The ratification of the first nuclear treaty: the test ban debate of 1963
Journal: Rice Digital Scholarship Archive (Rice University)
Year: 2016

The Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was the proudest accomplishment of President Kennedy's one thousand days in the White House. It prohibited nuclear testing in the atmosphere, in space or under the oceans. The treaty was signed by more than one hundred nations, Red China and France notably excepted. Such a treaty had been a goal of United States policy for five years. In mid-1963 a sudden change of heart by the Soviet Chairman Khrushchev made the treaty possible. Its ratification by the U.S. Senate wa