Introduction

As envisioned by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, the transformation of his Atoms for Peace proposal from vision to reality would require at the outset the establishment of an international nuclear bank into which nations would deposit fissionable material devoted to peaceful uses under the supervision of an international atomic energy agency. Despite early difficulties, there was in 1954 a major amendment of the Atomic Energy Act of 1946, which provided a basis for a nuclear energy and nonproliferation policy for the United States that enjoyed broad, bipartisan support. From the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s, bold political leadership and technical mastery resulted in a series of US initiatives that were largely responsible for global acceptance of Atoms for Peace. Those who regard Atoms for Peace essentially as a failure tend to focus on the implementation of the Atoms for Peace idea as elaborated in the president's original proposal.