Brien McMahon
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Brien McMahon (born James O'Brien McMahon) (October 6, 1903July 28, 1952) was an American
lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...
and
politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...
who served in the
United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...
(as a Democrat from
Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...
) from 1945 to 1952. McMahon was a major figure in the establishment of the Atomic Energy Commission, through his authorship of the Atomic Energy Act of 1946 (the
McMahon Act The Atomic Energy Act of 1946 (McMahon Act) determined how the United States would control and manage the nuclear technology it had jointly developed with its World War II allies, the United Kingdom and Canada. Most significantly, the Act ru ...
). McMahon served as chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Atomic Energy, and the first chairman of the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy. McMahon was a key figure in the early years of
atomic weapon A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear expl ...
s development and an advocate for the
civilian A civilian is a person who is not a member of an armed force. It is war crime, illegal under the law of armed conflict to target civilians with military attacks, along with numerous other considerations for civilians during times of war. If a civi ...
(rather than
military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...
) control of nuclear development in the USA. Also, in 1952, McMahon proposed an "army" of young Americans to act as "missionaries of democracy", which sowed the seeds for what later became the
Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an Independent agency of the U.S. government, independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to communities in partner countries around the world. It was established in Marc ...
.


Early life and education

McMahon was born in 1903 in
Norwalk, Connecticut Norwalk is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The city, part of the New York metropolitan area, New York Metropolitan Area, is the List of municipalities of Connecticut by population, sixth-most populous city in Connecticut ...
. McMahon graduated
Fordham University Fordham University is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1841, it is named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its origina ...
in 1924 and then
Yale Law School Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United ...
in 1927. McMahon changed his name to Brien McMahon the same year as being admitted to the bar.


Justice career

McMahon began a practice in Norwalk and later served as a judge on that town's city court, appointed to the position by Connecticut Governor Wilbur L. Cross.The Brien McMahon Papers
Biography/Introduction to papers. Georgetown University library. Retrieved 2-7-09.
However, McMahon quickly resigned to become special assistant to the
Attorney General of the United States The United States attorney general is the head of the United States Department of Justice and serves as the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government. The attorney general acts as the principal legal advisor to the president of the ...
in 1933. Attorney General Homer Cummings was also from Connecticut. In 1935, McMahon was appointed as
United States Assistant Attorney General Many of the divisions and offices of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) are headed by an assistant attorney general. The president of the United States appoints individuals to the position of assistant attorney general with the adv ...
overseeing the Department of Justice's Criminal Division. Among prominent cases associated with McMahon in the Criminal Division were the prosecutions of John Dillinger's lawyer, Louis Piquette (for harboring a criminal) and the trials of gangsters associated with 'Baby Face' Nelson. However, the case that elevated McMahon to national renown and laid the foundation for his political career was the Harlan County Coal Miners' case. It was the first attempt to enforce the Wagner Act protecting unions. The case became famous, less for legal principles than for the violence and scandal surrounding the trial. Although he lost, he "received wide public recognition and a reputation as a courageous and honest upholder of justice, both of which would further his political ambitions," according to a biography accompanying the introduction to his papers, held by the Georgetown University Library. In 1939, McMahon left government service and resumed his law practice. In February 1940 McMahon married Rosemary Turner (June 21, 1917October 11, 1986), and they had a daughter, Patricia. Rosemary was the half-sister of the British politician and best-selling novelist (Lord)
Jeffrey Archer Jeffrey Howard Archer, Baron Archer of Weston-super-Mare (born 15 April 1940) is an English novelist and former politician. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Louth (Lincolnshire) from 1969 to 1974, but did not seek re-election after a fina ...
(1940 ).


Congressional career

McMahon mounted a successful campaign for a Connecticut United States Senate seat in 1944, defeating incumbent John A. Danaher, with internationalism (McMahon) vs.
isolationism Isolationism is a term used to refer to a political philosophy advocating a foreign policy that opposes involvement in the political affairs, and especially the wars, of other countries. Thus, isolationism fundamentally advocates neutrality an ...
(Danaher) a major point of debate. On July 16, 1945, an atomic bomb was successfully detonated at Alamogordo, New Mexico, after which Senator Brien McMahon of Connecticut called it "the most important thing in history since the birth of Jesus Christ." In late 1945, McMahon was appointed Chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Atomic Energy, which explored legislative alternatives to the War Department sponsored
May-Johnson bill The Atomic Energy Act of 1946 (McMahon Act) determined how the United States would control and manage the nuclear technology it had jointly developed with its World War II allies, the United Kingdom and Canada. Most significantly, the Act ru ...
. McMahon lacked knowledge about atomic energy, but saw the chairmanship as a means to assert himself as a new Senator, especially as the May-Johnson bill underwent increased attack from scientists and later lost support of the Truman White House. On December 20, 1945, Brien McMahon introduced into the Senate legislation for an alternative atomic energy bill, which was quickly known as the McMahon Bill. The liberal bill placed control of atomic research in the hands of scientists and was broadly supported by scientists. McMahon himself framed the controversy as a question of military versus civilian control of atomic energy, even though the War Department bill was primarily a civilian bill as well. McMahon's Special Committee on Atomic Energy held many hearings during late 1945 and early 1946, thereby airing arguments about domestic postwar legislation for controlling atomic energy. In the spring of 1946, the McMahon Bill underwent major revisions in order to appease conservative elements in the Senate. The resulting bill passed the Senate and the House. On August 1, 1946, President
Harry Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...
signed the McMahon Bill into law as the
Atomic Energy Act of 1946 The Atomic Energy Act of 1946 (McMahon Act) determined how the United States would control and manage the nuclear technology it had jointly developed with its World War II allies, the United Kingdom and Canada. Most significantly, the Act ru ...
. The Atomic Energy Act of 1946 created a special Congressional committee, the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy. Brien McMahon served as its first chairman in 1946, and again in 1949–1952. McMahon hired as the committee's executive staff director William L. Borden, who would play an influential role on the committee (and after McMahon's death, in the
Oppenheimer security hearing Over four weeks in 1954, the United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) explored the background, actions, and associations of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the American scientist who directed the Los Alamos Laboratory during World War II as part of t ...
). The first atomic bomb test by the Soviet Union in August 1949 came earlier than expected by Americans, and McMahon immediately urged that U.S. production of atomic weapons be substantially increased. Moreover, during the next several months there was an intense debate within the U.S. government, military, and scientific communities regarding whether to proceed with development of the far more powerful
hydrogen bomb A thermonuclear weapon, fusion weapon or hydrogen bomb (H-bomb) is a second-generation nuclear weapon design. Its greater sophistication affords it vastly greater destructive power than first-generation nuclear bombs, a more compact size, a lo ...
, then known as "the Super". McMahon was strongly in favor of going ahead with the Super, and argued as much in a series of letters he wrote to President Truman. The senator rejected morality-based arguments against the hydrogen bomb based on it being inherently more destructive than previous weapons, asking "Where is the valid ethical distinction between" the World War II multi-day-and-night bombing of Hamburg, the firebombing of Tokyo, and the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, and any future raid with whatever technology that caused mass casualties. Connecticut voters reelected McMahon to his Senate seat in 1950. During his entire tenure in the Senate, he served as Secretary of the Senate Democratic Conference.


Presidential campaign, illness and death

Beginning in January 1952, McMahon was mentioned as a possible candidate in the 1952 Democratic Party presidential primaries, but he vacillated over whether he was actually running or not. His campaign slogan was to be, "The Man is McMahon", and his main campaign platform was the ensuring of global peace through strength of atomic weaponry. Then in March 1952 he fell ill and spent a week at Bethesda Naval Hospital; his condition would be determined to be lung cancer. From his sickbed, he sent a message to the Democratic state convention in
Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...
saying that if elected president, he would tell the Atomic Energy Commission to manufacture thousands of hydrogen bombs.Richard G. Hewlett and Francis Duncan, ''Atomic Shield'' (U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, 1969), 585. By the time of the
1952 Democratic National Convention The 1952 Democratic National Convention was held at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, Illinois from July 21 to July 26, 1952, which was the same arena the Republicans had gathered in a few weeks earlier for their national convention from ...
in July, he was too weak to be considered an actual candidate, but the delegation from Connecticut initially cast their 16 votes for him as a symbolic gesture. Brien McMahon served in the United States Senate until his death at Georgetown University Hospital in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, on July 28, 1952, at age 48. His obituary was given front page, above the fold treatment in ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
''. More than four years remained in his second Senate term. Brien McMahon is buried in St. Mary's Cemetery in Norwalk.


Legacy and honors

A
commemorative stamp A commemorative stamp is a postage stamp, often issued on a significant date such as an anniversary, to honor or commemorate a place, event, person, or object. The ''subject'' of the commemorative stamp is usually spelled out in print, unlike defi ...
honoring Brien McMahon and his role in opening the way to peaceful uses of atomic energy was issued by the United States on July 28, 1962, at Norwalk, Connecticut. The stamp features a portrait of McMahon facing a rendition of an atomic symbol. Brien McMahon High School, in Norwalk, is named after him. Brien McMahon Hall, a residence hall at the
University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...
in Storrs, also bears his name. Footage of McMahon is included in the 1982 documentary '' The Atomic Cafe'' giving a speech urging a reasoned response to the acquisition of
atomic weapons A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear explo ...
contrasting with the more McCarthyite speeches of Republican Senators Owen Brewster,
Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
and Democratic Representative
Lloyd Bentsen Lloyd Millard Bentsen Jr. (February 11, 1921 – May 23, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 69th United States secretary of the treasury under President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1994. He served as a United States senator from ...
.


See also

*
List of United States Congress members who died in office (1950–99) There are several lists of United States Congress members who died in office. These include: *List of United States Congress members who died in office (1790–1899) *List of United States Congress members who died in office (1900–1949) *List ...


References

*''American National Biography''; ''Dictionary of American Biography''; U.S. Congress. *''Memorial Services''. 83d Cong., 1st sess., 1953. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1953.


External links


Annotated Bibliography for Brien McMahon from the Alsos Digital Library for Nuclear Issues


* , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:McMahon, Brien 1903 births 1952 deaths 20th-century Connecticut state court judges 20th-century American lawyers Candidates in the 1952 United States presidential election Connecticut Democrats Connecticut lawyers Connecticut state court judges Deaths from cancer in Washington, D.C. Democratic Party United States senators from Connecticut Fordham University alumni Franklin D. Roosevelt administration personnel Politicians from Norwalk, Connecticut United States assistant attorneys general for the Criminal Division Yale Law School alumni 20th-century United States senators