Marie McCrum Reconstructs the Origins of Eisenhower’s Atoms for Peace Initiative and Project “Wheaties” (1956)

Date: January 27, 1956

Created By: Ann Whitman

Original or Replica: Original

Era: The Presidency, The Cold War

Collection: Eisenhower Presidential Library

Citations: C.D. Jackson Papers, Box 29, Atoms for Peace-Evolution (1); NAID #12022925

In this January 27, 1956 letter, Marie McCrum writes to White House secretary Ann C. Whitman to help reconstruct the development of President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Atoms for Peace initiative. McCrum explains that she had previously asked Admiral Lewis Strauss to record his recollections of the events leading to Eisenhower’s December 1953 speech, while memories were still fresh. She directs Whitman to a file maintained by C. D. Jackson, which contained additional information and corrections concerning the origins of the proposal.

McCrum also addresses questions raised by an article in The Reporter about who originally proposed the idea. According to Jackson, the concept was “definitely the President’s,” although McCrum notes uncertainty about the precise form of a message reportedly relayed from Eisenhower in Denver to Strauss and Jackson. She suggests that James Hagerty, Robert Cutler, and Strauss could help verify the original message. A postscript provides additional insight into the initiative’s internal development: McCrum explains that “Candor” referred to revealing information about atomic power, while “Wheaties” became the code name for speeches incorporating the broader concept. The letter offers a valuable behind-the-scenes account of efforts within the Eisenhower administration to document the origins and development of Atoms for Peace.