Our friend the atom? the Truman administration and the campaign to sell the peaceful atom, 1945-1949

This thesis will examine the Atomic Energy Commission’s (AEC) public relations campaign to sell the peaceful atom to an anxious American populace between late 1947 and 1949. This effort was transformative in American culture, more specifically of popular attitudes held toward nuclear energy. The AEC’s public relations blitz shifted public opinion on atomic energy from fear and incomprehension to acquiescence and understanding. The AEC deliberately manipulated American public opinion to successfully accomplish this feat. It focused on alleviating nuclear anxiety through educational means while, at the same time, encouraging discourse and rhetoric that expounded atomic energy’s more benevolent “sunny side.” The campaign encouraged positive thinking and enthusiasm on matters relating to atomic energy. The AEC’s primary objective was to create a domestic climate favorable enough to enable the Truman administration to pursue openly its nuclear ambitions as part of its Cold War strategy without further unsettling an already anxious polity. For all intents and purposes, the AEC’s campaign was successful in that it alleviated national anxiety, educated Americans on the basics of nuclear energy, and created a domestic climate enabling the Truman administration to embark publicly on creating an ambitious nuclear strategy.