The University of Chicago Library > Special Collections Research Center > Finding Aids > Guide to the John L. Balderston, Jr. Collection 1945-1947
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| Title: | Balderston, John L., Jr. Collection |
|---|---|
| Dates: | 1945-1947 |
| Size: | 1 linear foot (2 boxes) |
| Repository: |
Special Collections Research Center |
| Abstract: | This collection contains correspondence related to the Letters on World Government project, conducted by John L. Balderston, Jr., Dieter M. Gruen, W.J. McLean, and David B. Wehmeyer. The collection includes over one hundred letters from prominent intellectual, political, and entertainment figures of the 1940s concerning the creation of a world government and a report summarizing the responses they received. It also includes a bound volume entitled the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. The collection dates from 1945 to 1947, with the bulk of the material dating from 1945. |
This collection is open for research.
When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: Balderston, John L., Jr. Collection, [Box #, Folder #], Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.
In 1945, four individuals who had worked on the Manhattan project—John L. Balderston, Jr., Dieter M. Gruen, W.J. McLean, and David B. Wehmeyer—formed a committee and wrote a letter to 154 public figures asking for their opinions about the possibility of the creation of a world government. Over the next year, as the various public figures responded to the letter, the responses were correlated into a report that was released in 1947.
This collection is divided into three series: Series I, World Government Correspondence; Series II, Permission Correspondence and Report; and Series III, Bulletin of Atomic Scientists.
Series I, World Government Correspondence consists of the solicitation letter that was sent out in 1945 and the responses to that letter. The responses and any attached documents were originally bound into three alphabetically organized volumes. They are now organized into folders, but the alphabetical arrangement remains intact.
Series II, Permission Correspondence and Final Report contains the correspondence of the committee requesting permission to use selected quotations from the world government correspondence. It also includes the final report that was compiled in 1947.
Series III consists of a bound volume entitled the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists.
The following related resources are located in the Department of Special Collections:
http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/spcl/select.html
Series I: World Government Correspondence |
| Box 1 Folder 1 | World Government Correspondence- Volume 1- Solicitation Letter, 1945 |
| Box 1 Folder 2 | World Government Correspondence- Volume 1- "A," 1945 |
| Box 1 Folder 3 | World Government Correspondence- Volume 1- "B," 1945 |
| Box 1 Folder 4 | World Government Correspondence- Volume 1- "C," 1945 |
| Box 1 Folder 5 | World Government Correspondence- Volume 1- "D," 1945 |
| Box 1 Folder 6 | World Government Correspondence- Volume 1- "E," 1945 |
| Box 1 Folder 7 | World Government Correspondence- Volume 2- List of Letters Received, 1947 |
| Box 1 Folder 8 | World Government Correspondence- Volume 2- "F," 1945 |
| Box 1 Folder 9 | World Government Correspondence- Volume 2- "G," 1945 |
| Box 1 Folder 10 | World Government Correspondence- Volume 2- "H," 1945 |
| Box 1 Folder 11 | World Government Correspondence- Volume 2- "I," 1945 |
| Box 1 Folder 12 | World Government Correspondence- Volume 2- "J," 1945 |
| Box 1 Folder 13 | World Government Correspondence- Volume 2- "K," 1945 |
| Box 1 Folder 14 | World Government Correspondence- Volume 2- "L," 1945 |
| Box 1 Folder 15 | World Government Correspondence- Volume 2- "M," 1945 |
| Box 1 Folder 16 | World Government Correspondence- Volume 2- "Mc," 1945 |
| Box 1 Folder 17 | World Government Correspondence- Volume 2- "O," 1945 |
| Box 1 Folder 18 | World Government Correspondence- Volume 2- "P," 1945 |
| Box 1 Folder 19 | World Government Correspondence- Volume 3- List of Letters Received, 1947 |
| Box 1 Folder 20 | World Government Correspondence- Volume 3- "R," 1945 |
| Box 1 Folder 21 | World Government Correspondence- Volume 3- "S," 1945 |
| Box 1 Folder 22 | World Government Correspondence- Volume 3- "T," 1945 |
| Box 1 Folder 23 | World Government Correspondence- Volume 3- "U," 1945 |
| Box 1 Folder 24 | World Government Correspondence- Volume 3- "V," 1945 |
| Box 1 Folder 25 | World Government Correspondence- Volume 3- "W," 1945 |
| Box 1 Folder 26 | World Government Correspondence- Volume 3- "Y," 1945 |
Series II: Permission Correspondence and Final Report |
| Box 2 Folder 1 | Permission Correspondence- Letter to Bing Crosby, 1946 |
| Box 2 Folder 2 | Permission Correspondence- Handwritten List, undated |
| Box 2 Folder 3 | Permission Correspondence "A," 1946 |
| Box 2 Folder 4 | Permission Correspondence "B," 1946 |
| Box 2 Folder 5 | Permission Correspondence "C," 1946 |
| Box 2 Folder 6 | Permission Correspondence "D," 1946 |
| Box 2 Folder 7 | Permission Correspondence "F," 1946 |
| Box 2 Folder 8 | Permission Correspondence "H," 1946 |
| Box 2 Folder 9 | Permission Correspondence "J," 1946 |
| Box 2 Folder 10 | Permission Correspondence "K," 1946 |
| Box 2 Folder 11 | Permission Correspondence "L," 1946 |
| Box 2 Folder 12 | Permission Correspondence "M," 1946 |
| Box 2 Folder 13 | Permission Correspondence "R," 1946 |
| Box 2 Folder 14 | Permission Correspondence "S," 1946 |
| Box 2 Folder 15 | Permission Correspondence "T," 1946 |
| Box 2 Folder 16 | Permission Correspondence "V," 1946 |
| Box 2 Folder 17 | Permission Correspondence "W," 1946 |
| Box 2 Folder 18 | Final Report- Memo to Committee, 1947 |
| Box 2 Folder 19 | Final Report- Report on World Government Master Copy, 1947 |
| Box 2 Folder 20 | Final Report- Report on World Government, 1947 |
Series III: Bulletin of Atomic Scientists |
| Box 2 Folder 21 | Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, 1945-1947 |