Department of Energy Washington, D.C. 20585 The Department of Energy Organization Act of 1977 brought together for the first time in one department most of the Federal With these programs came a score of Government's energy programs. organizational entities, each with its own history and traditions, The History from a dozen departments and independent agencies. Division has prepared a series of pamphlets on The Institutional Origins of the Department of Energy. Fach pamphlet explains the history, goals, and achievements of a predecessor agencv of the Department of Enerqv. One purpose of the series is to provide a handy reference work which traces the oraanizational antecedents of the major programs In several instances the search for and offices of the Department. materials has resulted in the preservation of valuable historical The records that otherwise might have been lost or destroyed. is an Archives ntal preservation of these records in the Departme nsive comprehe a important first step in collecting materials for history of the role of the Federal Government in both stimulating and regulating the development of energy resources and systems in the United States since World War II. This vamvhlet traces the history of the Atomic Energy Commission's twentv-eiaht year stewardship of the Nation's nuclear eneray program, from the siqning of the Atomic Energy Act on August 1, 1946 to the Signing of the Energy Reorganization Act on October 11, 1974. The Commission's early concentration on the military atom produced sovhisticated nuclear weapons for the Nation's defense and made possihle the creation of a fleet of nuclear submarines and surface ships. Extensive research in the nuclear sciences resulted in the widespread aoplication of nuclear technology for scientific, medical and industrial purposes, while the passage of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 made possible the development of a nuclear industry, and enabled the United States to share the new technology with other nations. Alice L. Buck is a trained historian working in the Historv Division. Although whenever possible she has checked her work with appropriate offices within the Department, the author takes full responsibility for the content and conclusions of the study. It is our hope that this vamphlet will prove useful both to Departmental personnel and the public. lef Historian