November 15, 1945: Declaration on the Atomic Bomb

In the aftermath of World War II one of the many pressing issues confronting Harry Truman was the future of atomic weapons and atomic energy.  One of the first moves was made 70 years ago when a joint declaration by Truman and the Prime Ministers of the UK and Canada made it clear that there would be no rapid disclosure of the technology for the industrial uses of atomic energy for fear that this information could lead to the construction of additional atomic bombs by nations eager to  break the US monopoly.  Instead the declaration recommended that a UN commission be set up to give recommendations on the spread of nuclear technology and the elimination of nuclear weapons.  With 70 years of hindsight, the faith in the United Nations seems both stunning and absurd, as does the idea that the “secret” of constructing atomic bombs would long remain a “secret”, Stalin’s spies having long since supplied the Soviets with detailed information on the Manhattan Project.  Here is the text of the Declaration:

Washington, November 15, 1945

The President of the United States, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and the Prime Minister of Canada, have issued the following statement:

 

(1) We recognize that the application of recent scientific discoveries to the methods and practice of war has placed at the disposal of mankind means of destruction hitherto unknown, against which there can be no adequate military defense, and in the employment of which no single nation can in fact have a monopoly.

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