THe Rise
In the 1940's and 50's, people were less self-reliant in terms of their thoughts and beliefs. It was a "seemingly more naive time, when kids retrieved atomic rings from cereal boxes and their parents quaffed atomic cocktails" (Sonya Padgett, Atomic Legacy); hardly anyone could imagine their government, the mightiest in the world, ever having a reason to lie to them. It was a time when "the public routinely looked to scientists for straightforward information and guidance, in particular regarding nuclear weapons" (Paul Rubinson, Crucified on a Cross of Atoms). Many of the activists who spoke out against the tests were scientists that had some sort of affiliation with the Manhattan Project and/or highly-ranked government officials. The groups that formed were led by people who did not work for the government, but still important in some way, and usually having large amounts of government connections. They had access to inside information, and they knew much more on the subject than the general public. Linus Pauling, for instance, was not only famous for his Nobel prizes and his involvement with the survey, but also for a petition he created earlier in 1958 of which he received over 9,000 signatures from world-renown scientists. The petition requested an international agreement to cease nuclear bomb testing. Figures like Barry Commoner booked time slots in community auditoriums and set up lectures on street corners in order to help average citizens better understand the dangers of nuclear technology. As the environmental dangers grew with the advancements of each mushroom cloud, those with analytical minds knew the importance of a more widespread danger awareness... and the need for a peaceful ending.