Abstract

The period beginning with the launch of the Soviet satellite Sputnik in October 1957 up to the adoption of the Limited Test Ban in the fall of 1963 was an era marked with intense fear and uncertainty. The American mainstream print media and prophetic writers from premillennial journals employed apocalyptic narrative structures when exploring nuclear issues. These distinct discourses developed through the utilization of traditional apocalyptic motifs to reconcile the existence and horrific potential of nuclear weapons. This thread is evident in both traditionally biblical forms, as well as a unique secular apocalyptic strain. This thesis argues that in a time of fear and uncertainty, when the specter of nuclear war cast its foreboding shadow on everyday life, Americans turned to a well-established apocalyptic discourse to explain and understand the exigencies of their time