The Monument & the Cold War

The land comprising the Monument has an unusual and colorful provenance. The entry of the United States into World War II and the race to develop an atomic bomb led to a search for a suitable place to locate plutonium production and purification facilities. In 1943, the War Department (later to become the Department of Defense) went in search of a remote, easily defensible, geologically stable site with plenty of cool water, abundant energy (from hydropower dams on the Columbia River), and a moderate climate in order to build plutonium production reactors in secret. The United States Army Corps of Engineers selected a site near the isolated desert towns of White Bluffs and Hanford. Following site selection, the War Department acquired land through condemnation of private lands and purchase of any private lands within the basin formed by Rattlesnake Mountain and the Saddle Mountains. The Atomic Energy Commission, a precursor to the Department of Energy (DOE), then established and ran the Hanford Site (then known as the Hanford Engineering Works).

Although the Hanford Site was initially established as a component of U.S. involvement in WWII, following the end of the war, it became a key factor in a new "war"—the Cold War. While the roots of the Cold War can be traced back to at least the early 1900's, the end of WWII marked the beginning of an escalation in the world power struggle between communism and capitalism. (This is, of course, an oversimplification of what the Cold War was all about. One starting point to learn more about the causes of the Cold War can be found on The History Guide web site at www.historyguide.org/europe/lecture14.html.) What is interesting about the Hanford Site is that, in addition to fueling the Cold War arms race, key events in the Cold War can be traced here. In March of 1947, the Truman Doctrine brought the U.S. firmly into the Cold War, marking a period of greatly increased defense spending and involvement in world events. This resulted in a higher demand for Hanford plutonium and began a period of rapid construction on the Hanford Site, which continued through the middle of 1949 when the formation of NATO and other events led to the feeling that the U.S. and its allies were in a position of power, and 'threats' from the Soviet Union were somewhat abated.

However, in September of 1949, the Soviet Union successfully tested its own nuclear weapon, well ahead of when American scientists thought it would have the capability. This led to President Truman ordering the expansion of atomic plants, as well as research into the hydrogen bomb—bombs using plutonium from Hanford. This second round of rapid expansion at Hanford lasted through 1955.

The third round of expansion at Hanford began with the election of Dwight Eisenhower as President. President Eisenhower was concerned about the level of military spending and was able to significantly cut spending, especially on conventional forces and equipment. One reason he felt that spending could be cut was through the development of the "massive retaliation" policy, i.e., through the threat of massive nuclear bombing being delivered by the newly developed long-range ballistic missiles.

So, as you look down the river at the various generations of reactors, you can see world events unfolding—the Truman Doctrine, the formation of NATO, the end of the American policy of 'isolationism,' the Marshall Plan, the invasion of South Korea by North Korea, the rise of Mao Tse-tung and Nikita Khrushchev, the space race and the launching of Sputnik, the period of "McCarthyism," the spy trials of Alger Hiss and Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, the eras of "massive retaliation" and "mutually assured destruction, and many other world-changing events. All of these are etched into the banks of the Hanford Reach.

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