John F. Kennedy

====Nuclear Test Ban Treaty====
{{main|Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty}}
[[File:President Kennedy signs Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, 07 October 1963.jpg|thumb|left|Kennedy signs the [[Partial Test Ban Treaty]], a major milestone in early [[nuclear disarmament]], on October 7, 1963.]]

Troubled by the long-term dangers of [[radioactive contamination]] and [[nuclear proliferation]], Kennedy and Khrushchev agreed to negotiate a nuclear test ban treaty, originally conceived in Adlai Stevenson's 1956 presidential campaign.{{sfn|Reeves|1993|p=552}} In their Vienna summit meeting in June 1961, Khrushchev and Kennedy reached an informal understanding against nuclear testing, but the Soviet Union began testing nuclear weapons that September. In response, the United States conducted tests five days later.{{sfn|Reeves|1993|p=227}} Shortly afterwards, new U.S. satellites began delivering images that made it clear that the Soviets were substantially behind the U.S. in the arms race.{{sfn|Reeves|1993|p=229}} Nevertheless, the greater nuclear strength of the U.S. was of little value as long as the Soviet Union perceived itself to be at parity.{{sfn|Reeves|1993|p=243}}

In July 1963, Kennedy sent [[W. Averell Harriman]] to Moscow to negotiate a treaty with the Soviets.{{sfn|Reeves|1993|p=542}} The introductory sessions included Khrushchev, who later delegated Soviet representation to [[Andrei Gromyko]]. It quickly became clear that a comprehensive test ban would not be implemented, due largely to the reluctance of the Soviets to allow inspections to verify compliance.{{sfn|Reeves|1993|p=548}}

Ultimately, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union were the initial signatories to a limited treaty, which prohibited atomic testing on the ground, in the atmosphere, or underwater, but not underground. The U.S. Senate approved the treaty on September 23, 1963, and Kennedy signed it on October 7, 1963.<ref>{{cite web |title=Nuclear Test Ban Treaty |url=https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/jfk-in-history/nuclear-test-ban-treaty |website=John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum |access-date=November 19, 2023 |archive-date=July 19, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190719110611/https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/jfk-in-history/nuclear-test-ban-treaty |url-status=live }} {{PD-notice}}</ref> France was quick to declare that it was free to continue developing and testing its nuclear defenses.{{sfn|Reeves|1993|p=550}}