnerability and security in much different ways. It is extort an early important. The Truman Administration establishes a baseline for what becomes an ongoing arms race between which really never ends. I will talk briefly about 70 stages. Seven key stages. Beginning with trinity, the First Nuclear detonation. And the events of pottstown. The postwar debate in americas interest in a nuclear monopoly, the soviet successful destination detonation of an atomic bomb in 1949, the establishment of americas containment policy which defines the way it we will prosecute the cold war. Very significantly, the development of the hydrogen bomb, first tested by the United States in 52. Regionally, the cold war. Eisenhowers new look policy. And finally, the launching of sputnik. Really can see in graphic terms the influence of the Truman Administration. Trumans First Encounter with the bomb we heard about this earlier. Truman goes tos down pottstown to me with his allies to bring to an end the war. It certainly is on his mind to get the russians involved in the war. It is essential to the americans. I feel less that way later on. At the moment, there is a desire to do that. Truman wanted the leverage of the bomb. He wanted to be able to bring that to suggest the american power. Truman was instrumental in trying to make sure that the meeting points coincided with the trinity explosion. Pressure on the general and his folks. The promise of getting the was brought by this time, but the announcement of this test was sent to truman. He mentions it to stalin, install and seems indifferent. He knew about the us network, and the russians are aged in moving forward in their own way. Truman wanted a quick end to the war. Again, this meeting for him was important in moving forward. But still at this point, we are onesidedout a monopoly, not even really a monopoly. , and the Test Development of additional weapons without having to use them. The war itself, to the end of the war. Oflook at the postwar goals the administration. What it wanted to do in the face of the end of the war itself, the use of the atomic bombs on hiroshima and nagasaki. Establishing a postwar policy, a postwar strategic military, and even domestic policy had to factor in the bomb in some way. Were seeing a society which has typically, after wars, has sent its troops home. Now we were talking about what would become perpetual war in the face of the cold war. Where the United States is amassing its military resources, rather than limiting those. Primarily bomb through air power, became the central instrument of deterrence of possible aggression in the cold war. Maintaining a monopoly over Atomic Energy was extraordinarily important to the United States. , this is a very debatable question. The question is is it a real debate, or is this a foregone conclusion that the americans are essentially in genuine when they come to the table and say we can talk about it . My sense is that they are totally in genuine. As long as we hold of mom, we were not going to let go. Through all the machinations of the media, policy indicated that Nuclear Nationalism was an objective that the administration was going to follow. If we look at maintaining the trol of Atomic Energy, youre welcome it. At least it wasnt a cell phone. This unhappily, we can see the influence of the truman imposition administration. Point, for potential domestic use, and certainly for military use, there was no question where that was going to be maintained. The institutional structure that evolved after the war are clearly designed to keep that in the hand of the federal government. That makes Nuclear Energy distantly unique form of energy and in world history. In the world scene, the United States wanted to maintain a nuclear monopoly. Try not to month undermine our allies, and unduly aggravate our foes. Wewant this to be something could potentially share without making that kind of commitment. Indeed, what is shaping as a policy of in terms of control, in terms of military use, in terms of execution where does it fit in to the military structure of the United States . Givens clearly ambiguous, the unevenly matched question of how to use the bomb. We are the only ones that have it, and the prevailing wisdom was that the soviets were not going to have this anytime soon. We had some time to develop policy. Surprise, surprise. That didnt last for a long. The atomic testing that was taking place at bikini atoll gave a clear and distinct message that the United States was going to maintain control over this weapon. This was an action that spoke much louder than any kind of diplomatic doublespeak. Bomb,viets getting the august the ninth, detonating it ,n comics down kazakhstan sent shockwaves through the american government. Certainly in terms of productions of when this might take place were shot of the water. A delivery mechanism was not so obvious at this point. With a going to take on a Similar Program as the americans were . How long do we have before we have to worry about this . The fact that their intelligence was badly flawed, and the fact that all of a sudden it was a monopoly no longer existed it meant this tended to deepen already the events that were castigating us, i should say, into the cold war. In 1949, Atomic Energy was tangled in a new war context the cold war. The question is, how is this weapon going to play . What role will the play in this new relationship that is developing into kind of a bipolar world . During the cold war, the biggest question certainly for both sides was how to integrate the and eventually its hydrogen successor, into National Security policy. That commitment to finding a way to do that is what certainly stimulating the arms race. You have someone who has a bomb, but how are we going to do this . Is it a question of numbers, what kind of technologies, what kind of strategies . Whats amazing about this is i think often the assumptions of the atomic bomb was not much different than other kinds of military weaponry. To make that distinction a how to fit it in is one of the Great Stories of the cold war. We saw it as a way of emboldening our relationships in western europe, which is where first area of concern eventually this will fall into asia and other parts of the world. What it does in the soviet union is to create increased suspicion. Since the soviets are totally is so muchhat that consumption for the american public. Began asn unilateral control of the bomb, and moved beyond that. That whole storyline allowed truman to be more aggressive with the soviet union. His views were more strident than roosevelts when it came to that relationship. The americans turned it to generally a policy of containment. A strategy that evolves over time, but essentially, the idea of trying to cordon off the soviet empire in some way. Initially, through diplomatic means and economic means. It eventually through the establishment of nato, military means. We put tanks on the line, and we use the Nuclear Weaponry as an additional strength. Strategy,part of the in terms of utilizing a bomb within our National Security policy, is where does it end up . This is the internal battles was gets prettyary intense. The establishment of the u. S. Air force after world war ii, and with great lobbying, it was very clear that the air force was going to be the primary driver in this arm of the military with respect to the bomb. The Strategic Air command in it itsar will make take goal to make the bomb and use it as an arm of american power. In his view, to develop a first strike perspective. In way of presenting a inventive approach. He indicated he was willing to utilize the bomb through his control. Strike was a first kind of an early articulation of a preventive war idea. The first strike doctrine although it appeared to be a basis of american policy at that ise, was not affirmed americans official policy. The air force operated as if it was. The intention the tensions in the cold war rise, the Playing Field gets bigger. The very famous report that came out in 1950, which essentially stated the United States was going to be involved in preventing the russians to expand anywhere in the world. Anywhere there was soviet involvement, the americans would have an interest. This was a large task, but it indicated the degree to which the United States saw the necessity of keeping the soviets thoroughly contained. With nsc 68, which was put on hold, the attitude of the United States of engaging in a global conflicts, if we could war the global the cold a global conflict, is very evident. The key point is the development of the hydrogen bomb. Significant, not only because we are talking about thedes of power first hegemon tested was 1000 times more powerful than the bombs dropped on hiroshima and not a socket. Nagasaki. E it could not be used, these were city killers. These were wiping out whole parts of the society on a scale that was even unimaginable than what we saw happening in hiroshima. Many policymakers said we needed to define ways in which we are thinking about this particular weapon. If it is a weapon at all. During the. Of developments during the period of development, truman wanted to give a sense of where the sense that where this fit into american strategy. Are scientists who oppenheimer comes up on two sides of the issue. Others are talking about the ethics of this weapon. This is the time where the question of the morality of a weapon takes center stage. Saying thatports this is a very dangerous path to go. You might think about developing it, but should be added to the arsenal that is another question . Truman asked his advisers what should you do. What they had to say, with the support of the father of the others who were very much in favor of its development the russians are going to do it. That was all truman needed to hear. If they were going to do it, we were going to do it. Here you see the essence of the arms race. In some ways as quantitative battle over having more than them at this particular point. It is also a battle of technology and other elements which indicate that we have to isthis, despite the fact it an unthinkable weapon, because our opponents will do it if we dont. That arisesn initially in the development of the atomic bomb, with respect to the race by germany, is now magnified here with the hbomb. We commit to developing a weapon. Warfirst real test in a hot is in korea. Know,ttom line, as we all is that Nuclear Weapons were not utilized in that war. Debates continue over how close to become. How close did we,. There were instances that advocated for use of the bomb internally. The soviets were not convinced that the americans would hold back. Happen, the capacity for us to do it was there at that particular point. We had less than 300 bombs, the soviets probably possessed about 12. There was a clear advantage. The whole idea whether this was necessary introduction into this conflict finally came out on the negative side. Again, this is not to suggest that these questions were out of bounds. The were being asked. They would be asked under truman, they would be asked under eisenhower, they would be asked under kennedy. They would be asked under ronald reagan. Have seen the evidence, the more we see that the world is in a precarious balance is in some cases when it came to utilizing what some people thought was the unthinkable. Eisenhower, there are a couple of things i would like to quickly mention. One is that there are certainly a lot of continuity. Race does not end. The tone and the quality of the administration and the strategies change. The eisenhower demonstration backs the socalled new look. This reorient American Military policy to focus on Nuclear Weapons primarily, and then using Ground Troops and other elements of the arms forces in the secondary role. A good portion of this decision was economics. Eisenhower knew the congress was not willing, in the postwar years, to invest heavily in the military. They wanted a policy that would demonstrate american strength. Willing towas more consider the use of nuclear then truman. Certainly, he said that. There were different ways during his time as president. The new strategy of how to integrate Nuclear Weapons led to a policy of National Security built around the concept of massive retaliation. We would develop such an force,bly strong atomic that no one would dare threaten us. This sounded very good, except that it was massively unworkable. Basic kinds of questions were, where do you draw the line . The great army decides to invade paris do you drop and armand a bomb on paris or moscow . How does this allow us to respond to events taking place all over the world . There is backtracking that takes place in the new look to make it more complex. But it was an indication that the times were influencing the ways in which Nuclear Strategy was being devised for military purposes. Ownsoviets will test their atomic bomb hi jim bomb in 1953. In 1953. En bomb this accelerates things in new and dangerous ways. Specifics civic focused impact of truman and their involvement in the arms race changing substantially after 1957. Eisenhower will meet with khrushchev in geneva in 1955. It is clear that a lot of the issues that divide the countries are not being resolved in any way. Nothing substantial comes out of the meeting. It is clear that things are still very precarious. Launchthe soviets will traveler, which we refer to as sputnik. This is heralded as an indication of how our soviet science was moving quickly ahead of the United States. When president kennedy comes into office, his new frontier one of the elements, one of the legs of the stool is saying we have to beef up our science education. The reality of what military people were saying was not the Little Silver ball, but the big rocket that was putting it into space. Was very clear to anybody certainly, this was popularized period, they could develop a rocket that could deliver a Nuclear Weapon to the United States or one of our allies. Hitting of american soldiers versus soldiers soviet soldiers, this was a change. Which the, the way in arms race had been couched during the truman years and the eisenhower years was based upon those kinds of delivery systems. Missiles change the game. Missiles change the game because time was now the enemy. A decision to retaliate, decision to strike could make the war over in minutes, rather than days or years. All of a sudden, the Technology Moves Forward as policy dragged behind. Trying to developing Nuclear Policy builds on the new technologies could be very difficult. Conventional ways of thinking about military obviously had to be thrown out the window as we considered these are stories. What had been an arms race builds on stockpiling great numbers of bombs, now turned to an arms race builds upon sophisticated technology. The soviets to not have to have the same number of Nuclear Weapons as we do. They could have much fewer, and still, the war could be evenly matched. This is kind of reflected in the unsettling quality of evidence in the United States the socalled geithner report that came out in 1957 really speaks about americans having to beef up defenses. They are talking about building on shoulders in the United States. Rethinking defense strategies. Talking more about how we defend ourselves against nuclear war, rather than how we prosecute such a war. That report was not totally implemented at that time. It was rather strongly debated. It did focus on the vulnerability that this new era brought forth. Let me make a quick couple of comments in conclusion. And then i will sit down. I think delivering Nuclear Warheads by missiles, and certainly by submarines some would argue that the Nuclear Submarine was the most efficient and powerful tool that either country possessed in its potential war with the other. This is the major transition. We really have to look at the arms race in a totally different way. Truman, in a practical way, kind of ends here. Time becomes the enemy. Time changes everything. It is curious to me im a great film that. Nut. Lm Stanley Kubrick makes a movie about a printer strike using missiles, rather than bombers. The movie would have been over in two minutes. An hour and a half movie depended on tension builds around bombers from the United States. Time becomes an enemy. It really changes everything. The new area of Nuclear Weaponry and rocketry questions policies built on a competitive dependence on building advantage primarily through the arms race. And secondly, by avoiding headtohead conflict. That is a very powerful part of strategy on both sides, certainly during the cold war. Now, it was becoming more difficult to live under that kind of umbrella. Trumans contributions are significant. They set the stage. They are great indicators of attitudesorlds towards these weapons were, how they would be deployed. We think of the contributions i think we think about them in two ways. The Truman Administration, and their counterpart in the soviet union placed Nuclear Weapons at the center of the cold war. This becomes a fundamental element in cold war thinking and strategy. It is not a separate question. It is to highly integrated in the discussions of the cold war. Secondly, the conceptualization whichatomic monopoly was a strong part of early policy in the Truman Administration, ultimately it had to be abandoned as the soviets began to counteract the American Technology with their own. The american cold war consensus everyone should think about this a bit. Its not democrats and republicans that pushed this arms race policy forward. This was a consensus. A consensus of both parties. You get Something Different than what you wish for. We want our congress, we want our parties to cooperate. In this case, there was not much room for debate. Not much room for an alternative view. Pretty much everybody believes the same thing. If you look at the election in 1960, you could put a feather between Richard Nixon and john f. Kennedy, in terms of their foreignpolicy objectives. They shared many of the same views, the same hawkish views about the cold war. Defense strategy embedded in the new look do little to reverse essentially what the Truman Administration had set forth as their arms race policy. Icbms it is only with the and the new technology that this kind of disrupts what had been better legacy. The legacy was indeed a benchmark work setting the world dominated by two superpowers, requiring vigilance, requiring some kind of balance of terror in terms of weaponry. In that sense, it isnt an important beginning point. It is an important beginning point. But certainly not the end. Thank you. [applause] our final speaker is thomas of well like the author , and other works on Nuclear Power. He was trained as an engineer, and worked at a Nuclear Power plant in ohio. He decided he wanted to be a historian, and went to berkeley to get a phd. He then taught at Central Washington university for a few years. Thes now the historian of nuclear revelatory commission where he is doing excellent work on reactor safety issues from the 1940s, up until close to the present. Tom. [applause] ok. I was a professor for about 13 years. Historian for the nuclear revelatory commission, my job is to write about the history of Nuclear Power. That creates something of a dilemma in a presentation about Harry Trumans legacy for Atomic Energy. Happened. T much [laughter] and how do i know this . The previous eminent historian of the Nuclear Regulatory commission, j samuel walker, in a book he devoted to Atomic Energy from 1946 to 1962, devoted exactly six pages out of a 400 and 20 page text to harry truman. Surprised when sam called me up and asked me to give a presentation on trumans legacy for civilian Nuclear Power. Just read the six page study from your book . [laughter] sam wouldnt let me. [laughter] so, i had a task ahead of me. I had to talk about trumans legacy. I wanted to do something original, but keep in mind, there has been some written about this. Truman does you a number of things. Really, he is very hamstrung by a number of factors that prevented civilian Nuclear Power. Radioisotopes is kind of pushed as the primary civilian use during his time in office. But Nuclear Power plants, or reactors in general, not a lot happens there. But i did go back, and i started doing some research. That i thought was kind of surprising, that i didnt really know about before i started doing research, was that Research Reactors these are small reactors. They are on University Campuses all over the country today, still. They really began under the Truman Administration. I know what you are probably thinking. You have listened to presentation on truman dropping the bomb, weapons policy, radioisotopes, and im going to littleout dg dinky reactors on campuses . I can feel you stifling a yawn it. I will do what i can here. This is kind of interesting. Hang with me. The 1946 Atomic Energy act really that set someplace the creation of the Atomic Energy commission. Pieces of major legislation that deal with Atomic Energy. As far as the Nuclear Regulatory commission is concerned, the book of genesis for it is the 1954 act. That lays out and sets the stage for civilian Nuclear Power. Of the mosts one bipolar pieces of legislation you have ever seen. Betweensically formed two competing factions. It was kind of embodied in the first Atomic Energy commission. You have a group of people that are kind of new deal liberals. Along with scientists were very much in favor of getting information out there about Atomic Energy. They want to declassified the vast majority of information about nuclear physics, and fission, and put that out there before the american public. Scientists want to do this because they want to pursue unfettered research. Veryew dealers are efficient in doing this because they want to get the blessings of american industry and advancement and technology out before not only the american public, but the world. , aprofessor krieger noted group of conservatives and some in the military are more conservative about this and worried about secrets getting out. They are generally putting brakes on the amount of information that can be declassified. This is going to create this tension is really embodied in 1946 act. You can see this. The section of that act that actually deals with what becomes known as restricted data, confidential information. Initially, it was entitled dissemination of information. It was later changed to control of information. That becomes the title. You basically see that the people who want to put restrictions on the amount of information that can be made public there is language that supports both control and dissemination in the text. Large, when push comes to shove, concerns about National Security are going to win and it is very difficult to the classified information that is going to declassify information that is going to help people do research. Part of this this kinds of makes scientists a little frantic. Ify want to show people that we can get this information out so that introductory industry can use it so that science can use it, great things will happen. People will suddenly get up from wheelchairs when they walk through an atomic cloud. Theres a lot of these kinds of silly images that occurred in 1946, 1947. There is a lot of excessive promises that are made about Nuclear Energy and what it can possibly do for people. This is interesting not only because of the image, but becomes it comes out of 1947. It is the same time the Atomic Energy commission is getting information from scientists that say, you know, Nuclear Energy, those plants, 10 years at best. It is way out there. Creager also mentioned he wants to get this information out there. Lewis strauss tends to be more cautious. By 1949, he is getting very frustrated with the lack of progress of putting information out there. He complains. A journalkeeper and you wanted to get rid of the secrecy, the idea of a demon or nightmare, this secrecy nightmare that was really weighing down american industry. That all these wonderful things could happen if only we could provide some example, something to show the american public. He said, for two years ive felt this way. Unless you have a good deal of public sentiment, it wont work. He felt so strongly that he goes to truman. Truman is also interested in getting this information out there, but the politics of 1949 are very difficult. Is not the best advocate because he is often accused being a socialist and hiding and anything he advocates will be opposed by conservatives who will say, no. You are being tooo lacks with this information. Too lax with this information. So he goes to truman. Of helpingut the way people to know about Atomic Energy. Truman response in a classic way. He replies, i have been dreaming of pdas in the euphrates valley, danube. A in the Atomic Energy fits into that picture just at the tba fits into that picture. Truman is hamstrung by a lot of problems. There is no way youre going to get reactors in this. I already mentioned the 1946 act. There is a lot of limitation about industrial reactors and the amount of food you could give to a company, for example, to build a reactor. It would be very difficult. Secrecy,secret he and technical 10 years at best, maybe longer. There is also a lack of interest in developing reactors in this period. Most utilities are saying we have plenty of fossil fuels. Even if we can develop the nuclear reactors, they will be very expensive. The other problem is the cold war. Of basically anyone who knew anything about nuclear is making weapons. The number of people who could a lot to develop civilian applications was doing it. There was a concern about supply of fissionable material. It seems like we are going to have a hard time getting enough for weapons and civilian would be a luxury to have. By allare confronted these restrictions, what do you do . They focused on other things. Maybe we can develop civilian applications indirectly. Certainly if we develop a neighbor reactor, that will have spent off benefits and certainly the Truman Administration pushes that angle. Start developing Research Reactors at national laboratories. These are expensive reactors, in the millions of dollars. Other people are not going to be interested in something that expensive. They Start BuildingResearch Reactors. They establish a test station in idaho to test out materials that might be applied to civilian reactors during the. The period. There was another angle they try to pursue in this. , which has it interesting ,enefits Research Reactors tiny reactors that are operated on University Campuses and elsewhere, 10 kilowatts or so. The aec pushes that idea and they try to get people interested. Has and has for many years is anytime they try do anything, to they want money. I push the idea of the research reactor. Caltech expresses basic interest in it along with ucla and usc, but i want money. The aec goes out and gets a company to design a reactor for them. They scout out sites in the los angeles area. A build of this reactor. And ucla and caltech says yes, but we want you to pay for the reactor too, and we want you to operate the reactor. Do you guys want to put anything into this at all . Really. They were always asking for something. They were getting very frustrated. They are trying to encourage private initiative and no one is taking it. Is 1949. What ultimately flips things as the soviet bomb. Is the soviet bomb. It has a negative and positive affect. The negative is because of the soviet bomb, the demand for manpower and resources for weapons productions increases but it has a positive influence too. Why do you need secrets anymore . ,f the soviets have the bomb why you classifying so much stuff . Why are you classifying Reactor Technology . Why you keeping the most sick basic secrets of vision under lock and key . That is what they were doing. Shortly after this, the soviet bomb is revealed to the american september ofe 1949. Fuchs comes along in january of 1950. In days past, a scandal would have led to a clampdown on secrecy. But the soviet bomb basically liberated the Atomic Energy commission. The fuchs scandal had very little impact. The United States, england, and canada jointly adopt a policy to declassify information relating to reactors and nuclear physics. Up until this point, all the information regarding fish and on, of uranium, plutonium, it was classified. Some the stuff they kept secret was astonishing. You still needed one thing. You now have an idea that it is no longer necessary to keep the secrets that you have nobody who seems interested in reactors or anything. You need somebody willing to do it. Ofth Carolina State College agriculture and engineering steps forward and says, we want to build a reactor. It is therce behind name is a guy by the name of clifford beck. Energyrstood the Atomic Mission well and knew what they needed. I willcally said, guys, build the reactor on our dime. The only thing i need from you is fuel. Other than that we will build it ourselves. This is going to be great because i want this reactor declassified. I want it completely there will not be a stitch of this will be stamped confidential or anything. You need to develop a policy to take care of that for me. This is going to be a reactor. This is going to be the first reactor in the world that is not under the control of the central government. It is not under the control of government, the british, the soviets, it will be owned by a dinky Little College in North Carolina. It will create a market for reactors and most of all he is creating the First Nuclear engineering programs in the world and thats going to provide engineers to help solve the manpower shortage. , beck goes to the atomic and the condition Energy Commission in 1949 and he writes to his dean, saying aec officials look like they have concluded that they are few real secrets. Secondly, russia probably knows the information already. Thirdly, we are kidding ourselves in making the job of civilian Development Cost 10 times what it would. Fourthly, the inherently unamerican Atomic Energy business, because it is owned by the government would get a head much more effectively by throwing it open to the normal processes of private enterprise and competitive endeavor. What davidctly lilienthal is advocating and this is become kind of the attitude generally within the Atomic Energy commission. Goes to the aec and develops a rough draft for the reactor, drops it before them in december of 1949. They are so delighted with this. He writes back to his dean and says, the opinion seemed practically unanimous that our proposal would be favorably accepted. He wrote another letter saying that officials at the Atomic Energy commission had assured him that they were 99 certain that the aec would permit us to do the job. This must have been one heck of a proposal. Here is the drawing he submitted for the first reactor. [laughter] mys looks like something kids through in six great, right . Sixth grade, right . Here it is. It was a rough draft. He was saying, do you think this is ok . They were already assuring him they would approve. I dont want to make it semithey did not care about safety because a Different Group in the aec will sit down. This will set right in the middle of the College Campus and theyre very aware that they had to make the safe. You do see here early on that the Atomic EnergyCommission Already always has a kind of divided personality. There is a part that wants to promote energy, civilian applications, and at the same time they are very aware that they have this duty to ensure safety. Even before this gets embedded in the 1954 act that comes later , you can see theyre very anxious to get this going and they are encouraging, giving advice, helping beck to move this through. As this proposal most of the aec, theyre also going to push forward this declassification basically both of these things are going to get approved around the same time. First reactor and a new policy that will make it possible for this reactor to be completely unclassified. The first unclassified reactor in the world. That new declassification policy , by the way, for the first time declassify the secrets you have heard of the chicago pile, the first Chain Reaction in history. It is in 1950 that the secrets of that reactor as part of this declassification policy for the first time became made publicly known. It became possible to know some basic information about the fission process of uranium and the like. Recordsntly, one of the they declassified with the basic design that beck is going to copy for his reactor. You see here that the soviet and this tangible example of somebody something in the civilian world can be progress, can push each other through an lead to a new era of openness. Understood very well that the publicity possibilities of this reactor. Herelt the reactor is an image of it before they put the building up around it. This is the shielding component of it. He is going to make this reactor on display. Create a do is they waterfilled window, they are shielded so people from the outside can come down and sit in an audience and watch the reactor work or it is beck as beck said, he wanted to show the world that Nuclear Energy is just another tool, not something mysterious and secret. This is a fair amount of publicity. It is the envyed of thousands of scientists and hundreds of College President s. Carolinaaleigh, north capital, a nuclear mecca. It attracted german schoolteachers and industrialists from all over the world. All came to see a reactor that is guarded right nothing more than a physics to student with a guestbook. [laughter] by the way, the reactor goes critical for the first time in 1953. It is approved in 1950 in mostly built during the Truman Administration and surely into the Eisenhower Administration and finally goes critical. In between administrations, it initially is really built because it is really intended for domestic consumption. They wanted to get universities around the country to Start Building these types of Research Reactors. They wanted engineering programs to get going so they can train more engineers, to supply this budding civilian industry that will be coming along as well as weapons development. Comes in, the idea of a Tennessee Valley authority version of Nuclear Development is not going to be high on his list. He is a republican, after all. The tva is associated with liberals. Adapts thegain message of Research Reactors for a new administration. In North Carolina straight literature, it describes the Raleigh Research reactor. It stands like a beacon. Atoms for peace. It kind of does exactly for that. When eisenhower goes out and starts developing the atoms for peace program, he says we will bring able in from around the world and train them in the United States where it beck states. Beck recognized his opportunity again. These are fulltime student equivalents and who would miss that . He goes out and tells the commission that you need to do the training and universities penn state hadme a reactor and others would be coming along. They agree. American universities can become an instrument of eisenhowers board eisenhowers foreign policy. We will train these potential International Experts will eventually develop Atomic Energy. This very public and International Aspect of it leads one journalist to describe the Raleigh Research reactor at the first temple of the atom. Promotional literature that they drew up for the dedication ceremony. This idea of a temple, a place where people come and worship the atom it was a little overthetop, but it made sense. In, liverhower comes beck is going to push and really use universities, especially his, as supporting a part of atoms for peace. One thing i want to close with here is that it did not just in their written Research Reactors are going to become fixed really popular in the early 60s. Switzerland isva Major International conference on international uses of Atomic Energy. What does the United States do . Oak Ridge National laboratories develop i say better because it was very inexpensive a better version of the research reactor. They dismantle it, stick it on a plane, fly it to geneva at the conference, and they constructed back together in six weeks. Dwight eisenhower gets to show up and start the reactor up. You could actually walk up and hit the reactor hit the button in the reactor goes critical. The amount of the pool is publicity value of this was immense. What you see here is the goals of the Truman Administration is try toad Atomic Energy, get information out there. It does succeed in part. You do not get the tvas all over the world lucky and vision. The researchion of reactors, the public reactors they became, became instruments of foreign policy. We basically started giving them away to other countries for use. It comes away for bringing in and rewarding alleys by allies by giving them Research Reactors. We could not give them power reactors yet, but we could take these baby steps along the way. Tool to spreada the Nuclear Power. That is it. Thank you. [applause] we are running late. I will ask you to hold your questions and asked him of the speeches at one time lunchtime because we have pretty much exhausted our time. 2 00 is lunch, but we have another speaker. Now you can really turn it off. Ok. I am afraid to touch anything. [laughter] i was not trained as an engineer. I would like to express my thanks to clifton daniel, whose idea it was to have this conference on Atomic Energy. I think it has been the elephant in a room for a while and it was that we helding this and i think it has been a terrific conference for which im grateful to the speakers, grateful to you, and im especially grateful to bob waltz who has done a wonderful job of organizing this conference. He had a. Of details to iron out. The reason we have this room, the reason we are going to have a nice lunch and a lot of other details is because of his hard work and he made my job as Program Director very easy so it has been a pleasure to work with them and to meet him and i think we all him a great debt of gratitude for this conference. [applause] our final speaker today is william lannett what. He will offer concluding remarks and reflections on what we heard today. Bill is the author of genius in the shadows. It was published in 1992. Right . I got that wrong on stans book. It has been recently republished. Here and a phd in politics from the London School of economics. He has been a staff writer for newsweek and other magazines. He has written extensively on Nuclear Weapons and Nuclear Power in both popular publications and scholarly journals. He has also worked as a senior policy analyst for energy and science issues for the indicted the u. S. Government Accountability Office and on top of that, he is the coauthor of a play called uranium and peaches and im not sure which one he is going to talk about today. It is great to welcome bill. [applause] thank you very much, sam. I want to thank the truman little white house and bob waltz and air chairman, sam walker for putting on this Perfect Program hours to summarize the ideas that have been flying around this room but i will try to at least look at some highlights and what i think are some of the noteworthy themes and chocolates and topics that have come from our discussions today. Harryf kirby truman trumans desk. The buck stops here. I will not be able to summarize things but i will certainly stop talking about lunchtime. [laughter] im glad to have spent some time in hungary when researching the biographies of leo so large. Why . As a hungarian historian used to track, he said the only thing im sorry. He said the past is less certain than the future. History the revision of in his own country. But here, too. History is constantly rediscovered and unlike the future, which is unknown, our understanding of the past continues to deepen with research and reflection. President truman loved reading history but he seemed uncomfortable but seemed uncomfortable from the way he made it. He first took credit for using the bombs at the end of world war ii, but he was also disturbed, ambivalent, and conflicted about his own place in history. But many of you, like many of you, i have long wondered about role. Abomb roll on the 50th anniversary of here shema, a roundtable was convened of historians with broad points of view about why we dropped the bomb. After hours of discussion, we came up with five major reasons. It is no surprise that todays speakers raised those same reasons. 1 to ended the fighting quickly. The u. S. And allies for warwhere he by the summer of 1945. Victory in europe still eluded them in the pacific. Anything was worth a try to stop the fighting. 2 postwar diplomacy. Trumans new secretary of state, james burns, and several military leaders saw the awesome weapon as a way to make soviets more manageable or manageable. His own words. By ending the pacific war before the russians promised to get in and get in on the kill and second, by countering political games already made in eastern europe. Bureaucratic momentum is the third reason we decided on. Fearing that germany was working for an abomb, president Franklin Roosevelt began Americas Research in 1939. He agreed to make it a high priority just before japan attacked pearl harbor in 1941. This became the Manhattan Project, spending the equivalent in todays dollars of 20 billion. In the end, the commitment to build the bomb produced also a powerful impulse to use it. The fourth reason is political justification. Some american civilian and military leaders which the white house to use the bomb before japan would surrender to justify the money spent behind congress congresss back. S truman said himself said, we have spent 2 billion on the greatest scientific gamble in history. We won. Psychological factors. After four luddy years of war, americans in high office were eager to crush the enemy and bring the boys home. Public feeling was running so high against the japanese and their barbaric wartime behavior that Many American leaders were in no mood to take another single casualty. Five reasons. To end of line to end the fighting quickly, both for diplomacy, bureaucratic momentum , political justification, psychological factors. Today historians argue about which of these reasons might have been dominant, even decisive, but few dispute they were all influential. Have you noticed . Reason from this list, we hear most often to save american and japanese lives and casualties from an allied invasion in why was it not a major factor in . Because as sam walker and others have noted, at the time, such a costly invasion seemed possible, but unlikely. American leaders knew that to join theromised allies in japan three months after germany surrendered. Germany surrendered on may 8. So, by calculation, on about august 8, stalin was going to break his neutrality pact and attack japan even confirmed that at the meeting in july. The allied invasions, as you heard, were planned for 45 in march of 46. Of for Many American, one trouble with hiroshima as legacy is the do not know the whole story. Causes and effects are blurred. Mostly we remember three things august 6, your shema. August 9, not a socket. Nagasaki. August 10th, japan agrees to surrender. Simple. Too simple in my view. There are a couple of other things that are often overlooked, although not by these brilliant panelists we have today. One is august 8, one is promised, the soviet union declared war on japan and attacked manchuria. As it was noted come within a invadealin was ready to hokkaido and occupy as much of the country as he could. Is august 10, not commonly remembered, when president truman ordered a third bomb which would be ready in a week and not to be deployed without his personal approval. On august 10, he had just learned grim details about hiroshima and he told his cabinet that he did not like the idea of killing 100,000 people, including all those kids. In my view, this was the first time truman was able to make a decision. He asserted not only his authority, but also his humanity. Trumans Nuclear Legacy is that he decided to drop the bomb. In fact, general leslie rose, military head of the Manhattan Project, likened trumans fate to a little boy on a toboggan who did not need to say yes, but could have only said no. Chose to exaggerate his role afterwards as a decisionmaker. You were a lot about the historical revision we have heard a lot about historical revisionists but the first were not the usual suspects. They all argued that atomic diplomacy to counter the soviets was very important. Rather, the first revisionists and were truman and his secretary of war. On august 6, president truman said the largest bomb ever used in the history of warfare has , an dropped on hiroshima important Japanese Army base. Japanese began the war in the year at pearl harbor and have been repaid manyfold. Definedimself first roche maza military event, defining one act of barbarism with another. Only later did they assert that the bomb was necessary to save and american and japanese life that might have been lost it the allies had to invade. In time, the bombs benefits grew and grew to one million casualties prayers and to millions of lives saved. It was reinforced in the 1947 harbors article, the decision to use the atomic bomb by his former secretary of war, henry stimson. Was georgeiter bundy, who was later National Security adviser to president s kennedy and johnson. Bundy defended trumans claim that hiroshima was an army base by saying, it is a military target. Like new york. [laughter] that is what he told peter jennings. He added, he could not really recall any document or resource were stimsons claim that the invasion might cost one million casualties. Sam walker has surveyed scholarship and has pointed out is a widely held myth that there really was no choice between on the one hand, innovation, on the other hand, the bomb. Heard, it furred is a much more complex choice. There wash at times no such moral choice between the two, we ourselves are debating the situation as if there were only two options. It has been presented as the lesser of two evils. Feel the need to draw moral comparisons, i think Richard Frank offered his new perspectives. More japanese were killed by the soviets in the invasion of manchuria than by the u. S. A bombs on hiroshima and not the sake nagasaki. Beside the emperors twin shock of hiroshima, the soviet entry to the pacific war, a third reason drove him to surrender. Fear of losing his throne and his head. Here alito feared a domestic revolt at the fighting continued and feared it would destroy the imperial system himself. Victims can also write and rewrite history. Roles can change. For many japanese, the distraction of hiroshima whatdes a strong sense of a historian calls nuclear victimization. Historian, thee orthodox interpretation in japan has reflected the american revisionistroof view. It heightens victimization but it records with her general unwillingness to come to grips with their responsibility for the pacific war and its consequences. Assada. Quoting flash villains of the pacific war became its greatest victims. Had as truman knew that he personally decided to personally to drop the bombs, he saw that his authority as commander in chief is not absolute in practice. Invoice recurrent fears about losing his authority about the a bomb and in 1948 said that he did not want to have some dashing Lieutenant Colonel decide when would be the proper time to drop one. Also in 1948, truman affirmed that the atomic bomb is not a military weapon because of its widespread destructive power and should not be integrated into the pentagons operational plan. Trumans authority came under challenge again when the soviet union exploded its first a bomb in 1949. In 1950, itrean war was not a dashing Lieutenant Colonel but two flamboyant generals who troubled mr. Truman. Air force general curtis lemay said he was prepared to dispatch Nuclear Armed warmers under his command on his own authority. Macarthural douglas called for using a bombs in korea. Truman fired him. Always outspoken, and truman explained his decision by saying, i fired him because he would not respect the authority of the president. I did not fire him because he was a dumb son of a bitch, although he was. [laughter] but that is not against the law for general. If it was, 3 4 of generals would be in jail. [laughter] trumans Nuclear Legacy is just as mixed as his feeling about the bomb. Nuclear research for medicine was his first achievement with Nuclear Power and incidental afterthought. For both, truman let met lots of partisan opposition. He favored moving all activities from the armys manhattan engineer district to the new civilian Atomic Energy even before the aec begin operations. The government is one of his first are actors first reactors to produce radioisotopes for purchase by civilian institutions. Truman favored sharing radioisotopes pensively for medical and biological research in a program meant to exemplify the peaceful dividends of Atomic Energy. Requests from scientists outside the u. S. Sparked a political debate about whether the aec should or even could export these isotopes. The controversy highlighted a tension in u. S. Politics. On the one hand, the scientific internationalism, a tool of diplomacy linked with the aims of the Marshall Plan and later, atoms for peace. On the other was the drive by anticommunistng to safeguard the countrys atomic monopoly at all costs. This tension was personified by two chairman of the Atomic Energy commission. Firstlilienthal, trumans chairman had run the Tennessee Valley authority and saw the need to make Nuclear Power more democratic to make it more acceptable. He also favored exporting isotopes. , appointed to the aec by truman and later chairman by eisenhower, saw capitalism as humanitys only path to salvation. Stross opposed sharing isotopes in the name of National Security and in the national ash in the name of National Security engineered the hearings that ished j robin im a horror J Robert Oppenheimer from federal service. Stross made production in 1954 that Nuclear Power we too cheap to meter. Ironically because of opposition by stross and others. , the u. S. Curtailed its and lost itss medical share a share of the market. Striking success and Nuclear Medicine has become indispensable. Another legacy of the Manhattan Project and of the Truman Administration was secrecy. The concept that everything and thats born secret information is classified until it is declassified heard there was also trouble with aec fellowship applicants being faced with a loyalty oath. Szilard said the most powerful weapon to come from the abomb was the secret stay. The cautionary tale was offered for trouble ahead. Conflict inherent between promoting and regulating Nuclear Energy and in the end, it was Nuclear Research for navypowered warships that drove American Research and dominated innovation. The Atomic Energy act created institutions that worked together and mostly in secret to share American Nuclear future. Both the escalating arms race and the whole Nuclear Power industry. First in congress, all authority went to the joint committee on Atomic Energy which control both appropriations and oversight. As a reporter, i remember how secretive the joint committee reachcause in order to its offices, you had to go to an unmarked elevator in the basement of the capitol and go up to the fourth floor where the offices were arrayed around the base of the dome and as you got off the elevator, your met by an armed guard you were met by an armed guard. The second independent Atomic Energy commission preempted federal and state authority to fund Nuclear Weapons, research, and power. Two in the 70s were these institutions dismantled. The authority went to more than a dozen congressional committees and subcommittees. The aec was split into agencies to promote and regulate the department of energy and Nuclear Regulatory commission. Wonder here today about trumans Nuclear Legacy, but for him andrsonal more profound was his thermoNuclear Legacy. As president , he did decide to build the hbomb. Truman made his decision soon after the first soviet abomb found himself under intense political pressure to respond. Behind the scenes in washington, aec commissioner luis stross had already been promoting the hbomb for his friend and ally, physicist edward teller. A teller of session since the Manhattan Project days, the hbomb did not appeal to all scientists and aec Advisory Committee had scientists who had worked on the Manhattan Project and voted to oppose the Problem Program in october, 1949. The scientists advised that the hbomb was preliminary, still theoretical. Thelly, they concluded that extreme dangers to mankind inherent in the bomb outweighed any man ash military advantage that might begin. Fermi s and regal set byta fermi and its very nature, it cannot be confined to a military objective but becomes a weapon, which is in practical effect almost one of genocide. Committee issory in mind, the aec voted 32 against an hbomb program, yielding to political pressure after the debate became public. Truman approved a public effort a fullscale ever. They tested their first thermonuclear device in 19 two. The soviet union followed soon thereafter. Left office in 1953, he worried about two bombs the abomb and the hbomb. Then both his past and his future must have seemed pretty uncertain, but he was clear in his farewell address on one point, warning the world that starting an atomic war is totally unthinkable for rational men when question on this address by the aec commissioner, Thomas Murray spoke about the morality of atomic warfare, truman answered him bluntly. Gasabomb is far worse than or biological warfare because it affects the civilian population and mortars them by wholesale. Unfortunately for us, trumans judgment is still true today. Thank you. [applause] youre watching American History tv. 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