Acheson–Lilienthal Report

The Report on the International Control of Atomic Energy was written by a committee chaired by Dean Acheson and David Lilienthal in 1946 and is generally known as the Acheson–Lilienthal Report or Plan. The report was an important American document that appeared just before the start of the early Cold War. It proposed the international control of nuclear weapons and the avoidance of future nuclear warfare. As American distrust of Stalin grew, the Report was simply ignored. A version was vetoed by the USSR at the UN.

Two schools of thought concerning nuclear weapons emerged in the United States immediately after the end of World War II. One school, which had Secretary of War Henry Stimson as its chief proponent, believed that the apparent secrets of the atomic bomb were scientific in nature, and could not be monopolised forever. They further felt that to hold the bomb ostentatiously in reserve, whilst negotiating with the Soviet Union not to develop one, would simply drive Russia into developing their own weapon to restore the balance of power.

The other school included men like Secretary of State James F. Byrnes, who felt that the US monopoly on atomic weapons had been honestly earned, and should not be surrendered. In their view, the Soviet Union understood only power, and could only be met with nuclear weapons.

President Harry S. Truman was divided between the two positions. He was distrustful of the Soviet Union, but still did not want to lead the world down a path to destruction. He continued to solicit views from both sides. Stimson resigned in September 1945, and thereafter the task of promoting his approach fell primarily on Under Secretary of State and later Secretary of State Dean Acheson.

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