ABSTRACT
The totalizing nature of the Cold War in the United States meant that all societal institutions were aff ected by the bipolar ideological confl ict. As World War II drew to a close, U.S. culture, economy, politics, and religion all began to confront both the apparent communist menace overseas and the domestic demand for anticommunist conformity. Much like other bedrocks of the American nation at this time, science could not stand aside. As science and engineering produced the dramatic innovations of the Cold War (including lasers, computers, and nuclear missiles), leaders of the scientifi c community also wrestled over the direction of science and the nation.
