User:Wgehrke/sandbox

== Background to the Movement == Various freeze proposals occurred throughout the Cold War, with the first suggestion of a freeze of fissionable material for use in nuclear weapons suggested in the mid-1950s in letters between Eisenhower and Bulganin. Concrete policy proposals for freezes began in the 1960s, with a formal proposal from the United States to the Soviet Union of a partial freeze on the the number of both offensive and defensive nuclear vehicles. However, this was rejected by the Soviet Union due to fears that it would freeze the Soviet Union into strategic inferiority. In 1970, the US Senate passed a resolution calling for both superpowers to suspend further development of nuclear strategic weapons systems, both offensive and defensive, during the SALT I negotiations. Throughout this period, other arms proposals suggested would also qualify as partial freezes. Concerns over nuclear weapons continued to grow through the 1970s, but the movement remained fragmented. While figures like Reverend Theodore Hesburgh and Reverend Billy Graham had discussed the dangers of nuclear war, the combination of a conservative and nationalist tone in the country and the fractured nature and goals of activist groups resulted in little progress.

Randall Forsberg and "Call to Halt the Nuclear Arms Race"
The origin of the nuclear freeze movement is broadly credited to Randall Forsberg, the author of a 1980 public memorandum titled "Call to Halt the Nuclear Arms Race." This arms-control proposal called for both the United States and Soviet Union to stop the testing, production, and deployment of nuclear weapons as a first step towards lowering nuclear tensions. The memorandum built on the work of groups such as the American Friends Service Committee, Mobilization for Survival, and the Fellowship of Reconciliation as well as personal experience while working for the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute and reading about failed agreements between the US and USSR.

The accessible goal set forth in the memorandum became a widely accepted rallying point. The memorandum was moderate and simple in order to appeal to both peace activists and ordinary people concerned about the threat of the arms race but unwilling to risk national defense. Forsberg framed a nuclear freeze as a logical choice, claiming that the two countries owned more than 50,000 nuclear weapons with plans to build 20,000 more. The memorandum also argued against the more widely accepted idea of deterrence, arguing that adding more nuclear weapons to the world would only increase the chance of nuclear war. Additionally, Forsberg argued that a nuclear weapons freeze would result in a large amount of fiscal savings, going on to detail the social and economic benefits of various alternative domestic spending options.

After its publication, "Call to Halt the Nuclear Arms Race" was endorsed by various leaders, intellectuals, and activists. Political figures, such as George Ball, Clark Clifford, William Colby, Averell Harriman, George Kennan, and scientists, including Linus Pauling, Jerome Wiesner, Bernard Feld, Jonas Salk, and Carl Sagan came forward to support the idea.