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Harry Truman: Advisers Secretary of State James F. Byrnes Two advisers, Secretary of State James Byrnes and Secretary of State Dean Acheson, played a key role in shaping foreign policy during Truman's administration. To Byrnes, what America was facing was a completely new situation, unprecedented in America’s dealings with the Soviet Union. He noted later in his memoirs: “... we were facing a new Russia, totally different than the Russia we dealt with a year ago. As long as they needed us in the war and we were giving them supplies we had a satisfactory relationship, but now that the war was over they were taking an aggressive attitude and stand on political and territorial questions that was indefensible. (Kissinger 437)” Byrnes realized that deadlock between the Soviets and the Americans was soon to arrive at the end of the war. In his dealings with the Russian negotiator, Vyacheslav Molotov, Byrnes demanded free elections in a number of Eastern European countries. But the Soviets would not allow it, even after the demonstration of the atom bomb that Byrnes had hoped would sway the foreign minister. (Kissinger 437) Perhaps Byrnes’ only mistake in office was his miscommunication with President Truman that would lead to his resignation a year later. Stalin had encouraged the involvement of democratic leaders in some of the new governments established in Romania and Bulgaria. Considering Stalin's act in accordance with the agreement at Yalta, "he proceeded to recognize Bulgaria and Romania prior to concluding peace treaties with these countries. Truman was outraged that Byrnes had accepted the compromise without consulting him. Although, after some hesitation, Truman did go along with Byrnes, it was the beginning of an estrangement between the President and his Secretary of State that would lead to Byrnes' resignation within the year." (438). Secretary of State Dean Acheson The new Secretary of State, Dean Acheson, was uniquely sophisticated. As Undersecretary of State to Byrnes’ successor, George Marshall, Acheson convinced the isolationist houses of Congress of the need to aid Greece and Turkey in their fight against Communism after Britain had announced it could no longer afford to do so. (Kissinger 451). Acheson was also a major advocate of the NATO alliance. In his "sufficiently American" philosophy, Acheson approached the alliance, proclaiming "it has advanced international cooperation to maintain the peace, to advance human rights, to raise standards of living, and to promote respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples." (Kissinger 460). But Acheson proved to be something of a political liability to the Truman administration. Identified by Republicans with Soviet spy Alger Hiss, many right-wing congressmen, including California Representative (and later Senator) Richard Nixon, attacked Acheson, calling him an appeaser. After the outbreak of the Korean war, Republicans charged that a speech Acheson had given defining American vital national interests around the globe, in which South Korea had not been mentioned, had given the North Koreans a green light to invade their southern neighbor. |
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