| Abbreviation | ECAS |
|---|---|
| Formation | May 1946; 79 years ago (1946-05) |
| Founders | |
| Dissolved | October 10, 1951; 74 years ago (1951-10-10) |
| Type | Nonprofit,NGO |
| Purpose | world peace, atomic education, peaceful use of nuclear energy,international control of nuclear bombs |
| Headquarters | Princeton |
| Location |
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| Locations | |
Chairman | Albert Einstein |
Vice-Chairman | Harold C. Urey |
Key people | |
| Funding | private contributions |
TheEmergency Committee of Atomic Scientists (ECAS) was founded byAlbert Einstein andLeó Szilárd in May, 1946, primarily as a fundraising and policy-making agency.[1] Its aims were to warn the public of the dangers associated with the development ofnuclear weapons, promote the peaceful use ofnuclear energy, and ultimately work towardsworld peace, which was seen as the only way that nuclear weapons would not be used again.[2]
The Committee was established in the wake of the "Szilárd petition" (July 1945) toUnited States presidentHarry S. Truman opposing the use of the atomic bomb on moral grounds, which was signed by 70 scientists who had worked on theManhattan Project. A majority of scientists working on the Manhattan Project did not know entirely what they were creating at the time.
Einstein called on seven other atomic scientists to join the effort, includingLinus Pauling,R.F. Bacher,Hans A. Bethe,Edward U. Condon,Thorfin R. Hogness,Harold C. Urey, andV.F. Weisskopf.[2][3] They were later joined bySelig Hecht,Harrison Brown, andH.J. Mueller.[2]
The Committee only ever consisted of the eight members of the Board of Trustees, who were:[4][5]
Half the members had worked directly on theManhattan Project and all had been indirectly involved or consulted on the production of thefirst atomic bomb.
"These facts are accepted by all scientists:
The program of the committee is to see that these truths become known to public."[4]
The Committee's immediate objective was to raise a substantial fund ($1 million) to support educational activities by the atomic scientists, aimed at civilian national and international control of future nuclear energy activities.[6]
The Committee arranged private contributions to support atomic information and education.[7][8][9][10] To facilitate this, ECAS was incorporated in New Jersey on August 6, 1946.[2] ECAS directed the received contributions towards other groups such as National Committee for Atomic Information (NCAI), Association of Scientists for Atomic Education (ASAE), the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) and the Atomic Scientists of Chicago (ASC) of Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (BAS). These groups aimed to educate both the general public and the U.S. government about the potential positive and negative aspects of atomic energy. They also conducted extensive educational initiatives.[11]
Several members of the committee gave lecture tours to promote the committee's message of peace. They produced supporting promotional materials, including one of the first films to illustrate what a full nuclear war might be like.[12][13] Einstein and ECAS was also very vocal in its opposition of the development of the firsthydrogen bomb.[14]
Apart from fundraising, these programs aimed to garner backing for initiatives such as theBaruch Plan, which was presented to theUnited Nations in 1946 and proposedinternational control of the atomic bombs.[2] The plan was passed by theUnited Nations Atomic Energy Commission (UNAEC), but not agreed to by theSoviet Union.[15]
While committee initially saw success in fundraising efforts, Einstein and his colleagues grew increasingly convinced that the world was veering off course. They arrived at the conclusion that the gravity of the situation demanded more profound actions and the establishment of a "world government" was the only logical solution.[16][4] In his "Open Letter to the General Assembly of the United Nations" of October 1947, Einstein emphasized the urgent need for international cooperation and the establishment of aworld government.[17] In the year 1948, Einstein invitedUnited World Federalists, Inc.(UWF) presidentCord Meyer to a meeting of ECAS[18][19] and joined UWF as a member of the Advisory Board.[20][21] Einstein and ECAS assisted UEF in fundraising[21] and provided supporting material.[22][23] Einstein describedUnited World Federalists as: "the group nearest to our aspirations".[24] Einstein and other prominent figures sponsored thePeoples' World Convention (PWC), which took place in 1950-51.[25][26] Their collaboration paid-off whenThane Read from UWF initiated a worldwidecall for theWorld Constitutional Convention.[27] Members of the ECAS signed the call[27] which lead to the creation of a world constitution, for a democraticfederalworld government inworld constituent assemblies of 1968, 1977, 1978-79, and 1991.[28] These efforts were successful in creating theConstitution for the Federation of Earth and aProvisional World Government[29][30] consisting of aProvisional World Parliament.[28][31]
At the end of 1948, with the gradual deterioration of international relations, failure of theUnited Nations Atomic Energy Commission (UNAEC) in 1947 and escalating international tensions after 1947, committee recognized that:[32][33]
"education of mankind toward a clear understanding of the implications of atomic energy, and full appreciation of the dangers and hopes inherent in new discoveries, is a long-range task which cannot be solved on an emergency basis."
On the question of disposition of the funds, Einstein wroteHarrison Brown on June 12, 1951:[24]
"When our committee was formed it was undoubtedly our purpose to use our influence to help achieve lasting security in the international field. It is true that theBulletin of the Atomic Scientists tried in the beginning to serve the same purpose, but today it has become no more than a publication of neutral information. Secondly, there are other organizations working for some kind of world government; in this country, theUnited World Federalists are the group nearest to our aspirations. But I would prefer, according toSzilard's suggestion, to give the money to theFriends, for they have shown by their steadfast efforts through many years a truly supranational attitude, which was manifest long before the present difficult situation arose."
The proposal put forth byEinstein andSzilard did not ultimately gain acceptance. Instead, the committee's assets were transferred to theBulletin of the Atomic Scientists.[24] Final dissolution of ECAS was done on September 8, 1951 in a meeting atEinstein's Home[24] and officially dissolved on October 10, 1951.[2]
ECAS was active for four years, until 1950 when it was gradually disbanded, although most of the members continued to campaign against nuclear war, and participated in the development of theConstitution for the Federation of Earth[27] and thePugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs.[34]
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