Adlai Stevenson's Lasting Legacy

Adlai Stevenson's Lasting Legacy consists of a dozen interrelated chapters by statesmen, scientists, and compatriots who worked and served with Adlai E. Stevenson II of Illinois. Stevenson was a founder of the United Nations in 1945, the 31st Governor of Illinois, twice the Democratic presidential nominee in 1952 and '56, and from 1961 to '65 (inclusive of the Cuba Missile Crisis), the U.S. Permanent Representative to the UN. Included is an essay by the Governor revealing why he had urged a ban on further hydrogen bomb testing during his presidential campaign of 1956. In 1963, with Stevenson's help at the UN, a treaty banning all above ground nuclear testing was finally signed, then a non-proliferation treaty in 1968, and a comprehensive treaty in 1996 (not yet ratified). He knew that in a nuclear age peace was "a condition of human survival," and if ignored, as others also were concerned, that nuclear proliferation could sooner or later get out of hand. He also recognized that in a position of preeminent strength, we needed to lead by example and assistance and with patience collaboratively pursue negotiation, not unilateral action and preemption. In the Epilogue, former Assistant Secretary of State Harlan Cleveland and Senator Adlai Stevenson III urge a return to the diplomacy and politics of the Stevenson years and following, until those of the recent past.

Adlai Stevenson’s Lasting Legacy consists of a dozen interrelated chapters by statesmen, scientists, and compatriots who worked and served with Adlai E. Stevenson II of Illinois. He was its 31st Governor, twice the Democratic presidential nominee in 1952 and 56, a founder of the United Nations in 1945, and from 1961 to 65 (inclusive of the Cuba Missile Crisis), the U.S. Permanent Representative to the UN. Included is an essay by the Governor revealing why he had urged a ban on further hydrogen bomb testing during his presidential campaign of 1956. In 1963, with Stevenson’s help at the UN, a treaty banning all above ground nuclear testing was finally signed, then a non-proliferation treaty in 1968, and a comprehensive treaty in 1996 (not yet ratified). He knew that in a nuclear age peace was “a condition of human survival;” if ignored, as others also were concerned, that nuclear matters could sooner or later get out of hand. And that in a position of preeminent strength, we needed to lead by example and assistance and with patience collaboratively pursue negotiation, not unilateral action and preemption. In the Epilogue, former Assistant Secretary of State Harlan Cleveland and Senator Adlai Stevenson III urge a return to the diplomacy and politics of the Stevenson years and those that followed, until recent years.

Alvin Liebling is a retired U.S. Administrative Law Judge, former Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency Attorney, and Northwestern University lecturer. He is currently engaged in state regulatory matters and he resides with his wife Jacquelyn in Chicago.