Doctoral Dissertations

Date of Award

8-1985

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Political Science

Major Professor

Douglas H. Carlisle

Committee Members

Vernon Iredell, Robert Peterson, Lawrence Haaby

Abstract

During the 1940's an atlantic union movement developed within the United States. This movement had as its primary goal the establishment of a supranational political union of western democratic nations. This movement, including its constituent organizations, the Atlantic Union Committee, and Federal Union, Incorporated, is the subject of this study.

Much of this study is concerned with examining the efforts of the Atlantic Union Committee to secure congressional passage of legislation authorizing American participation in an international conference composed of delegates from democratic nations. The proposed conference would then explore means of realizing a supranational political union. The atlantic union movement was not successful in achieving this goal. Yet the movement's efforts were not completely in vain. Congress in 1960 did authorize American participation in a less ambitious undertaking, a citizens conference on north atlantic unity. This study finds that the atlantic union movement had a significant impact upon the legislative struggle involving this particular issue.

The study concludes by evaluating the appropriateness of the strategy and techniques utilized by the Atlantic Union Committee in pursuit of its goals.

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