Chemistry Reference
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In addition, according to Morrison, most of the war work was really just
a by-product of peaceful chemistry, forced on the nation by the neces-
sities of war.
Chemical industry thus stands as a great bulwark of strength for the
maintenance of peace, for its beneficent and peaceful activities can, in
case of absolute necessity, be quickly turned into the manufacture of ma-
terials without which no successful defense of our country could be
maintained and no army could withstand attack in modern warfare.
[Ibid., p. 232]
The chapter head illustration for 'Security' portrayed the chemist not as a
soldier but as a civilian guardian (Figure 5b). The chemist had no weap-
ons, only a collection of instruments, but stood like a colossus between
civilization (represented by the factory/city in the background) and bar-
barism (represented by devices of war in the foreground). Science pro-
tected society by intellectual and moral superiority, not by force.
9. Conclusion
There was no doubt in Morrison's work that the U.S. was the greatest na-
tion, and that a large part of its greatness rested on the work of chemists.
Morrison concluded his book by saying:
Many occupations in this world, while profitable, make no contribution
to human advancement. Employment in such occupations may be satis-
factory to the unthinking, but whoever realizes that employment in the
chemical industries is an opportunity to serve in a fundamental occupa-
tion, upon which all others rest, without which our country would be-
come a backward nation, and out of which grows civilization itself,
glows with justifiable pride in the fact that his life has purpose and that
he is serving humanity well. He, individually, feels that he is making a
contribution to the industrial and intellectual development of all people
everywhere, and especially to our country, the greatest nation in the
world. [Ibid., p. 283]
As an argument brought to the agora of American public discourse,
Man
in a Chemical World
was extremely bold. Its nationalism fit well with
the concerns of many scientists, particularly the leadership of the ACS,
that the U.S. needed to establish strong industries and train American
