General George C. Marshall and the Atomic Bomb
General George C. Marshall's relationship with the atomic bomb was unique – he was the only senior-level official who participated in all of the major decisions involving nuclear weapons from 1942 to 1952. Author Frank Settle provides the first full-length narrative of General George C. Marshall’s crucial role in the decade-long development of the first atomic bombs. He explores Marshall’s deep involvement with nuclear weapons as Army chief of staff, secretary of state, and secretary of defense.
Overview
General George C. Marshall's relationship with the atomic bomb was unique – he was the only senior-level official who participated in all of the major decisions involving nuclear weapons from 1942 to 1952. Author Frank Settle provides the first full-length narrative of General George C. Marshall’s crucial role in the decade-long development of the first atomic bombs. He explores Marshall’s deep involvement with nuclear weapons as Army chief of staff, secretary of state, and secretary of defense.
Frank Settle, professor emeritus of chemistry at Washington and Lee University, also taught at Virginia Military Institute from 1964 to 1992. Before coming to Washington and Lee in 1998, he was a visiting professor at the US Air Force Academy, a consultant to the Los Alamos National Laboratory, and a program officer at the National Science Foundation. Dr. Settle developed and taught interdisciplinary courses on nuclear history, weapons of mass destruction, and nuclear power. He currently directs the ALSOS Digital Library for Nuclear Issues (http://alsos.wlu.edu).
The Washington History Seminar is co-chaired by Eric Arnesen (George Washington University) and Christian Ostermann (Woodrow Wilson Center) and is sponsored jointly by the National History Center of the American Historical Association and the Wilson Center's History and Public Policy Program. It meets weekly during the academic year. The seminar thanks the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations and the George Washington University History Department for their support.
Moderators
Christian F. Ostermann
Woodrow Wilson Center
Eric Arnesen
Professor of History, The George Washington University. Director, National History Center of the American Historical Association.
Hosted By
History and Public Policy Program
The History and Public Policy Program makes public the primary source record of 20th and 21st century international history from repositories around the world, facilitates scholarship based on those records, and uses these materials to provide context for classroom, public, and policy debates on global affairs. Read more
Nuclear Proliferation International History Project
The Nuclear Proliferation International History Project is a global network of individuals and institutions engaged in the study of international nuclear history through archival documents, oral history interviews, and other empirical sources. At the Wilson Center, it is part of the Wilson Center's History and Public Policy Program. Read more
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