Letter Inviting President Eisenhower to Promote the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy (1954)

Date: September 15, 1954

Created By: Charles Robbins

Original or Replica: Original

Era: The Presidency, The Cold War

Collection: Eisenhower Presidential Library

Citations: C.D. Jackson Papers, Box 29, Atomic Industrial Forum; NAID #12022799

This document is a letter written by Charles Robbins, Executive Manager of the Atomic Industrial Forum, Inc., to C. D. Jackson, Special Assistant to President Dwight D. Eisenhower, on September 15, 1954. The letter requests the President’s participation in a national conference marking the first anniversary of his Atoms for Peace proposal before the United Nations. Robbins argues that the event would help educate the American public about the peaceful applications of atomic energy and reinforce the administration’s efforts to promote the constructive use of nuclear technology.

Robbins explains that many Americans continued to associate atomic energy almost exclusively with nuclear weapons and knew little about its potential benefits in medicine, agriculture, industry, and scientific research. He outlines plans for a December conference that would bring together representatives from industry, labor organizations, educational institutions, religious groups, civic organizations, and the Atomic Energy Commission to discuss the peacetime uses of atomic energy. The letter proposes that President Eisenhower deliver the keynote address, arguing that his participation would inspire public interest and encourage organizations across the country to promote a broader understanding of nuclear energy’s peaceful applications.

President Eisenhower’s Atoms for Peace initiative, announced before the United Nations General Assembly on December 8, 1953, sought to encourage international cooperation in using atomic energy for peaceful purposes while reducing the dangers posed by the nuclear arms race.