Atomic Energy Act of 1946

About 2 pages (469 words)

Know this topic well? Help others and get FREE products!

The Atomic Energy Act of 1946, informally known as the McMahon Act, determined how the United States government would control and manage the nuclear technology it had developed. Most significantly it ruled that nuclear weapon development and nuclear power management would be under civilian, rather than military, control, and established the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission for this purpose. It was sponsored by Senator Brien McMahon, a Democrat from Connecticut, the chair of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Atomic Energy whose hearings led to the fine-tuning and passing of the Act. The Act passed through both houses of Congress and was signed by President Harry Truman on August 1, 1946 and it went into effect on January 1, 1947. One of the provisions of the Act was a strict ban on the release of atomic technology to other powers, even to allies. This served to galvanize countries such as the United Kingdom, which had supplied personnel and information to the Manhattan Project team into constructing their own nuclear weapons. The provisions of the Act were substantially modified by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954.

Born Secret

The McMahon Bill was submitted to Congress on December 20, 1945. Under the heading “Purpose of Act,” the second item was “(2) A program for the free dissemination of basic scientific information and for maximum liberality in dissemination of related technical information.” Section 9 of the bill was titled “Dissemination of Information.” It called for release of nuclear technology information “with the utmost liberality as freely as may be consistent with the foreign and domestic policies established by the President.” However, by August 1, 1946, when the Atomic Energy Act reached President Truman for signature, the new second purpose was “(2) A program for the control of scientific and technical information . . .,” and Section 9 was gone, replaced by a new Section 10, “Control of Information.” This new section contained the novel doctrine later described as “born secret” or “classified at birth.” It defined a new legal term “restricted data” as “all data concerning the manufacture or utilization of atomic weapons, the production of fissionable material, or the use of fissionable material in the production of power,” unless the information has been declassified. The phrase “all data” included every suggestion, speculation, scenario, or rumor—past, present, or future, regardless of its source, or even of its accuracy—unless it was specifically declassified. This restriction on free speech, covering an entire subject matter, is unique in American law. It is still in force.^[1]