Oak Ridge petition, mid-July 1945
Source: U.S. National Archives, Record Group 77, Records of the Chief of Engineers, Manhattan Engineer District, Harrison-Bundy File, folder #76. Leo Szilard sent copies of the July 3 version of his petition to the Manhattan Project laboratory at Oak Ridge, Tennessee. After discussion and debate, the Oak Ridge scientists produced two similar petitions. The undated petition reproduced below called for the atomic bomb to be "adequately described and demonstrated" before use. This petition received 67 signatures, which are listed here in alphabetical order.
An article by petition signer Howard Gest, The July 1945 Szilard Petition on the Atomic Bomb: Memoir by a signer in Oak Ridge, is available online at http://www.bio.indiana.edu/Gest/
To the President of the United States: We, the undersigned scientific personnel of the Clinton Laboratories, believe that the world-wide social and political consequences of the power of the weapon now being developed on this Project impose a special moral obligation on the government and people of the United States in introducing the weapon in warfare. It is further believed that the power of this weapon should be made known by demonstration to the peoples of the world, irrespective of the course of the present conflict, for in this way the body of world opinion may be made the determining factor in the absolute preservation of peace. Therefore we recommend that before this weapon be used without restriction in the present conflict, its powers should be adequately described and demonstrated, and the Japanese nation should be given the opportunity to consider the consequences of further refusal to surrender. We feel that this course of action will heighten the effectiveness of the weapon in this war and will be of tremendous effect in the prevention of future wars. [listed in alphabetical order:] 1. A. W. Adamson 2. Nathan E. Ballou 3. James G. Barrick 4. J. O. Blomeke 5. Edward G. Bohlmann 6. F. Boldridge
7. C. J. Borkowski 8. Melvin G. Bowman 9. Edward L. Brady 10. A. R. Brosi 11. Harrison S. Brown 12. W. H. Burgus 13. Robert L. Butenhoff 14. Waldo E. Cohn 15. Charles D. Coryell 16. Elwin H. Covey 17. M. Creek 18. John R. Dam 19. Jack K. East 20. Raymond R. Edwards 21. Norman Elliot 22. S. G. English 23. Bernard J. Finkle 24. Howard Gest 25. L. H. Gevantman 26. John A. Ghormley 27. L. E. Glendenin 28. Lionel S. Goldring 29. Joseph Halperin 30. D. N. Hume 31. John P. Hunt 32. Alan Jarrett 33. Glenn H. Jenks 34. Gordon Johnson 35. B. H. Ketelle 36. Joseph Khym 37. William J. Knox 38. D. E. Koshland, Jr. 39. Kurt A. Kraus 40. Jim Kroner 41. R. F. Leininger 42. William B. Leslie 43. Dwight C. Lincoln 44. Ralph Livingston 45. John P. McBride 46. L. T. McClinton 47. A. J. Miller 48. R. K. Money 49. Cecil M. Nelson 50. Theodore B. Novey 51. John B. Otto 52. Robert A. Penneman
53. Earl R. Purchase 54. Stanley Rasmussen 55. Walton A. Rodger 56. J. E. Sattizahn 57. Donald S. Schover 58. Robert B. Scott 59. Edward Shapiro 60. Jack Siegel 61. Charles W. Stanley 62. R. W. Stoughton 63. Paul C. Tompkins 64. Elton H. Turk 65. Clinton R. Vanneman 66. Louis B. Werner 67. Russell R. Williams, Jr.