While most Americans supported atomic testing early on out of a sense of patriotic duty and a false sense of its safety, limited opposition appeared within a few years of the Nevada Test Site's formation. Early concern over above ground testing centered on the effects of radiation on humans and their environment. At the same time, atomic testing came to be viewed by some in moral terms. To them, the bombs represented the ultimate and deadliest tool of war. Thus, many anti-war activists and pacifists sought to end testing out of a desire to achieve a more peaceful world.
From such concerns, the first protests against testing took place at the Nevada Test Site as early as 1957. After the 1963 limited test ban treaty prohibited above ground testing, public concern subsided somewhat. Testing as a major issue re-emerged after the 1970s with increased coverage of fallout-related cancers and the disarmament movement. By the 1980s, the appearance of anti-testing activists at the test site proved to be a more regular occurrence. Between 1986 and 1994 in excess of 500 protests took place at the test site, involving over 35,000 protesters and resulting in more than 15,000 arrests.
As you read the following newspaper accounts and oral histories, think of the motivations of protestors, test site employees, and law enforcement.
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