William Christian Bullitt Jr.
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William Christian Bullitt Jr. (January 25, 1891 – February 15, 1967) was an American diplomat, journalist, and novelist. He is known for his special mission to negotiate with
Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...
on behalf of the Paris Peace Conference, often recalled as a missed opportunity to normalize relations with the Bolsheviks. He was also the first U.S. ambassador to the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
and the U.S. ambassador to
France during World War II France was one of the largest military powers to come under occupation as part of the Western Front in World War II. The Western Front was a military theatre of World War II encompassing Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, the ...
. In his youth, he was considered a radical, but he later became an outspoken
anticommunist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when the United States and the ...
.


Early years

Bullitt was born to a prominent Philadelphia family, the son of Louisa Gross (née Horwitz) and William Christian Bullitt Sr. His grandfather was
John Christian Bullitt John Christian Bullitt (1824–1902) was a lawyer and civic figure in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He founded the law firm known today as Drinker Biddle & Reath. Erected in 1907, Bullitt's bronze statue adjacent to City Hall was the ...
, founder of the law firm today known as
Drinker Biddle & Reath Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath, also known as Faegre Drinker, is a full-service international law firm and one of the 50 largest law firms headquartered in the United States. Faegre Drinker provides legal counseling and litigation to a wide range ...
. His family was of
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
descent. His ancestor Joseph Boulet, a
huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...
, had fled
Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; oc, Nimes ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the prefecture of the Gard department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. Located between the Mediterranean Sea and Cévennes, the commune of Nîmes has an estimated population of 148,5 ...
in 1629. Bullitt's upbringing was cosmopolitan. Members of his family lived in the main European capitals, and he learned
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
and
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
at a very young age. He graduated from
Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
in 1912, after having been voted "most brilliant" in his class. He briefly attended
Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...
but dropped out on the death of his father in 1914. At Yale, he was a member of
Scroll and Key The Scroll and Key Society is a secret society, founded in 1842 at Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut. It is one of the oldest Yale secret societies and reputedly the wealthiest. The society is one of the reputed "Big Three" societies ...
. He married socialite Aimee Ernesta Drinker (1892-1981) in 1916. She gave birth to a son in 1917, who died two days later. They divorced in 1923. In 1924 he married
Louise Bryant Louise Bryant (December 5, 1885 – January 6, 1936) was an American feminist, political activist, and journalist best known for her sympathetic coverage of Russia and the Bolsheviks during the October Revolution, Russian Revolution of Novembe ...
, journalist author of ''
Six Red Months in Russia 6 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 6 or six may also refer to: * AD 6, the sixth year of the AD era * 6 BC, the sixth year before the AD era * The month of June Science * Carbon, the element with atomic number 6 * 6 Hebe, an asteroid People ...
'' and widow of radical journalist John Reed. Bullitt divorced Bryant in 1930 and took custody of their daughter, accusing her of drinking and of having an affair with English sculptor
Gwen Le Gallienne Gwen Le Gallienne (born Gwendolyn Hinton Perry; c. 1898–1966) was a French-born, American-raised, England-based painter and sculptor. She was the first woman allowed to sketch battlefield scenes by the British War Office. Life Gwendolyn was ...
after he groomed her for Paris's lesbian scene. The Bullitts' daughter,
Anne Moen Bullitt Anne Moen Bullitt (February 24, 1924 – August 18, 2007) was an American socialite, philanthropist, and horsebreeder. In her youth she was regarded as a great beauty, and was known for assembling a wardrobe of rare and valuable classic haute ...
, was born in February 1924, eight weeks after their marriage. Anne Bullitt never had children. In 1967, she married her fourth husband, U.S. Senator
Daniel Brewster Daniel Baugh Brewster Jr. (November 23, 1923 – August 19, 2007) was an American politician serving as a Democratic member of the United States Senate, representing the State of Maryland from 1963 until 1969. He was also a member of the Maryla ...
. William Bullitt became a foreign correspondent in Europe and later a novelist. In 1926, he published '' It's Not Done'', a satirical novel that lampooned the dying aristocracy of Chesterbridge (Philadelphia) and its life revolving around Rittenhouse Square. ''The New York Times'' described the work as "a novel of ideas, whose limitation is that it is a volley, a propaganda novel, directed against a single institution, the American aristocratic ideal, and whose defect is that the smoke does not quite clear away so that one can accurately count the corpses."


Diplomatic career

Working for President
Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference, Bullitt was a strong supporter of legalistic internationalism, which was later known as
Wilsonian Wilsonianism, or Wilsonian idealism, is a certain type of foreign policy advice. The term comes from the ideas and proposals of President Woodrow Wilson. He issued his famous Fourteen Points in January 1918 as a basis for ending World War I and pr ...
.


Bullitt Mission of 1919

Prior to the negotiation of the Treaty of Versailles, Bullitt, along with journalist
Lincoln Steffens Lincoln Austin Steffens (April 6, 1866 – August 9, 1936) was an American investigative journalist and one of the leading muckrakers of the Progressive Era in the early 20th century. He launched a series of articles in ''McClure's'', called "Twe ...
and Swedish communist
Karl Kilbom Karl Kilbom (8 May 1885 – 24 December 1961) was a Sweden, Swedish politician and one of the founders of the Left Party (Sweden), Communist Party of Sweden. Youth As the son of a blacksmith, Karl Kilbom grew up in a working class family of Wall ...
, undertook a special mission to
Soviet Russia The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...
to negotiate diplomatic relations between the United States and the
Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
regime. It was authorized by Wilson advisor
Edward M. House Edward Mandell House (July 26, 1858 – March 28, 1938) was an American diplomat, and an adviser to President Woodrow Wilson. He was known as Colonel House, although his rank was honorary and he had performed no military service. He was a highl ...
. On March 14, Bullitt received a Soviet proposal that demanded that the Allies agree to a peace summit on the
Russian Civil War , date = October Revolution, 7 November 1917 – Yakut revolt, 16 June 1923{{Efn, The main phase ended on 25 October 1922. Revolt against the Bolsheviks continued Basmachi movement, in Central Asia and Tungus Republic, the Far East th ...
in which they had been participating. The proposed terms for discussion included the lifting of the Allied blockade on the country, the withdrawal of foreign troops from Russia, the disarmament of the warring Russian factions, and a commitment by the Bolshevik government to honor Russia’s financial obligations to the Allies (the second time that the Soviets promised to honor the Tsarist debt in writing). The Allied leaders rejected these terms, however, apparently convinced that the White forces would be victorious. British Prime Minister
David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during t ...
had given early support to the Bullitt Commission, but he refused to make its findings known to the public. He told Bullitt that was because of pressure by
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
, who was an ardent anticommunist. Having failed to convince the leadership to support the establishment of relations with the Bolshevik government, Bullitt resigned from Wilson's staff. On May 17, 1919, Bullitt publicly resigned from the American peace commission in Paris after he read the terms of the
Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...
. In an open letter to Wilson, he condemned the peace as a tragic mockery of the principle of
self-determination The right of a people to self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international law (commonly regarded as a ''jus cogens'' rule), binding, as such, on the United Nations as authoritative interpretation of the Charter's norms. It stat ...
. He later returned to the United States and testified in the Senate against the Treaty of Versailles. He also had his report of his Russian trip placed into the record.
Margaret MacMillan Margaret Olwen MacMillan, (born 1943) is a Canadian historian and professor at the University of Oxford. She is former provost of Trinity College, Toronto, and professor of history at the University of Toronto and previously at Ryerson Univer ...
describes both Bullitt and Steffens as "useful idiots" who were swindled by
Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...
into Western abandonment of the White Russian factions. Most historians, however, consider Lenin's peace offer to be a genuine effort to end the war that threatened his regime. Stephen M. Walt called it a "lost opportunity" for the Allies to obtain better terms from the Soviets than they ultimately did.


''It's Not Done'' in Istanbul

After leaving his job at the
Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nati ...
, Bullitt became managing editor of film stories at
Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...
. in 1921 he met
Louise Bryant Louise Bryant (December 5, 1885 – January 6, 1936) was an American feminist, political activist, and journalist best known for her sympathetic coverage of Russia and the Bolsheviks during the October Revolution, Russian Revolution of Novembe ...
and accompanied her the next year in her journalistic travels in Europe. In early 1923, they moved to
Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
where they were settled in a historical villa overlooking
Bosporus The Bosporus Strait (; grc, Βόσπορος ; tr, İstanbul Boğazı 'Istanbul strait', colloquially ''Boğaz'') or Bosphorus Strait is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul in northwestern T ...
on the Asian side of the city that remained from the 18th century influential
Köprülü family The Köprülü family ( tr, Köprülü ailesi) was a noble family of Albanian origin in the Ottoman Empire.Ivo Banac''The national question in Yugoslavia: origins, history, politics'' , Cornell University 1988 page 292. The family hailed from th ...
. ‌Being still legally married to Aimee Drinker, he introduced Louise Bryant as his niece. In Istanbul Bryant covered the
Turkish War of Independence The Turkish War of Independence "War of Liberation", also known figuratively as ''İstiklâl Harbi'' "Independence War" or ''Millî Mücadele'' "National Struggle" (19 May 1919 – 24 July 1923) was a series of military campaigns waged by th ...
for the International News Service while Bullitt worked on his novel, ''It's Not Done'' (published in 1926) and dedicated it to Bryant. Bullitt adopted a boy who had lost his father in the
Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars refers to a series of two conflicts that took place in the Balkan States in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan States of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and defe ...
and took him to the US.


First U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union

President
Franklin Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
appointed Bullitt the first
U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union The ambassador of the United States of America to the Russian Federation is the ambassador, ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary from the United States of America to the Russian Federation. Since September 4, 2022, Elizabeth Rood is ser ...
, a post that he held from 1933 to 1936. At the time of his appointment, Bullitt was known as a liberal and thought by some to be something of a radical. The Soviets welcomed him as an old friend because of his diplomatic efforts at the Paris Peace Conference. Though Bullitt arrived in the Soviet Union with high hopes for Soviet–American relations, his view of the Soviet leadership soured on closer inspection. By the end of his tenure, he was openly hostile to the Soviet government. He would remain an outspoken anticommunist for the rest of his life. Bullitt was recalled after American journalist Donald Day disclosed that he had been involved in illegal exchange of and trading with
Torgsin Torgsin (Russian: ) were state-run hard-currency stores that operated in the USSR between 1931 and 1936. Their name was an acronym of ''torgovlia s inostrantsami'' (Russian: '), "trade with foreigners." Unlike the later Beryozka stores, Torgsi ...
rubles. During that period, he was briefly engaged to Roosevelt's personal secretary,
Missy LeHand Marguerite Alice "Missy" LeHand (September 13, 1896 – July 31, 1944) was a private secretary to U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) for 21 years. According to LeHand's biographer Kathryn Smith in ''The Gatekeeper'', she eventually ...
. However, she broke off the engagement after a trip to Moscow during which she reportedly discovered him to be having an affair with Olga Lepeshinskaya, a ballet dancer.


The Spring Ball of the Full Moon

On April 24, 1935, he hosted a Spring Festival at
Spaso House Spaso House is a listed Neoclassical Revival building at No. 10 Spasopeskovskaya Square in Moscow. It was originally built in 1913 as the mansion of the textile industrialist Nikolay Vtorov. Since 1933, it has been the residence of the ...
, his official residence. He instructed his staff to create an event that would surpass every other embassy party in Moscow's history. The decorations included a forest of ten young birch trees in the chandelier room; a dining room table covered with Finnish tulips; a lawn made of chicory grown on wet felt; an aviary made from fishnet filled with pheasants, parakeets, and one hundred zebra finches, on loan from the
Moscow Zoo The Moscow Zoo or Moskovsky Zoopark (russian: Московский зоопарк) is a zoo founded in 1864 by professor-biologists, K.F. Rulje, S.A. Usov and A.P. Bogdanov, from the Moscow State University. In 1919, the zoo was nationalized. In ...
; and a menagerie of several mountain goats, a dozen white roosters, and a baby bear. The four hundred guests included Foreign Commissar
Maxim Litvinov Maxim Maximovich Litvinov (; born Meir Henoch Wallach; 17 July 1876 – 31 December 1951) was a Russian revolutionary and prominent Soviet statesman and diplomat. A strong advocate of diplomatic agreements leading towards disarmament, Litvinov wa ...
and the Defense Commissar Marshal
Kliment Voroshilov Kliment Yefremovich Voroshilov (, uk, Климент Охрімович Ворошилов, ''Klyment Okhrimovyč Vorošylov''), popularly known as Klim Voroshilov (russian: link=no, Клим Вороши́лов, ''Klim Vorošilov''; 4 Februa ...
; Communist Party luminaries
Nikolai Bukharin Nikolai Ivanovich Bukharin (russian: Никола́й Ива́нович Буха́рин) ( – 15 March 1938) was a Bolshevik revolutionary, Soviet politician, Marxist philosopher and economist and prolific author on revolutionary theory. ...
,
Lazar Kaganovich Lazar Moiseyevich Kaganovich, also Kahanovich (russian: Ла́зарь Моисе́евич Кагано́вич, Lázar' Moiséyevich Kaganóvich; – 25 July 1991), was a Soviet politician and administrator, and one of the main associates of ...
, and
Karl Radek Karl Berngardovich Radek (russian: Карл Бернгардович Радек; 31 October 1885 – 19 May 1939) was a Russian revolutionary and a Marxist active in the Polish and German social democratic movements before World War I and a C ...
; Soviet Marshals Alexander Yegorov,
Mikhail Tukhachevsky Mikhail Nikolayevich Tukhachevsky ( rus, Михаил Николаевич Тухачевский, Mikhail Nikolayevich Tukhachevskiy, p=tʊxɐˈtɕefskʲɪj;  – 12 June 1937) nicknamed the Red Napoleon by foreign newspapers, was a Sovie ...
, and
Semyon Budyonny Semyon Mikhailovich Budyonnyy ( rus, Семён Миха́йлович Будённый, Semyon Mikháylovich Budyonnyy, p=sʲɪˈmʲɵn mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ bʊˈdʲɵnːɨj, a=ru-Simeon Budyonniy.ogg; – 26 October 1973) was a Russian ca ...
; and the writer
Mikhail Bulgakov Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov ( rus, links=no, Михаил Афанасьевич Булгаков, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ɐfɐˈnasʲjɪvʲɪtɕ bʊlˈɡakəf; – 10 March 1940) was a Soviet writer, medical doctor, and playwright active in the fir ...
. The festival lasted until the early hours of the morning. The bear became drunk on champagne given to him by Radek, and in the early morning hours, the zebra finches escaped from the aviary and perched below the ceilings around the house. Bulgakov described the party as "The Spring Ball of the Full Moon" in his novel ''
The Master and Margarita ''The Master and Margarita'' (russian: Мастер и Маргарита) is a novel by Soviet writer Mikhail Bulgakov Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov ( rus, links=no, Михаил Афанасьевич Булгаков, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ɐf ...
''. On October 29, 2010, Ambassador
John Beyrle John Ross Beyrle (born February 11, 1954) is an American diplomat. A career Foreign Service Officer and specialist in Russian and Eastern European affairs, he served as Ambassador of the United States to the Russian Federation from July 3, 2008, ...
recreated Bullitt's ball with his own Enchanted Ball, dedicated to Bullitt and Bulgakov.


Ambassador to France

Bullitt was posted to
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
in October 1936 as ambassador. Fluent in
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
and an ardent
francophile A Francophile, also known as Gallophile, is a person who has a strong affinity towards any or all of the French language, French history, French culture and/or French people. That affinity may include France itself or its history, language, cuisin ...
, Bullitt became established in
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
society.Adamthwaite, 176 He rented a château at
Chantilly Chantilly may refer to: Places France *Chantilly, Oise, a city located in the Oise department **US Chantilly, a football club *Château de Chantilly, a historic château located in the town of Chantilly United States * Chantilly, Missou ...
and owned at least 18,000 bottles of French wine. As a close friend of Roosevelt, with whom he had daily telephone conversations, Bullitt was widely regarded as Roosevelt's personal envoy to France and so was much courted by French politicians. Bullitt was especially close to
Léon Blum André Léon Blum (; 9 April 1872 – 30 March 1950) was a French socialist politician and three-time Prime Minister. As a Jew, he was heavily influenced by the Dreyfus affair of the late 19th century. He was a disciple of French Socialist le ...
and
Édouard Daladier Édouard Daladier (; 18 June 1884 – 10 October 1970) was a French Radical-Socialist (centre-left) politician, and the Prime Minister of France who signed the Munich Agreement before the outbreak of World War II. Daladier was born in Carpentr ...
and had cordial but not friendly relations with
Georges Bonnet Georges-Étienne Bonnet (22/23 July 1889 – 18 June 1973) was a French politician who served as foreign minister in 1938 and 1939 and was a leading figure in the Radical Party. Early life Bonnet was born in Bassillac, Dordogne, the son of ...
. Historians have criticized Bullitt for being too influenced by the last person to whom he spoke and for including too much gossip in his dispatches to Washington. On September 4, 1938, in the midst of the great crisis in Europe that was to culminate in the
Munich Agreement The Munich Agreement ( cs, Mnichovská dohoda; sk, Mníchovská dohoda; german: Münchner Abkommen) was an agreement concluded at Munich on 30 September 1938, by Nazi Germany, Germany, the United Kingdom, French Third Republic, France, and Fa ...
on September 30, 1938, during the unveiling of a plaque in France honoring Franco-American friendship, Bullitt stated, "France and the United States were united in war and peace."Adamthwaite, 209 That led to much speculation in the press that if war broke out over
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
, the United States would join the war on the Allied side. On September 9, 1938, however, Roosevelt denied any such intention, saying it was "110% wrong that the United States would join a stop Hitler bloc." In 1939, Prime Minister Daladier informed him that French intelligence knew that
Alger Hiss Alger Hiss (November 11, 1904 – November 15, 1996) was an American government official accused in 1948 of having spied for the Soviet Union in the 1930s. Statutes of limitations had expired for espionage, but he was convicted of perjury in con ...
in the
United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...
was working for Soviet intelligence. Bullitt passed the information along to Hiss's superior at the State Department. After the
German invasion of France France has been invaded on numerous occasions, by foreign powers or rival French governments; there have also been unimplemented invasion plans. * the 1746 War of the Austrian Succession, Austria-Italian forces supported by the British navy attemp ...
in 1940, Bullitt fell out with Roosevelt; they never reconciled. Bullitt insisted on remaining in Paris as the only ambassador of a major nation left when the Germans marched in on 14 June 1940. That angered Roosevelt, who believed Bullitt should have followed the French government to
Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...
to look after US interests. Once thought of as a potential cabinet member, he now found his career blocked.


Campaign against Sumner Welles

In the late 1930s, the
US State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nati ...
was divided by rivalry between Secretary of State
Cordell Hull Cordell Hull (October 2, 1871July 23, 1955) was an American politician from Tennessee and the longest-serving U.S. Secretary of State, holding the position for 11 years (1933–1944) in the administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt ...
and Undersecretary
Sumner Welles Benjamin Sumner Welles (October 14, 1892September 24, 1961) was an American government official and diplomat in the Foreign Service. He was a major foreign policy adviser to President Franklin D. Roosevelt and served as Under Secretary of State ...
, who was Roosevelt's favorite. Bullitt, who disliked Welles, was allied with Hull and Department Counselor
R. Walton Moore Robert Walton Moore (February 6, 1859 – February 8, 1941) was an American politician. A lifelong resident of Fairfax, Virginia, he served as a state senator, member of the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1902, with the Interstate Commerc ...
.Benjamin Welles, ''Sumner Welles: FDR's Global Strategist: A Biography'' (NY: St. Martin's Press, 1997) 197, 272–279, 341–350 In September 1940, a drunken Welles propositioned two male railroad porters. Bullitt learned of the incident through Moore, who, at his death, passed affidavits to Bullitt that were sworn by the porters who had been propositioned. Bullitt used that information to campaign for Welles's resignation. Roosevelt long resisted taking any action against Welles. Elliott Roosevelt later wrote that his father believed that Bullitt had bribed the porters to make overtures to Welles to entrap him. On April 23, 1941, Bullitt confronted Roosevelt with his evidence, but he refused to yield to Bullitt's demands and dismissed him from any further significant duties with the State Department. At one point, he suggested to Hull that Bullitt should be appointed ambassador to
Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...
, one of the worst postings in the Foreign Service. In 1942, Bullitt pushed the story to
Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...
Henry A. Wallace Henry Agard Wallace (October 7, 1888 – November 18, 1965) was an American politician, journalist, farmer, and businessman who served as the 33rd vice president of the United States, the 11th U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, and the 10th U.S. S ...
and to Hull. Roosevelt told Wallace that Bullitt ought to "burn in hell" for what he was saying about Welles. In early 1943, Hull began to demand Welles' removal. Bullitt now informed Senator
Owen Brewster Ralph Owen Brewster (February 22, 1888 – December 25, 1961) was an American politician from Maine. Brewster, a Republican, served as the 54th Governor of Maine from 1925 to 1929, in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1935 to 1941 and in t ...
, a
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
, a strong opponent of Roosevelt. Brewster threatened a senatorial inquiry. The potential scandal finally forced Roosevelt to act, and on September 30, 1943, Welles resigned. Roosevelt remained very angry with Bullitt and refused to give him any other government post.


Later life

Denied a commission in the
US Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...
by Roosevelt, Bullitt joined the
Free French Forces __NOTOC__ The French Liberation Army (french: Armée française de la Libération or AFL) was the reunified French Army that arose from the merging of the Armée d'Afrique with the prior Free French Forces (french: Forces françaises libres, l ...
. Roosevelt suggested to Bullitt to run for
Mayor of Philadelphia The mayor of Philadelphia is the chief executive of the government of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as stipulated by the Charter of the City of Philadelphia. The current mayor of Philadelphia is Jim Kenney. History The first mayor of Philadelphia, ...
as a Democrat in 1943, but Roosevelt secretly told the Democratic leaders there, "Cut his throat." Bullitt was defeated. Between 1941 and 1945, Bullitt wrote volumes of stories and social commentary on the dangers of
fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...
and
communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
. In the postwar years, he became a militant anticommunist. At the same time, he also believed that extending the 1919 Bullitt Commission and the negotiations with Lenin would have been constructive. In the August 24, 1954, issue of ''
Look To look is to use sight to perceive an object. Look or The Look may refer to: Businesses and products * Look (modeling agency), an Israeli modeling agency * ''Look'' (American magazine), a defunct general-interest magazine * ''Look'' (UK ma ...
'', in his article "Should We Support an Attack on Red China?", he proposed an immediate attack on Communist China and asserted that the United States should "reply to the next Communist aggression by dropping bombs on the Soviet Union." Bullitt died in
Neuilly-sur-Seine Neuilly-sur-Seine (; literally 'Neuilly on Seine'), also known simply as Neuilly, is a commune in the department of Hauts-de-Seine in France, just west of Paris. Immediately adjacent to the city, the area is composed of mostly select residentia ...
, France, on February 15, 1967 and is buried in
Woodlands Cemetery The Woodlands is a National Historic Landmark District on the west bank of the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia. It includes a Federal-style mansion, a matching carriage house and stable, and a garden landscape that in 1840 was transformed into a ...
in Philadelphia.


Co-author with Freud

Bullitt was psychoanalyzed by
Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies explained as originatin ...
in
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
in the 1920s. The patient and the analyst became such good friends that they decided to write a book together, a psycho-biographical study of Woodrow Wilson. That was quite exceptional, as Freud very rarely co-operated with other authors. The book was not published until 1966, when psychoanalysts doubted that Freud had had much to do with it though Freud had been an active co-author. It argued that Wilson resolved his Oedipus complex by becoming highly neurotic, casting his father as God and himself as Christ, the savior of mankind, which ruined the Versailles Treaty. The book received a reception that was almost unanimously hostile. The historian
A. J. P. Taylor Alan John Percivale Taylor (25 March 1906 – 7 September 1990) was a British historian who specialised in 19th- and 20th-century European diplomacy. Both a journalist and a broadcaster, he became well known to millions through his televis ...
called it a "disgrace" and asked, "How did anyone ever manage to take Freud seriously?"Peter Gay, ''Freud for Historians'' (NY: Oxford University Press, 1985), 93


Works

Books: *Foreign policy ** ''The Bullitt Mission to Russia'' (New York: Huebsch, 1919) ** ''The Great Globe Itself'' (New York: Scribner's, 1946) *Biography ** ''Thomas Woodrow Wilson: A Psychological Study'' (Boston: Houghton Mifflin 1967), with Sigmund Freud *Novel ** ''It's Not Done'' (New York: Harcourt Brace, 1926) Articles: * "How We Won the War and Lost the Peace" Part I, ''Life'' (August 30, 1948) * "How We Won the War and Lost the Peace" Part II, ''Life'' (September 6, 1948)


See also

*
Carmel Offie Carmel Offie (September 22, 1909 – June 18, 1972) was a U.S. State Department and later a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) official. He was dismissed from the CIA in 1950 after an arrest a few years earlier brought his homosexuality to the atte ...
, secretary to Bullit


Notes


Further reading

*Adamthwaite, Anthony, ''France and the Coming of the Second World War 1936–1939'' (London: Frank Cass, 1977), *Alexander, Martin S. "Safes and houses: William C. Bullitt, embassy security and the shortcomings of the US foreign service in Europe before the second world war." ''Diplomacy and Statecraft'' 2.2 (1991): 187-210. *Brownell, Will, and Billings, Richard, ''So Close to Greatness: The Biography of William C. Bullitt'' (NY: Macmillan, 1988), * Campbell, J. F. " 'To Bury Freud on Wilson': Uncovering Thomas Woodrow Wilson, A Psychological Study, by Sigmund Freud and William C. Bullitt." ''Modern Austrian Literature'' 41.2 (2008) pp 41–5
Online
* Cassella-Blackburn, Michael. ''The Donkey, the Carrot, and the Club: William C. Bullitt and Soviet-American relations, 1917-1948.'' (Greenwood, 2004)
Online
* Elkin, Alexander. Roads Not Taken: An Intellectual Biography of William C. Bullitt. (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2017). * Farnsworth, Beatrice. ''William C. Bullitt and the Soviet Union'' (Indiana UP, 1967). * McKean, David. Watching Darkness Fall: FDR, His Ambassadors, and the Rise of Adolf Hitler. (St. Martin's Press, 2017). * Thayer, Charles Wheeler, ''Bears in the Caviar'' (NY: Lippincott, 1951) * Weisbrode, Kenneth. "The Unruly Spirit: William Bullitt 1936-1940," in ''Diplomats at War: The American Experience'', eds. J. Simon Rofe and Andrew Stewart (Republic of Letters, 2013) . * Whitman, Alden, "Energetic Diplomat; William C. Bullitt, First U.S. Envoy to Soviet, Dies," obituary in the ''New York Times'', February 16, 196


Primary sources

* Bullitt, Orville (brother of William C. Bullitt) ''For the President: Personal and Secret. Correspondence Between Franklin D. Roosevelt and William C. Bullitt'' (1972). * Bullitt, William Christian. "The Bullitt Mission to Russia: Testimony Before the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate" (1919)
Online
als
online
* Bullitt, William Christian. ''The Great Globe Itself: a Preface to World Affairs'' (Transaction Publishers, 1946)
Online
*


External links

* *

—Documents Bullitt's opposition to the Nazis throughout the 1930s and the period leading up to the war.

* William C. Bullitt Papers (MS 112). Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bullitt, William 1891 births 1967 deaths Harvard Law School alumni Writers from Philadelphia Ambassadors of the United States to France Writers about the Soviet Union Ambassadors of the United States to the Soviet Union 20th-century American diplomats
William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
Analysands of Sigmund Freud Pennsylvania Democrats Burials at The Woodlands Cemetery American anti-communists Pennsylvania Republicans