1982/01/01 by Larry G. Gerber · 3 citations
Arts and Humanities · Physics and Astronomy · #Twentieth Century Scientific Developments #Space exploration and regulation
paper · doi:10.1111/j.1467-7709.1982.tb00364.x
openalex publication_date 1982/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
In April 1945, when Secretary of War Henry Stimson informed newly installed President Harry Truman of the existence of America's secret project for the construction of an atomic bomb, he observed that the development of the atomic bomb entailed both great dangers and great opportunities for the United States and the world. Stimson warned that if the establishment of an effective international system for controlling atomic energy proved impossible after the Second World War, a “disaster to civilization” would likely follow. On the other hand, Stimson claimed that a successful resolution of the difficult and precedent-shattering problem of controlling atomic energy would create the “opportunity to bring the world into a pattern in which the peace of the world and our civilization can be saved.”1 In 1946 the United States offered the world a comprehensive plan for the international control of atomic energy. In June of that year Bernard...