Nuclear Fallout Pamphlets
About this collection
This digital collection contains pamphlets, booklets, and newsletters issued by the United States federal and state governments that instruct citizens on how to prepare for and survive a nuclear attack. This collection was selected for digitization in 2018 and includes all of the public domain materials within the Nuclear Fallout Shelter and Safety Collection, #8584, held by Cornell University Library’s Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections.
Historical context
On August 6, 1945, the world changed forever: nuclear war became a possibility. Encapsulating the heyday of American civil defense, this collection presents a piece of Americana but also as an investigative tool into the values and mores of the United States during the early Cold War. It gives insight into the debate about governmental versus individual responsibility during a time of war; with documents titled "Personal Preparedness in the Nuclear Age" and "The Family Fallout Shelter", an image emerges of a country that puts enormous emphasis on individualism and family values. This collection supports the study of history but also benefit research and teaching in multiple disciplines, lending context to the explosion of apocalyptic fiction in the 20th and 21st centuries as well as adding dimensionality to the current appeal of survivalism and prepper culture.
Using the collection
For more information about the collection, please contact the Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections at rareref@cornell.edu.
More information
- Collection steward
- Katherine Reagan, Ernest Stern Curator, Rare Books & Manuscripts
- Metadata creation
- Cornell University Library, 2018
- Funding
- Grants Program for Digital Collections in Arts and Sciences, 2018, awarded to Ji Hyun Lee, MA 2016, doctoral candidate in the Department of English.
- Credits
- This collection overview was adapted from a digitization grant application written by Ji Hyun Lee in 2018.
- Collection sources