The height of the Cold War – in 1951 we were knee-deep in a war over Korea – a war that many predicted could lead to World War 3 and signal the possible end of the world. Fears were we would be preoccupied fighting a war with the Chinese, allowing the Russians to sweep over Europe, putting America in an untenable situation of having to fight a war on two fronts. Added to the mix the presence of nuclear weapons with the result being an endless wasteland.
So with all that fear, coupled with the fear of the American government becoming undermined by a perceived Fifth Column of Communist spies and subversion at every turn – it made for a pretty paranoid atmosphere.
So on May 7, 1951 at a Dinner held during the Civil Defense Conference in Washington D.C., President Truman addressed the gathering and spoke about the then-current atmosphere and apprehension:
President Truman: This conference is being held to consider one of the most important tasks facing our country.
The lives of many millions of our fellow citizens may depend on the development of a strong civil defense.
The threat of atomic warfare is one which we must face, no matter how much we dislike it. We can never afford to forget that the terrible destruction of cities, and of civilization as we know it, is a real possibility.
There are two things our country must do to face this awesome and terrible possibility.
One of them is to look to our civil defense. So long as there is any chance at all that the atomic bombs may fall on our cities, we cannot gamble on being caught unprepared. Let’s not fool ourselves–there is such a chance. We must prepare for it.
The other thing we must do is to try to prevent atomic war from coming. That is what I have been working for ever since I became President. That is what our foreign policy is all about.
The foreign policy of the United States is based on an effort to attain world peace. Every action we have taken has had this aim in view.
We are right in the midst of a big debate on foreign policy. A lot of people are looking at this debate as if it were just a political fight. But the stakes are a lot more important than the outcome of an election. The thing that is at stake in this debate may be atomic war.
Our foreign policy is not a political issue. It is a matter of life and death. It is a matter of the future of mankind.
These two things–civil defense and foreign policy–are what I will talk to you about tonight. As you see, they are closely tied together. And they are both concerned with a form of warfare which is more destructive than anything the world has ever known before in its history.
Our civil defense problem starts with a few basic facts.
Because there was an atomic explosion in the Soviet Union in 1949, we must act on the assumption that they do have atomic bombs.
They have planes that could drop atomic bombs upon our cities.
No matter how good our air defense may be, or how big an air force we build, a determined air attack by the Soviet Union could drop bombs upon this country. Our air force experts say planes would get through, however good our defenses may be.
The purpose of atomic attacks would be to strike a death blow at our cities, to burn out our centers of production, and to create panic among our people.
There is no complete protection against an atomic bomb attack. But there is a lot we can do to reduce the number of deaths and injuries and to check panic.
We must organize ourselves in every city, factory, office, and home. Civil defense is a responsibility which begins with the individual. It begins with you–it begins with you. It is shared with the city, the State, and the Nation.
We have two immediate jobs. One is to teach all our people how to protect themselves in the event of an enemy attack. The other is to organize and train millions of volunteers as active members of the United States Civil Defense Corps. That is what you are here for.
The question we are putting up to you men and women at this conference is: How can we do these jobs as quickly and as efficiently as it is possible? We need your help in getting our fellow citizens to realize that this is a very serious business. So long as we face the threat of an atomic attack on the United States, we have got to build a strong civil defense organization.
But even with such an organization, our losses in an atomic war, if we should have one–and God forbid–those losses would be terrible. Whole cities would be casualties. Cleveland or Chicago, Seattle or New York, Los Angeles or Washington, or any of our other great cities might be destroyed. And they could be destroyed.
Even with such losses, frightful as they would be, I think this country would survive and would win an atomic war. But even if we win, an atomic war would be a disaster.
The best defense against the atomic bomb is to prevent the outbreak of another world war and to achieve a real peace. We must bend all our energy to the job of keeping our free way of life, and to keep it without another war.”
Enough fear and paranoia to go around, but that’s where we were and that’s where we’d stay for many years after. As a reminder of those tenuous times, here is that complete address, given by President Harry S. Truman on May 7, 1951.
