On August 6, 1963, after more than eight years of difficult negotiations, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union signed the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
The Treaty:
- prohibits nuclear weapons tests or other nuclear explosions under water, in the atmosphere, or in outer space
- allows underground nuclear tests as long as no radioactive debris falls outside the boundaries of the nation conducting the test
- pledges signatories to work towards complete disarmament, an end to the armaments race, and an end to the contamination of the environment by radioactive substances.
Background
The destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by atomic bombs marked the end of World War II and the beginning of the nuclear age. As tensions between East and West settled into a Cold War, scientists in the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union conducted tests and developed more powerful and efficient nuclear weapons. But, as scientists and the public gradually became aware of the dangers of radioactive fallout, they began to raise their voices against nuclear testing. In 1959, radioactive deposits were found in wheat and milk in the northern United States. Backed by growing public sentiment against nuclear testing, leaders and diplomats of several countries sought to address the issue.
Attempts to Negotiate a Treaty
In May of 1955, under the auspices of the U.N. Disarmament Commission, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, and the Soviet Union began negotiations to end nuclear weapon testing. Diplomats disagreed about whether to link a ban on testing to general arms control. Conflict over inspections to verify underground testing impeded later talks because the Soviet Union feared that on-site inspections could lead to spying that might expose the fact that Khrushchev had vastly exaggerated the number of deliverable Soviet nuclear weapons. As negotiators struggled over differences, the Soviet Union and the United States suspended nuclear tests -- a moratorium that lasted from November 1958 to September 1961.
Kennedy Opposes Testing
John F. Kennedy had supported a ban on nuclear weapons testing since 1956. Believing a ban would prevent other countries from obtaining nuclear weapons, he took a strong stand on the issue in the 1960 presidential campaign. Once elected, President Kennedy pledged not to resume testing in the air and promised to pursue all diplomatic efforts for a test ban treaty before resuming underground testing. He envisioned the test ban as a first step to nuclear disarmament.
Kennedy and Khrushchev Meet
President Kennedy met with Soviet Premier Khrushchev in Vienna in June 1961, just five weeks after the humiliating defeat of the U.S. Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba. Khrushchev took a hard line at the summit. He announced his intention of cutting off Western access to Berlin; and threatened war if the United States or its allies tried to stop him. Many U.S. diplomats felt that Kennedy had not stood up to the Soviet Premier at the summit, therefore, giving Khrushchev the impression that he was a weak leader.
Pressure to Resume Testing
Fearing secret underground testing by the Soviet Union and gains in Soviet nuclear technology, political and military advisors pressured Kennedy to resume testing. And, according to a July 1961 Gallup poll, the public approved testing by a margin of two-to-one.
In August 1961, the Soviet Union announced its intention to resume atmospheric testing, and over the next 3 months it conducted 31 nuclear tests. It exploded the largest nuclear bomb in history—58 megatons—4,000 times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Discouraged and dismayed by the Soviet tests, President Kennedy pursued diplomatic efforts before allowing renewed testing by the United States.
In his September 25, 1961 address to the United Nations, he challenged the Soviet Union “not to an arms race, but to a peace race.” Unsuccessful in his efforts to reach a diplomatic agreement, President Kennedy reluctantly announced the resumption of atmospheric testing. American testing resumed on April 25, 1962.
Lessons from the Cuban Missile Crisis
Following the peaceful resolution of the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962, President Kennedy and Premier Khrushchev sought to reduce tensions between their two nations. Both leaders realized they had come dangerously close to nuclear war. As Khrushchev described it, “The two most powerful nations had been squared off against each other, each with its finger on the button.” JFK shared this concern, once remarking at a White House meeting, “It is insane that two men, sitting on opposite sides of the world, should be able to decide to bring an end to civilization.”
In a series of private letters, Khrushchev and Kennedy reopened a dialogue on banning nuclear testing. In his commencement address at American University on June 10, 1963, Kennedy announced a new round of high-level arms negotiations with the Russians. He boldly called for an end to the Cold War. “If we cannot end our differences,” he said, “at least we can help make the world a safe place for diversity.” The Soviet government broadcast a translation of the entire speech, and allowed it to be reprinted in the controlled Soviet press.
Success in Moscow
Kennedy selected Averell Harriman, an experienced diplomat known and respected by Khrushchev, to resume negotiations in Moscow. An agreement to limit the scope of the test ban paved the way for a treaty. By excluding underground tests from the pact, negotiators eliminated the need for the on-site inspections that worried the Kremlin. On July 25, 1963, after only 12 days of negotiations, the two nations agreed to ban testing in the atmosphere, in space, and underwater. The following day, in a television address announcing the agreement, Kennedy claimed that a limited test ban “is safer by far for the United States than an unlimited nuclear arms race.”
The Treaty is Signed
The Treaty was signed in Moscow on August 5, 1963, by U.S. Secretary Dean Rusk, Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko, and British Foreign
Secretary Lord Home -- one day short of the 18th anniversary of the dropping of an atomic bomb on Hiroshima.
Over the next two months, President Kennedy convinced a fearful public and a divided Senate to support the Treaty. The Senate approved the Limited Nuclear Test Ban on September 23, 1963, by an 80-19 margin. Kennedy signed the ratified Treaty on October 7, 1963.
A Comprehensive Ban
In September 1996, the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly. Signed by 71 nations, including those possessing nuclear weapons, the Treaty prohibited all nuclear test explosions including those conducted underground.