Acheson, Dean
$40.00
1950 TLS to his former Asst. Secretary, hopes to meet with him after return from NATO meeting in Paris
Description
Type: Letter
Description: (1893-1971) Secretary of State in the Truman administration (1949-53), played a central role in defining US Cold War foreign policy during the Cold War. Acheson helped design the Marshall Plan and was a key player in the development of the Truman Doctrine and the creation of NATO. His most famous decision was convincing President Truman to intervene in the Korean War in June 1950. He also persuaded Truman to dispatch aid and advisors to French forces in Indochina, though in 1968 he finally counseled President Johnson to negotiate for peace with North Vietnam. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, President Kennedy called upon him for advice, bringing him into the executive committee (“ExComm”), a strategic advisory group. In the late 40s Acheson came under heavy attack for his defense of State Department employees accused during the anti-gay “Lavender” and “Red” Scare investigations by Senator McCarthy and others, and over Truman’s policy toward China.
TLS “Dean” on 9 x 7 official letterhead as Secretary, white embossed Department seal at top left,Washington, May 5 1950, to Hon. Spruille Braden. Secretary Acheson regrets difficulty in meeting with Braden, hopes to meet him after his return to Europe. Acheson would be meeting in Paris for talks with NATO members in which he expressed hope that NATO partners would share burden of cost in defending Europe.
Spruille Braden (1894-1978) Diplomat, businessman, lobbyist, and Asst. Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs 1947-49, notable for interventionist activities and prominent role in several coups d’etats. He was a mining engineer and consultant in Latin America, and directed the W. Averill Harriman Securities Corp. As a Standard Oil agent, he played a role in the Bolivia-Paraguay Chaco War and was openly anti-union. He held several brief ambassadorships in Colombia, Cuba and Argentina. As Ambassador to Argentina for 4 months in 1945, he encouraged opposition to Juan Peron who used the slogan “Braden or Perón” to aid his 1946 presidential win. From 1948, he was a lobbyist for United Fruit Company. When its Guatemalan interests were threatened, Braden helped plot and execute the 1954 coup that overthrew the president. He died after unsuccessfully lobbying against the Torrijos-Carter Panama Canal treaties.
Condition: Very good, very light uniform toning
