I propose, therefore, that we work toward a supranational organization — a world government — with the sole authority to possess atomic materials and weapons. Every nation must surrender its sovereignty over the means of mass destruction. This is not a dream. It is a necessity, as necessary as oxygen for a drowning man.
By 1947, the "Atomic Secret" was out. Einstein, who had signed the famous 1939 letter to President Roosevelt urging the study of nuclear fission, realized that the weaponization of science had outpaced the evolution of human politics. He saw a world falling into the patterns of the "Old Way"—a cycle of competitive arming, nationalistic pride, and the inevitable march toward a conflict that could now result in total annihilation. Key Themes of the Speech 1. The Obsolescence of War albert einstein the menace of mass destruction full speech
In the immediate years following the speech, Einstein was vilified. The FBI file on Albert Einstein ran to over 1,400 pages. J. Edgar Hoover considered him a security risk. The New York Times editorial board accused him of naivety. I propose, therefore, that we work toward a
By 1948, the Soviet Union had the bomb. By 1950, the United States was building the hydrogen bomb—a weapon a thousand times more powerful than the one that destroyed Hiroshima. It was against this backdrop of paranoia, McCarthyism, and the Korean War that Einstein walked to the microphone to deliver what is now known as It is a necessity, as necessary as oxygen for a drowning man