'This awesome field'; a history of United States nuclear testing and its influence on nuclear thought, 1945-1963

The history of U. S. nuclear testing between 1945 and 1963 is not only a vivid and exciting story but also one of profound historical importance. It is the story of trailblazing scientific progress; improvement and miniaturization of weapons of mass destruction; accidents and affected populations and radiological contamination; and politics, posturing, and diplomacy. The normalisation of the testing of nuclear weapons was not a process that inevitably occurred in the aftermath of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. But rather there was a very real discourse within and among the American political and public spheres regarding nuclear testing, and ultimately it was a victory for those who argued in favor of national security over diplomatic and environmental costs that normalized nuclear weapons tests. The testing of nuclear weapons that defined the course and consequence of the Cold War was itself a crucial dimension to that narrative. But, above all else, the story of nuclear testing is one in which the central question – why conduct nuclear tests? – was fully debated among American politicians, generals and scientists. It is the examination of this question, beginning with the road to “normalisation” and later “denormalisation” of nuclear testing, leading to the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, in 1963, that this thesis is dedicated. As states continue to pursue nuclear weaponry, nuclear testing remains an important political issue in the twenty-first century, and the study of its history is vital.<br>