Loyola News: "Fr. Hussey Talks on Atomic Control"
Item
Title
Loyola News: "Fr. Hussey Talks on Atomic Control"
Description
This Loyola News article discusses Rev. James t. Hussey, S.J.'s talk that day "on the effect of the Vandenberg Amendment to the McMahon Atomic Control Bill upon the freedom of American universities". The McMahon Atomic Control Bill came out of fears in 1945 that researchers might defect and give atomic secrets to enemy countries. Rev. Hussey was concerned about the restriction of academic freedom due to military power.
He is quoted: "In our country the sole end and aim of military power is the defense of freedom. We would, therefore, surrender a very precious principle if we surrendered a large area of our freedom to military control.
"I appreciate the fact that our nuclear physicists have given us a great source of very great power for good and for evil. We surely need some national control which will insure that this great source of power will be used in the nai=tional and international interest.
But we are not serving the national interests if we stifle free intellectual enterprise for merely probable military convenience.
"We must not trifle with things so grave and so close to freedom of thought and speech as is freedom in research. If we do, we may discover that we are surrendering to our own War Department the very freedom it is charged with defending!"
He is quoted: "In our country the sole end and aim of military power is the defense of freedom. We would, therefore, surrender a very precious principle if we surrendered a large area of our freedom to military control.
"I appreciate the fact that our nuclear physicists have given us a great source of very great power for good and for evil. We surely need some national control which will insure that this great source of power will be used in the nai=tional and international interest.
But we are not serving the national interests if we stifle free intellectual enterprise for merely probable military convenience.
"We must not trifle with things so grave and so close to freedom of thought and speech as is freedom in research. If we do, we may discover that we are surrendering to our own War Department the very freedom it is charged with defending!"
Date, date span, or circa acceptable
1945-46
File name
University Archives and Special Collections, Loyola News, "Fr. Hussey Talks on Atomic Control"
Sources archive, University Archives and Special Collections or Women and Leadership Archives
University Archives and Special Collections
Source
University Archives and Special Collections, Loyola News, "Fr. Hussey Talks on Atomic Control"
Subject
Loyola University Chicago
World War II
Atomic research
Rights
Contact the Loyola University Chicago Archives and Special Collections, archive@luc.edu, for permission to copy or publish.
