Analysis: Declaration on the Atomic Bomb
The "Analysis: Declaration on the Atomic Bomb" addresses the pivotal moment in history when the United States, alongside the United Kingdom and Canada, sought to manage the implications of nuclear technology following its first use in World War II. In the wake of the devastating bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which resulted in massive human casualties and destruction, the leaders aimed to establish an international framework to govern atomic energy. The declaration emphasizes that no nation could monopolize nuclear power and highlights the importance of cooperation in mitigating the risks associated with such technology.
Central to the declaration is the dual potential of atomic energy: it can be harnessed for peaceful purposes, benefiting humanity, while also posing significant threats if weaponized. The document advocates for an international agency to oversee the safe sharing and use of nuclear knowledge, ensuring that such power is applied responsibly and conflicts are resolved to prevent war. Additionally, it underscores the necessity for enforceable safeguards to regulate nuclear raw materials and industrial uses, emphasizing collective accountability among nations. This declaration serves as a call for global collaboration, reflecting on the profound responsibilities that come with nuclear capability as nations navigate the complex landscape of post-war diplomacy and security.
Analysis: Declaration on the Atomic Bomb
Date: November 15, 1945
Author: Harry S. Truman; Clement Attlee; William Lyon Mackenzie King
Genre: speech
Summary Overview
In November 1945, US president Harry S. Truman found himself the leader of the one nation that had created and used atomic weapons. In concert with his counterparts from the United Kingdom and Canada, Truman had to determine how to treat the awesome power within his country's control. After all, the Soviet Union was working on its own nuclear weapons, and other nations were likely to pursue the technology as well. Moreover, the world stood to benefit from the peaceful application of atomic technology, a clean energy source. On November 15, Truman, British prime minister Clement Attlee, and Canadian prime minister William Lyon Mackenzie King issued a joint declaration taking the first step in managing atomic technology on an international scale.
Defining Moment
On August 6, 1945, the US bomber Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Upon detonation, the bomb killed about 80,000 people. Within months, the death toll had mounted to 140,000. The bomb leveled four square miles and destroyed approximately seventy thousand buildings. No comparable human-made weapon had ever been seen. Three days later, the United States dropped a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan. Estimates suggest that 40,000 died on detonation, with 70,000 dead by year's end. Another 70,000 are believed to have died in subsequent years. Within days of the bombings, the United States and Japan reached terms of surrender, effectively ending World War II.
The decision to drop the bomb has incited debate for decades regarding the development and use of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). For President Truman, the decision to drop the bomb was one of military and political strategy. It ended the war in days, and the United States emerged as a superpower. However, the United States alone did not hold the knowledge behind the weapons. In part, atomic experimentation had come to the United States with German Jewish physicists fleeing the rise of the Nazis. During the development of the atomic bombs, the United States collaborated with Great Britain and Canada. Although some discussion about the handling of postwar nuclear technology occurred as early as 1941, no specific plans had been reached by the time the first bomb was used. The United States, and its allies Britain and Canada, had unleashed an awful weapon, one that could pose a serious threat to them in the future; other nations wanted atomic technology, for both peaceful and military purposes.
The topic of nuclear technology was of central importance even as global leaders worked to establish peace, to build the United Nations (UN), and to negotiate a new international landscape. Most important, the Soviets sought a nuclear weapon as they moved to secure control over Eastern Europe. In this environment, leaders from the United States, Britain, and Canada met in Washington, DC, in November 1945 to set a precedent for how to handle nuclear technology and its applications as well as the resources used to build nuclear weaponry.
Author Biography
Born in Missouri in 1884, Harry S. Truman rose from farmer to soldier to politician. In 1945, he became vice president. A few months later, on April 12, Franklin D. Roosevelt died, and Truman became president. As such, Truman authorized the dropping of two atomic bombs on Japan. Truman won reelection in 1948, and he devoted his postpresidential time to lecturing and writing. He died in 1972.
Born in London in 1883, Clement Attlee studied law at the University of Oxford, served in the armed forces during World War I, and then became a politician in the British Labour Party. He served as deputy prime minister from 1942 to 1945 and as prime minister from 1945 to 1951. He was involved in the rebuilding of Europe and the decolonization of South Asia following the war. He died in 1967.
Born in Ontario, Canada, in 1874, William Lyon Mackenzie King eventually became leader of the Canadian Liberal Party. He served as prime minister from 1921 to 1930 and again from 1935 to 1948. King led Canada throughout World War II. At the end of the war, he began to withdraw from politics, retiring in 1948. He died in 1950.
Document Analysis
The declaration is a joint resolve issued by three nations. Its first provision acknowledges the destructive force of scientific discoveries such as atomic energy “against which there can be no adequate military defense.” The first provision clarifies the reason for the declaration, stating that “no single nation can in fact have a monopoly” over this fearsome technology. With this provision, Truman, Attlee, and King acknowledge that the destructive potential of nuclear weapons must be addressed on an international scale.
Provision 2 refers to the peaceful use of atomic energy “for the benefit of mankind,” and suggests the need for guidelines to pursue those applications while guarding against more destructive uses. Provision 3 places responsibility for avoiding nuclear destruction on all nations by proposing that the only real safeguard for civilization is the “prevention of war” altogether. The implication is that once such destructive technology exists, no treaty, declaration, or police force can prevent its possible use in war as a last resort.
Provisions 4 and 5 address the sharing of atomic knowledge for peaceful ends, specifically as an energy source. The authors state that some knowledge has already been shared and that they are willing to continue to share what they know with those nations willing to do the same. Provision 6 builds on this foundation by considering the industrial, and by extension military, uses of atomic technology. The authors do not consider it safe to share too much information (or too many resources) regarding industrial uses of atomic energy, because they could also be put to destructive ends. To share such information and technology requires “enforceable safeguards.”
This reasoning brings the declaration to its chief aim: the establishment of an international agency, under the UN, to develop and oversee rules for sharing basic information regarding atomic energy for peaceful ends, regulating the use of that information to make sure it stays peaceful, eliminating nuclear weapons and other WMDs, and ensuring compliance, through inspection and other means. The guiding principle is that all nations must be held accountable on an international level for how they acquire and use nuclear technology. Provision 8 gives general guidelines regarding how such an agency would complete this task, calling attention to nuclear “raw materials” as being one essential area for regulation.
Provision 9 synthesizes the preceding arguments, and the authors iterate that the paramount challenge is “to maintain the rule of law among nations and to banish the scourge of war from the earth.” In this sense, the declaration serves not only as a promise to share information but also as a rallying cry for world collaboration and an endorsement of the UN. The declaration does not obligate the signatory nations to share any information they deem unsafe; however, it does encourage a sort of intellectual and diplomatic goodwill while emphasizing the shared interest of all nations in the avoidance of nuclear war.
Bibliography and Additional Reading
“Decision to Drop the Bomb.” Trumanlibrary.com. Harry S. Truman Library and Museum, n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2014.
Donovan, Robert J. Conflict and Crisis: The Presidency of Harry S. Truman, 1945–1948. New York: Norton, 1977. Print.
Ham, Paul. Hiroshima Nagasaki: The Real Story of the Atomic Bombings and Their Aftermath. New York: Dunne, 2011. Print.
“Postscript: The Nuclear Age (1945–present).” Manhattan Project: An Interactive History. US Dept. of Energy, Office of Hist. and Heritage Resources, n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2014.
Truman, Harry S. “Announcing the Bombing of Hiroshima.” American Experience. PBS, 6 Aug. 1945. Web. 16 Dec. 2014.