Quebec Agreement
Encyclopedia
The Quebec Agreement is an Anglo
-Canadian
-American
document outlining the terms of nuclear nonproliferation between the United Kingdom
and the United States
, and signed by Winston Churchill
and Franklin Delano Roosevelt on August 19, 1943, two years before the end of World War II
, in Quebec City
, Quebec
, Canada
.
The agreement was needed because nuclear co-operation among the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada was becoming so difficult that Winston Churchill
had sought information about setting up an entirely separate, British atomic-bomb project. In July 1943, in London, American officials cleared up some major misunderstandings about British motives, and the agreement was drafted.
After the signing, the United Kingdom handed over all of its material to the United States and, in return, received all the copies of the American progress reports to the president. The British atomic research was subsumed then into the Manhattan Project
until after the war, and a large team of British and Canadian scientists moved to the United States.
In a section of the Quebec Agreement formally entitled "Articles of Agreement governing collaboration between the authorities of the USA and UK in the matter of Tube Alloys
", the United Kingdom and the United States agreed to share resources "to bring the Tube Alloys [i.e. the Atomic Bomb] project to fruition at the earliest moment."
The leaders also agreed as follows:
The agreement also established a Combined Policy Committee composed of Canadian, British, and American representatives to oversee and coordinate weapons development. It was also agreed that "any post-war advantages of an industrial or commercial nature" would be decided at the discretion of the United States president. Although the document does not explicitly include "military" in "industrial or commercial", the subsequent view of the United States was to include "military" in the meaning, much to the displeasure of the United Kingdom.
One of the major strains of the Agreement came up in 1944, when it was revealed to the United States that the United Kingdom had earlier made a secret agreement with Hans von Halban
to share nuclear information with France
after the war in exchange for free use of a number of patent
s related to nuclear reactors and filed by Frédéric Joliot-Curie
and his Collège de France
team. Upon this revelation, the United States objected, stating that the Halban agreement violated the terms of the Quebec Agreement, namely the section about the third-party information-sharing. At Churchill's urging, the United Kingdom broke its obligations to France in order to satisfy the United States.
After the war, the United Kingdom was unilaterally excluded from American nuclear research by the McMahon Act
, and so created its own atomic-bomb program, but with much information from the joint work on the Manhattan Project.
The Hyde Park Agreement was also entered into by Roosevelt and Churchill when Churchill saw Roosevelt at Hyde Park on 17 & 18 September 1944. This provided for Full collaboration between the United States and the British Government in developing Tube Alloys (the British code name for the bomb project) for military and commercial purposes should continue after the defeat of Japan unless and until terminated by joint agreement" However "This agreement was improperly filed at Hyde Park under “Tube Alloys” and so did not become known to Stimson or General Marshall until after the war, when the United Kingdom furnished a copy. Even then, Groves questioned the document’s authenticity until the United States' copy was located."
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
-Canadian
Cañada
The Spanish word cañada means glen; it is etymologically unrelated to Canada, which is derived from an Iroquois word meaning "village" or "settlement" and generally refers to the country in North America...
-American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
document outlining the terms of nuclear nonproliferation between the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and signed by Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
and Franklin Delano Roosevelt on August 19, 1943, two years before the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, in Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
The agreement was needed because nuclear co-operation among the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada was becoming so difficult that Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
had sought information about setting up an entirely separate, British atomic-bomb project. In July 1943, in London, American officials cleared up some major misunderstandings about British motives, and the agreement was drafted.
After the signing, the United Kingdom handed over all of its material to the United States and, in return, received all the copies of the American progress reports to the president. The British atomic research was subsumed then into the Manhattan Project
Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a research and development program, led by the United States with participation from the United Kingdom and Canada, that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army...
until after the war, and a large team of British and Canadian scientists moved to the United States.
In a section of the Quebec Agreement formally entitled "Articles of Agreement governing collaboration between the authorities of the USA and UK in the matter of Tube Alloys
Tube Alloys
Tube Alloys was the code-name for the British nuclear weapon directorate during World War II, when the development of nuclear weapons was kept at such a high level of secrecy that it had to be referred to by code even in the highest circles of government...
", the United Kingdom and the United States agreed to share resources "to bring the Tube Alloys [i.e. the Atomic Bomb] project to fruition at the earliest moment."
The leaders also agreed as follows:
- "we will never use this agency against each other"
- "we will not use it against third parties without each other's consent"
- "we will not either of us communicate any information about Tube Alloys to third parties except by mutual consent"
The agreement also established a Combined Policy Committee composed of Canadian, British, and American representatives to oversee and coordinate weapons development. It was also agreed that "any post-war advantages of an industrial or commercial nature" would be decided at the discretion of the United States president. Although the document does not explicitly include "military" in "industrial or commercial", the subsequent view of the United States was to include "military" in the meaning, much to the displeasure of the United Kingdom.
One of the major strains of the Agreement came up in 1944, when it was revealed to the United States that the United Kingdom had earlier made a secret agreement with Hans von Halban
Hans von Halban
Hans von Halban was a French physicist, of Austrian-Jewish descent.- Family :He was descended on his father's side from Polish Jews, who left Kraków for Vienna in the 1850s...
to share nuclear information with France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
after the war in exchange for free use of a number of patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
s related to nuclear reactors and filed by Frédéric Joliot-Curie
Frédéric Joliot-Curie
Jean Frédéric Joliot-Curie , born Jean Frédéric Joliot, was a French physicist and Nobel laureate.-Early years:...
and his Collège de France
Collège de France
The Collège de France is a higher education and research establishment located in Paris, France, in the 5th arrondissement, or Latin Quarter, across the street from the historical campus of La Sorbonne at the intersection of Rue Saint-Jacques and Rue des Écoles...
team. Upon this revelation, the United States objected, stating that the Halban agreement violated the terms of the Quebec Agreement, namely the section about the third-party information-sharing. At Churchill's urging, the United Kingdom broke its obligations to France in order to satisfy the United States.
After the war, the United Kingdom was unilaterally excluded from American nuclear research by the McMahon Act
Atomic Energy Act of 1946
The Atomic Energy Act of 1946 determined how the United States federal government would control and manage the nuclear technology it had jointly developed with its wartime allies...
, and so created its own atomic-bomb program, but with much information from the joint work on the Manhattan Project.
The Hyde Park Agreement was also entered into by Roosevelt and Churchill when Churchill saw Roosevelt at Hyde Park on 17 & 18 September 1944. This provided for Full collaboration between the United States and the British Government in developing Tube Alloys (the British code name for the bomb project) for military and commercial purposes should continue after the defeat of Japan unless and until terminated by joint agreement" However "This agreement was improperly filed at Hyde Park under “Tube Alloys” and so did not become known to Stimson or General Marshall until after the war, when the United Kingdom furnished a copy. Even then, Groves questioned the document’s authenticity until the United States' copy was located."
See also
- Special Relationship (U.S.-UK)
- Nuclear weapons and the United KingdomNuclear weapons and the United KingdomThe United Kingdom was the third country to test an independently developed nuclear weapon, in October 1952. It is one of the five "Nuclear Weapons States" under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which the UK ratified in 1968...
- Atomic Energy Act of 1946Atomic Energy Act of 1946The Atomic Energy Act of 1946 determined how the United States federal government would control and manage the nuclear technology it had jointly developed with its wartime allies...
- the 'McMahon Act' - 1958 US-UK Mutual Defence Agreement1958 US-UK Mutual Defence AgreementThe 1958 US–UK Mutual Defence Agreement is a bilateral treaty between the United States and the United Kingdom on nuclear weapons cooperation.It was signed after the UK successfully tested its first hydrogen bomb during Operation Grapple. While the U.S...