Prepared by the Department of Education and Public Programs, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
Discouraged and dismayed by the Soviet tests, President Kennedy pursued diplomatic efforts
before allowing renewed testing by the United States.
In his September 25, 1961 address to the United Nations, he challenged the Soviet Union “not to
an arms race, but to a peace race.” Unsuccessful in his efforts to reach a diplomatic agreement,
President Kennedy reluctantly announced the resumption of atmospheric testing. American
testing resumed on April 25, 1962.
Following the peaceful resolution of the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962, President
Kennedy and Premier Khrushchev sought to reduce tensions between their two nations. Both
leaders realized they had come dangerously close to nuclear war. As Khrushchev described it,
“The two most powerful nations had been squared off against each other, each with its finger on
the button.” JFK shared this concern, once remarking at a White House meeting, “It is insane
that two men, sitting on opposite sides of the world, should be able to decide to bring an end to
civilization.”
In a series of private letters, Khrushchev and Kennedy reopened a dialogue on banning nuclear
testing. In his commencement address at American University on June 10, 1963, Kennedy
announced a new round of high-level arms negotiations with the Russians. He boldly called for
an end to the Cold War. “If we cannot end our differences,” he said, “at least we can help make
the world a safe place for diversity.” The Soviet government broadcast a translation of the entire
speech, and allowed it to be reprinted in the controlled Soviet press.
Kennedy selected Averell Harriman, an experienced diplomat known and respected by
Khrushchev, to resume negotiations in Moscow. An agreement to limit the scope of the test ban
paved the way for a treaty. By excluding underground tests from the pact, negotiators eliminated
the need for the on-site inspections that worried the Kremlin. On July 25, 1963, after only 12
days of negotiations, the two nations agreed to ban testing in the atmosphere, in space, and
underwater. The following day, in a television address announcing the agreement, Kennedy
claimed that a limited test ban “is safer by far for the United States than an unlimited nuclear
arms race.”
The Treaty was signed in Moscow on August 5, 1963, by US Secretary Dean Rusk, Soviet
Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko, and British Foreign Secretary Lord Home—one day short of
the 18th anniversary of the dropping of an atomic bomb on Hiroshima.
Over the next two months, President Kennedy convinced a fearful public and a divided Senate to
support the Treaty. The Senate approved the Limited Nuclear Test Ban on September 23, 1963,
by an 80-19 margin. Kennedy signed the ratified Treaty on October 7, 1963. The Treaty:
prohibits nuclear weapons tests or other nuclear explosions under water, in the
atmosphere, or in outer space
allows underground nuclear tests as long as no radioactive debris falls outside the
boundaries of the nation conducting the test
pledges signatories to work towards complete disarmament, an end to the armaments
race, and an end to the contamination of the environment by radioactive substances.