POTW: Atoms for Peace and Goodbye, Central Library

Michelle Montalbano

[Atoms for Peace], CBPL_0313, 1950s, Center for Brooklyn History, Brooklyn Public Library

Today, former Brooklyn Collection materials, staff, and all the rest officially moved to our new home at the Brooklyn Historical Society building on Pierrepont Street in Brooklyn Heights. As our own exhibits at Central Library also become a thing of the past, let's appreciate this view of the Flatbush Avenue side of Central Library, where the Atoms for Peace exhibit trailer was parked in the 1950s. While we may not know exactly what was on display in that trailer, we can investigate a bit about the way nuclear studies and peaceful applications of atomic energy were presented to the public after World War II. What was the United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), and how did "Atoms for Peace" figure into the equation? 

The AEC was a government agency established by Harry S. Truman after World War II to further the study of peacetime uses of nuclear energy; namely, for power generation, agriculture, food preservation, industry, and research—including on unwilling human subjects and entire irradiated ecosystems. The Atoms for Peace proposal was a public policy statement crafted during the Eisenhower administration, which involved extensive outreach and an educational initiative steeped in postwar optimism and the classic mid-20th century embrace of things that are clearly terrible for humans and the planet. In a 1953 speech, Eisenhower declared that “peaceful power from atomic energy is no dream of the future . . . that capability, already proved, is here today.” With a sufficient supply of uranium to satisfy its own military needs, by 1954 the United States could turn its attention to the promotion of the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

The subject of much criticism, the AEC was only in existence between 1946-1974. The founding principle of this agency was that "atomic energy should be employed not only in the form of nuclear weapons for the nation's defense, but also to promote world peace, improve the public welfare and strengthen free competition in private enterprise." In other words, America's speciality: unregulated capitalism rooted in environmental devastation. Public opinion grew increasingly hostile of the AEC's methods and practices, as the damage done to communities near nuclear testing sites and the harmful effects of radiation on human health became increasingly obvious. 
 

Source:

Buck, A. (1983). The Atomic Energy Commission. Retrieved from https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/AEC%20History.pdf.

Interested in seeing more photos from CBH’s collections? Visit our online image gallery, which includes a selection of our images, or the digital collections portal at Brooklyn Public Library. We look forward to inviting you to CBH in the future to research in our entire collection of images, archives, maps, and special collections. In the meantime, please visit our resources page to search our collections. Questions? Our reference staff is available to help with your research! You can reach us at cbhreference@bklynlibrary.org.

 

This blog post reflects the opinions of the author and does not necessarily represent the views of Brooklyn Public Library.

 

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