- In full:
- Dean Gooderham Acheson
- Born:
- April 11, 1893, Middletown, Connecticut, U.S.
- Died:
- October 12, 1971, Sandy Spring, Maryland (aged 78)
- Political Affiliation:
- Democratic Party
- Awards And Honors:
- Pulitzer Prize (1970)
- Notable Works:
- “Present at the Creation”
Dean Acheson
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Who was Dean Acheson?
Dean Acheson (1893–1971) was a U.S. statesman and Secretary of State (1949–53) who advised four presidents. He is known as the architect of U.S. foreign policy during the Cold War. Acheson helped establish the Western alliance against the Soviet Union and communism.
Acheson, a Yale and Harvard Law School graduate, served as a law clerk for Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis before joining a Washington, D.C., law firm in 1921. In 1933, he joined Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration as undersecretary of the Treasury. By 1945, he was anti-communist, shaping the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan. As Secretary of State under President Harry S. Truman, he championed the creation of NATO.
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What role did Dean Acheson have in the U.S. government?
Dean Acheson was a key figure in shaping U.S. foreign policy during the Cold War. As U.S. Secretary of State from 1949 to 1953, he advised four presidents and played a central role in creating the Western alliance against the Soviet Union and other communist nations.
Acheson was instrumental in the creation of the Truman Doctrine in 1947, which pledged aid to Greece and Turkey, and he outlined the Marshall Plan, designed to rebuild Europe. He also promoted the formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the first peacetime defensive alliance entered into by the United States.
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During which period did Acheson serve as Secretary of State?
Dean Acheson served as the U.S. Secretary of State from 1949 to 1953. During this period, he played a key role in shaping U.S. foreign policy during the Cold War, including promoting the formation of NATO, the first peacetime defensive alliance the United States entered into. He also shaped the Truman Doctrine and outlined the main points of what became known as the Marshall Plan.
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What was Dean Acheson's involvement in the creation of NATO?
Dean Acheson, as the U.S. Secretary of State under President Harry S. Truman, played a central role in the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Appointed Secretary of State in January 1949, Acheson was instrumental in promoting the formation of NATO, which became the first peacetime defensive alliance the United States entered into. This organization aimed to unify and strengthen the Western Allies' military response to a possible invasion of western Europe by the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies. Acheson's involvement in NATO was a key part of his broader effort to shape U.S. foreign policy during the Cold War and to build a Western alliance against the Soviet Union.
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How did Acheson influence U.S. foreign policy after World War II?
Dean Acheson significantly shaped U.S. foreign policy during the Cold War era after World War II as the U.S. Secretary of State (1949–1953). A staunch anti-communist, he was a principal creator of U.S. foreign policy during this period.
Acheson helped form the Western alliance against the Soviet Union and other communist nations. He shaped the Truman Doctrine (1947), promising military and economic aid to Greece and Turkey, and outlined the Marshall Plan. As Secretary of State, he promoted the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the first peacetime defensive alliance the U.S. entered.
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Why is Dean Acheson considered an important figure during the early Cold War?
Dean Acheson was a key figure in shaping U.S. foreign policy during the early Cold War period. As the U.S. Secretary of State from 1949 to 1953, he was the main architect of the Western alliance against the Soviet Union and other communist nations.
Acheson was instrumental in the creation of the Truman Doctrine in 1947, which pledged military and economic aid to Greece and Turkey, and he also outlined the Marshall Plan, designed to help rebuild Europe. In 1949, he promoted the establishment of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the first peacetime defensive alliance the United States ever entered.
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Dean Acheson (born April 11, 1893, Middletown, Connecticut, U.S.—died October 12, 1971, Sandy Spring, Maryland) was the U.S. secretary of state (1949–53) and adviser to four presidents. He became the principal creator of U.S. foreign policy in the Cold War period following World War II; he helped to create the Western alliance in opposition to the Soviet Union and other communist nations.
A graduate of Yale University and of Harvard Law School, Acheson served as a law clerk for Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis. In 1921 he joined a law firm in Washington, D.C. His first government post was in the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt as undersecretary of the Treasury in 1933; he entered the Department of State in 1941 as an assistant secretary and was undersecretary from 1945 to 1947.
One of Acheson’s first responsibilities in 1945 was to secure Senate approval for U.S. membership in the United Nations. After 1945 he became a convinced anti-communist, a position that was the dominant influence on his later conduct of foreign policy. Believing that the Soviet Union sought expansion in the Middle East, he shaped what came to be known as the Truman Doctrine (1947), pledging immediate military and economic aid to the governments of Greece and Turkey. In the same year he outlined the main points of what became known as the Marshall Plan.
Appointed secretary of state by President Harry S. Truman in January 1949, Acheson promoted the formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the first peacetime defensive alliance entered into by the United States.
Despite his strong stance in what he conceived to be a global confrontation with communism, Acheson was the target of attack by foreign-policy critics within both political parties. His enemies were particularly inflamed when, during the congressional hearings of Senator Joseph R. McCarthy on subversive activities (1949–50), Acheson refused to fire any of his State Department subordinates. His most widely publicized remark was, “I will not turn my back on Alger Hiss”—a former State Department officer later convicted of perjury in denying that he had engaged in espionage in the 1930s.
Demands for Acheson’s resignation increased after the entry of communist China into the Korean War (1950–53). The storm of public controversy erupted more violently after the president removed General Douglas MacArthur as commander of forces in Korea. Acheson subsequently established the policies of nonrecognition of China and aid to the Nationalist regime of General Chiang Kai-shek on Taiwan; later he also supported U.S. aid to the French colonial regime in Indochina.
After leaving office Acheson returned to private law practice but continued to serve as foreign-policy adviser to successive presidents. His account of his years in the Department of State, Present at the Creation, won the Pulitzer Prize in history in 1970. Other works include Power and Diplomacy (1958), Morning and Noon (1965), The Korean War (1971), and Grapes from Thorns (posthumous, 1972).
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