ACHESON, DEAN 1893-1971

U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE, 1949-1953

Controversial Secretary of State

Although considered one of the most successful architects of American foreign policy, Dean Acheson won many enemies by ignoring public opinion. Some blamed Acheson and his policy of Communist containment for American entry into the Korean War. Others such as Sen. Joseph McCarthy accused Acheson of being soft on communism for not having been vigilant enough in protecting U.S. interests in China. Acheson was often pressured by members of both political parties to resign. His Old World demeanor and English attire made him an easy target for those who thought him to be effete and out of touch.

Background

A protege of Felix Frankfurter at Harvard Law School, Acheson first worked in Washington as a law clerk for Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis. He subsequently became a partner and a leading figure in the powerful Washington lawfirm Covington and Burling. He entered government service during World War II, when he became assistant secretary of state with the responsibility to help manage the land-lease program, which provided $39 billion in aid to American allies. Under Harry S Truman, Acheson was promoted under-secretary of state in 1945 and then to secretary of state in 1949 suceeding George Marshall. He contributed heavily to both the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan, which defined American foreign policy during the early years of the cold war.

Making Foreign Policy

Acheson saw the creation of economic blocs as the remedy for Soviet expansionism and worked to reindustrialize West Germany. Acheson devised the plans to integrate a rearmed Germany into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. In Asia he sided with the French in Indochina and saw the split between the Russian and Chinese Communists as early as 1949. Acheson supported the removal of Gen. Douglas Mac Arthur as supreme commander in Korea, mainly because he wanted the resources going to the Far East to be diverted back to Europe. He continued to be a strong voice for a conservative, anti-Soviet foreign policy throughout the 1950s.

Hawkish Adviser

As an adviser to President John F. Kennedy, Acheson increasingly came to be viewed as a "hawk," advocating dealing with the Soviets through superior military and strategic strength. Overruled in his recommendation for a direct strike against the Soviet missiles placed in Cuba in October 1962, Acheson nevertheless argued forcefully for continued U.S. presence in Vietnam.

Source:

Douglas Brinkley, Dean Acheson and the Making of U.S. Foreign Policy (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992).