Dean Gooderham Acheson (pronounced ; April 11, 1893October 12, 1971) was an American statesman and lawyer. As the 51st U.S. Secretary of State, he set the foreign policy of the Harry S. Truman administration from 1949 to 1953. He was also Truman's main foreign policy advisor from 1945 to 1947, especially regarding the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...

. Acheson helped design the Truman Doctrine and the

Marshall Plan The Marshall Plan (officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) was an American initiative enacted in 1948 to provide foreign aid to Western Europe. The United States transferred over $13 billion (equivalent of about $ in ) in economic re ...

, as well as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. He was in private law practice from July 1947 to December 1948. After 1949 Acheson came under partisan political attack from Republicans led by Senator

Joseph McCarthy Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican United States Senate, U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957. Beginning in 1950, McCarth ...

over Truman's policy toward the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

. As a private citizen in 1968 he counseled President Lyndon B. Johnson to negotiate for peace with North Vietnam. During the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, President John F. Kennedy called upon Acheson for advice, bringing him into the executive committee ( ExComm), a strategic advisory group.

Early life and education

Dean Gooderham Acheson was born in Middletown, Connecticut, on April 11, 1893. His father,

Edward Campion Acheson Edward Campion Acheson (April 7, 1858 – January 28, 1934) was sixth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut, serving as suffragan from 1915 to 1926; and coadjutor from 1926 to 1928. He was diocesan bishop from 1928 to 1934. Early life ...

, was an English-born Canadian (immigrated to Canada in 1881) who became a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Brit ...

priest after graduating from

Wycliffe College Wycliffe College () is an evangelical graduate school of theology at the University of Toronto. Founded in 1877 as an evangelical seminary in the Anglican tradition, Wycliffe College today attracts students from many Christian denominations from ...

. He moved to the U.S., eventually becoming Bishop of Connecticut. His mother, Eleanor Gertrude (Gooderham), was a Canadian-born descendant of William Gooderham, Sr. (1790–1881), a founder of the Gooderham and Worts Distillery of Toronto. Like his father, Acheson was a staunch Democrat and opponent of prohibition. Acheson attended

Groton School Groton School (founded as Groton School for Boys) is a private college-preparatory boarding school located in Groton, Massachusetts. Ranked as one of the top five boarding high schools in the United States in Niche (2021–2022), it is affiliated ...

and

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

(1912–1915), where he joined

Scroll and Key The Scroll and Key Society is a Collegiate secret societies in North America, secret society, founded in 1842 at Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut. It is one of the oldest Collegiate secret societies in North America#Yale University, Y ...

Society, was elected to

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...

, and was a brother of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity (Phi chapter). At Groton and Yale he had the reputation of a partier and prankster; he was somewhat aloof but still popular with his classmates. Acheson's well-known, reputed arrogance—he disdained the curriculum at Yale because it focused on memorizing subjects already known—was apparent early. At

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 c ...

from 1915 to 1918, however, he was swept away by the intellect of professor Felix Frankfurter and finished fifth in his class.

Personal life

On May 15, 1917, while serving in the National Guard, Acheson married Alice Caroline Stanley (August 12, 1895 – January 20, 1996). She loved painting and politics and served as a stabilizing influence throughout their enduring marriage; they had three children: David Campion Acheson, Jane Acheson Brown and Mary Eleanor Acheson Bundy.

Career

A new tradition of bright law students clerking for the U.S. Supreme Court had been begun by

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

Justice

Louis Brandeis Louis Dembitz Brandeis (; November 13, 1856 – October 5, 1941) was an American lawyer and associate justice on the Supreme Court of the United States from 1916 to 1939. Starting in 1890, he helped develop the " right to privacy" concep ...

. Acheson clerked for him for two terms from 1919 to 1921. Frankfurter and Brandeis were close associates, and future Supreme Court Justice Frankfurter suggested that Brandeis take on Acheson. Throughout his long career, Acheson displayed: :exceptional intellectual power and purpose, and tough inner fiber. He projected the long lines and aristocratic bearing of the thoroughbred horse, a self-assured grace, an acerbic elegance of mind, and a charm whose chief attraction was perhaps its penetrating candor.... ewas swift-flowing and direct.... Acheson was perceived as an 18th century rationalist ready to apply an irreverent wit to matters public and private.

Economic diplomacy

A lifelong Democrat, Acheson worked at a law firm in Washington,

Covington & Burling Covington & Burling LLP is an American multinational law firm. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the firm advises clients on transactional, litigation, regulatory, and public policy matters. In 2021, Vault.com ranked Covington & Burling as ...

, often dealing with international legal issues before

Franklin Delano 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 him Undersecretary of the Treasury in March 1933. When Secretary

William H. Woodin William Hartman Woodin (May 27, 1868 – May 3, 1934) was a U.S. industrialist. He served as the Secretary of Treasury under Franklin Roosevelt in 1933. Biography Woodin was born in Berwick, Pennsylvania. He was closely involved in Jacks ...

fell ill, Acheson suddenly found himself acting secretary despite his ignorance of finance. Because of his opposition to FDR's plan to deflate the dollar by controlling gold prices (thus creating inflation), he was forced to resign in November 1933. He resumed his law practice.

World War II

Brought back as assistant secretary of state on February 1, 1941, Acheson implemented much of Roosevelt's economic policy of aiding Great Britain and harming the

Axis Powers The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...

. Acheson implemented the

Lend-Lease Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (), was a policy under which the United States supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and other Allied nations with food, oil, ...

policy that helped re-arm Great Britain and the American/British/Dutch oil embargo that cut off 95 percent of Japanese oil supplies and escalated the crisis with Japan in 1941. Roosevelt froze all Japanese assets merely to disconcert them. He did not intend the flow of oil to Japan to cease. The president then departed Washington for Newfoundland to meet with Churchill. While he was gone Acheson used those frozen assets to deny Japan oil. Upon the president's return, he decided it would appear weak and appeasing to reverse the ''de facto'' oil embargo. In 1944, Acheson attended the Bretton Woods Conference as the head delegate from the State Department. At this conference the post-war international economic structure was designed. It was the birthplace of the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster glo ...

the World Bank The World Bank Group (WBG) is a family of five international organizations that make leveraged loans to developing countries. It is the largest and best-known development bank in the world and an observer at the United Nations Development Gr ...

, and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, the last of which would evolve into the

World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and ...

Cold War diplomacy

Later, in 1945, Harry S. Truman selected Acheson as the Undersecretary of 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 na ...

; he retained this position working under Secretaries of State

Edward Stettinius, Jr. Edward Reilly Stettinius Jr. (October 22, 1900 – October 31, 1949) was an American businessman who served as United States Secretary of State under Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman from 1944 to 1945, and as U.S. Ambassador ...

, James F. Byrnes, and George Marshall. As late as 1946 Acheson sought détente with the Soviet Union. In 1946, as chairman of a special committee to prepare a plan for the international control of atomic energy, he wrote the

Acheson–Lilienthal report The ''Report on the International Control of Atomic Energy'' was written by a committee chaired by Dean Acheson and David Lilienthal in 1946 and is generally known as the Acheson–Lilienthal Report or Plan. The report was an important American ...

. At first Acheson was conciliatory towards

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet Union, Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as Ge ...

. The Soviet Union's attempts at regional hegemony in

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whi ...

and in Turkey and Iran changed Acheson's thinking. From this point forward, one historian writes, "Acheson was more than 'present at the creation' of the

; he was a primary architect." Acheson often was acting secretary during the secretary's frequent overseas trips, and during this period he cemented a close relationship with President Truman. Acheson devised the policy and wrote Truman's 1947 request to Congress for aid to Greece and Turkey, a speech which stressed the dangers of totalitarianism (but did not name the Soviet Union) and marked the fundamental change in American foreign policy that became known as the Truman Doctrine. On June 30, 1947, Acheson received the Medal for Merit from President Truman.

The ''White Paper'' Defense

During the summer of 1949, after the unexpected Democratic victory in the 1948 elections did not quiet the question " Who Lost China?", Acheson had the State Department produce a study of recent Sino-American relations. The document known officially as ''United States Relations with China with Special Reference to the Period 1944–1949'', which later was simply called the China ''

White Paper A white paper is a report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. It is meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision. A white paper ...

'', attempted to dismiss any misinterpretations of Chinese and American diplomacy toward each other. Published during the height of

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also Romanization of Chinese, romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the List of national founde ...

's takeover, the 1,054-page document argued that American intervention in China was doomed to failure. Although Acheson and Truman had hoped that the study would dispel rumors and conjecture, the documents helped to convince many critics that the administration had indeed failed to check the spread of communism in China.

Korean War

Acheson's speech on January 12, 1950, before the National Press Club did not mention the Korea Peninsula and Formosa (Taiwan) as part of the all-important "defense perimeter" of the United States. Since the war in Korea broke out on June 25, just a few months later, critics, especially in South Korea, took Acheson's statements to mean that the United States support for the new

Syngman Rhee Syngman Rhee (, ; 26 March 1875 – 19 July 1965) was a South Korean politician who served as the first president of South Korea from 1948 to 1960. Rhee was also the first and last president of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Ko ...

government in South Korea would be limited and that the speech provided Stalin and Kim Il-sung with a "green light" to believe the U.S. would not intervene if they invaded the South. When Soviet archives opened in the 1980s, however, research found that the speech had little if any impact on Communist decision for war in Korea.

The "loss of China" attacks

With the Communist takeover of mainland China in 1949, that country switched from a close friend of the U.S. to a bitter enemy—the two powers were at war in Korea by 1950. Critics blamed Acheson for what they called the " loss of China" and launched several years of organized opposition to Acheson's tenure; Acheson ridiculed his opponents and called this period in his outspoken memoirs "The Attack of the Primitives". Although he maintained his role as a firm anti-communist, he was attacked by various anti-communists for not taking a more active role in attacking communism abroad and domestically, rather than hew to his policy of containment of communist expansion. Both he and Secretary of Defense George Marshall came under attack from men such as

; Acheson became a byword to some Americans, who tried to equate containment with appeasement. Congressman

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

, who later as president would call on Acheson for advice, ridiculed "Acheson's College of Cowardly Communist Containment". This criticism grew very loud after Acheson refused to "turn his back on Alger Hiss" when the latter was accused of being a Communist spy, and convicted of perjury for denying he was a spy.

Later life and death

Grave of Dean Acheson - Oak Hill Cemetery - 2013-09-04

He retired on January 20, 1953, the last day of the Truman administration, and served on the Yale board of trustees along with Senator Robert A. Taft, one of his sharpest critics. He was elected a Fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...

in 1955. Acheson returned to his private law practice. Although his official governmental career was over, his influence was not. He was ignored by the Eisenhower administration but headed up Democratic policy groups in the late 1950s. Much of President John F. Kennedy's

flexible response Flexible response was a defense strategy implemented by John F. Kennedy in 1961 to address the Kennedy administration's skepticism of Dwight Eisenhower's New Look and its policy of massive retaliation. Flexible response calls for mutual deterre ...

policies came from the position papers drawn up by this group. Acheson's law offices were strategically located a few blocks from the White House and he accomplished much out of office. He became an unofficial advisor to the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, for example, he was dispatched by Kennedy to France to brief French President

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Governm ...

and gain his support for the United States blockade. Acheson so strongly opposed the final decision merely to blockade that he resigned from the executive committee. During the 1960s, he was a leading member of a bipartisan group of establishment elders known as the Wise Men, who initially supported the Vietnam War. As secretary of state, Acheson had supported the French efforts to control Indochina as the necessary price for French support of NATO, and to contain communism. By 1968, however, his viewpoint had changed. President Johnson asked Acheson to reassess American military policy, and he concluded that military victory was impossible. He advised Johnson to pull out as quickly as possible, to avoid a deepening division inside the Democratic Party. Johnson took Acheson's advice, in terms of de-escalating the war, and deciding not to run for reelection. Acheson distrusted

Hubert Humphrey Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. (May 27, 1911 – January 13, 1978) was an American pharmacist and politician who served as the 38th vice president of the United States from 1965 to 1969. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing ...

, and supported Richard Nixon for president in 1968. He provided advice to the Nixon administration through

Henry Kissinger Henry Alfred Kissinger (; ; born Heinz Alfred Kissinger, May 27, 1923) is a German-born American politician, diplomat, and geopolitical consultant who served as United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the presid ...

, focusing on NATO and on African affairs. He broke with Nixon in 1970 with the incursion into Cambodia. In 1964, he received the

Presidential Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially merit ...

, with Distinction. In 1970, he won the Pulitzer Prize for History for his memoirs of his tenure in the State Department, '' Present at the Creation: My Years in the State Department''. The

Modern Library The Modern Library is an American book publishing imprint and formerly the parent company of Random House. Founded in 1917 by Albert Boni and Horace Liveright as an imprint of their publishing company Boni & Liveright, Modern Library became an ...

placed the book at #47 on its top 100 non-fiction books of the 20th century. At 6:00p.m. on October 12, 1971, Acheson died of a massive stroke, at his farm home in

Sandy Spring, Maryland Sandy Spring is an unincorporated community in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Geography Sandy Spring's boundaries are roughly defined as Brooke Road and Dr. Bird Road to the north and west, Ednor Road to the south, and New Hamp ...

, at the age of 78. His body was found slumped over his desk in his study. Acheson was interred in Oak Hill Cemetery in Georgetown, Washington, DC. He had a son, David C. Acheson (father of Eleanor D. Acheson), and two daughters, Jane Acheson Brown and Mary Acheson Bundy, wife of William Bundy.

In media

Acheson was portrayed by John Dehner in the 1974 television

docudrama Docudrama (or documentary drama) is a genre of television and film, which features dramatized re-enactments of actual events. It is described as a hybrid of documentary and drama and "a fact-based representation of real event". Docudramas typic ...

, '' The Missiles of October. In the 2000 film '' Thirteen Days'', Acheson was played by Len Cariou.

Publications

Articles

* “Summary of Attorney General’s Committee Report”. '' American Bar Association Journal'', Vol. 27, No. 3 (March 1941), pp. 143–146. * “Mr. Justice Brandeis”. ''

Harvard Law Review The ''Harvard Law Review'' is a law review published by an independent student group at Harvard Law School. According to the ''Journal Citation Reports'', the ''Harvard Law Review''s 2015 impact factor of 4.979 placed the journal first out of 143 ...

'', Vol. 55, No. 2 (December 1941), pp. 191–192. * “Text of the United States Note to the Soviet Union concerning the Question of the Turkish Straits, August 19, 1946”. '' Middle East Journal'', Vol. 1, No. 1 (January 1947), pp. 88–89.
“Statement on India by Dean Acheson, Acting U. S. Secretary of State, December 3, 1946”
'' Middle East Journal'', Vol. 1, No. 2 (April 1947), p. 209. * “The Need and the Lack”. '' The American Scholar'', Vol. 17, No. 4 (Autumn 1948), pp. 476–477. * “Abwehr von Aggressionen”. ''Ost-Probleme'', Vol. 2, No. 39 (September 28, 1950), p. 1240. * “Proklamation des Nationalen Notstands in USA”. ''Ost-Probleme'', Vol. 3, No. 1 (January 6, 1951), p. 31. Co-authored with Harry S. Truman. * “The Development of the International Community.” ''Proceedings of the

American Society of International Law The American Society of International Law (ASIL), founded in 1906, was chartered by the United States Congress in 1950 to foster the study of international law, and to promote the establishment and maintenance of international relations on the ba ...

at Its Annual Meeting (1921–1969)'', Vol. 46 (April 24–26, 1952), pp. 18–25. * “The Illusion of Disengagement”. '' Foreign Affairs'', Vol. 36, No. 3 (April 1958), pp. 371–382.
“Felix Frankfurter”
''

'', Vol. 76, No. 1 (November 1962), pp. 14–16.
“The Practice of Partnership”
'' Foreign Affairs'', Vol. 41, No. 2 (January 1963), pp. 247–260. * “The Cuban Quarantine”. ''Proceedings of the

at Its Annual Meeting (1921–1969)'', Vol. 57, Law and Conflict: Changing Patterns and Contemporary Challenges (April 25–27, 1963), pp. 9–18. Co-authored by

Quincy Wright Philip Quincy Wright (December 28, 1890 – October 17, 1970) was an American political scientist based at the University of Chicago known for his pioneering work and expertise in international law, international relations, and security studies. ...

Abram Chayes Abram Chayes (July 18, 1922 – April 16, 2000) was an American scholar of international law closely associated with the administration of John F. Kennedy. He is best known for his "legal process" approach to international law, which attempted t ...

. * “Europe: Decision or Drift”. '' Foreign Affairs'', Vol. 44, No. 2 (January 1966), pp. 198–205. * “The Lawyer’s Path to Peace”. '' The Virginia Quarterly Review'', Vol. 42, No. 3 (Summer 1966), pp. 337–348. * “The Arrogance of International Lawyers”. ''

The International Lawyer ''The International Lawyer'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed law journal and the official publication of the American Bar Association's (ABA) Section of International Law and Practice. It was established in 1966 and has been based at Southern Method ...

'', Vol. 2, No. 4 (July 1968), pp. 591–600. * “Removing the Shadow Cast on the Courts”. '' American Bar Association Journal'', Vol. 55, No. 10 (October 1969), pp. 919–922. * “The Eclipse of the State Department”. '' Foreign Affairs'', Vol. 49, No. 4 (July 1971), pp. 593–606. * “How Containment Worked”. '' Foreign Policy'', No. 7 (Summer 1972), pp. 41–53. Co-authored with Chalmers M. Roberts,

W. Averell Harriman William Averell Harriman (November 15, 1891July 26, 1986), better known as Averell Harriman, was an American Democratic politician, businessman, and diplomat. The son of railroad baron E. H. Harriman, he served as Secretary of Commerce un ...

Arthur Krock Arthur Bernard Krock (November 16, 1886 – April 12, 1974) was a Pulitzer Prize winning American journalist. In a career spanning several decades covering the tenure of eleven United States presidents he became known as the "Dean of Washington ne ...

Book reviews

“Review of ''The Labor Law of Maryland'', by Malcolm H. Lauchheimer”
''

'', Vol. 33, No. 2 (December 1919), pp. 329–332
Full text
available on

JSTOR JSTOR (; short for ''Journal Storage'') is a digital library founded in 1995 in New York City. Originally containing digitized back issues of academic journals, it now encompasses books and other primary sources as well as current issues of j ...

.
“Review of ''Shaping the Future: Foreign Policy in an Age of Transition'', by Robert R. Bowie”
'' Political Science Quarterly'', Vol. 79, No. 3 (September 1964), pp. 435–436.

References

External links

Work on Acheson's Role in Designing the Foreign Policy Stance of the Democratic Party after the 1952 election.

Annotated bibliography for Dean Acheson from the Alsos Digital Library for Nuclear Issues
* FOIAbr>FBI file
at

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Acheson, Dean G. 1893 births 1971 deaths 20th-century American politicians American Episcopalians American male non-fiction writers American people of Canadian descent American people of English descent American political writers Bretton Woods Conference delegates Burials at Oak Hill Cemetery (Washington, D.C.) Connecticut Democrats Connecticut lawyers Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Gooderham family Groton School alumni Harvard Law School alumni Historians from Connecticut Historians from Maryland Law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States Lawyers from Washington, D.C. Medal for Merit recipients Military personnel from Connecticut People associated with Covington & Burling People from Sandy Spring, Maryland Politicians from Middletown, Connecticut Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients Pulitzer Prize for History winners Truman administration cabinet members United States Secretaries of State Yale College alumni