Foreign Relations of the United States, 1951, National Security Affairs; Foreign Economic Policy, Volume I

Editorial Note

On September 18, 1951, Senator Brien McMahon, Chairman of the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, delivered a speech in the Senate advocating the rapid expansion of the atomic energy development and production program with a view to achieving a national defense posture which was stronger and more completely based upon reliance on atomic weapons. For text, see Congressional Record, 82d Cong., 1st sess., pp. 11496–11501.

During the remainder of 1951, the Joint Committee and the Executive Branch, particularly the Atomic Energy Commission and the Department of Defense, engaged in extensive consideration of possible expansion of the atomic energy program. This subject is described in Hewlett and Duncan, pages 556–572.