John Foster Dulles Essay, Research Paper

John Foster Dulles was “one of the greatest figures on the modern stage- and one of the most controversial.”* Dulles (1888-1959) was born and raised in Washington, D.C. He was educated at Princeton, George Washington, and Paris Universities, and later started practicing law in 1911 in New York City. He then became known as an “authority on international law.”#

Dulles served as an adviser at many post-World War II international conferences, and thus was appointed to negotiate the U.S. peace treaty with Japan in 1951. Following in the footsteps of his grandfather and uncle, Dulles became secretary of state in the cabinet of President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953.

Dulles served as secretary of state from ‘53 to ‘59. During these years, this remarkable statesman “led the Western alliance against Communism.”* As a “staunch anti-communist,”# he attempted to promote the making of the European Defense Community to use it as a barrier against Soviet aggression. Dulles also initiated a few successful treaty organizations, including the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO, ‘54) and the Baghdad Pact (Central Treaty Organization, ‘55). His job was to protect the U.S. and other nations in need, such as Egypt in 1956.

Dulles was quite unpopular with U.S. liberals through his anti-Communist beliefs and actions during the cold war, and caused much controversy over a plan called massive

* John Foster Dulles : 1888-1959. John Robinson Beal. Harper & Brothers; N.Y. 1951.

# “Dulles, John Foster,” Microsoft ? Encarta. Copyright (c) 1994 Microsoft Corporation. Copyright (c) 1994 Funk & Wagnalls Corporation.

retaliation. This policy states “American willingness to use nuclear weapons against an aggressor nation, which led to atomic stockpiling.”% This use of nuclear weapons in Dulles’ policy scared and angered many Americans, but the secretary of state insisted that massive retaliation was necessary to obtain the nation’s objectives.

Dulles’ policy also contained brinkmanship, which stated that the U.S. must be prepared to “go to the brink of war”# in order to intimidate the aggressor, be on the offensive, and obtain the nation’s goals by gaining diplomatic ends. In reality, brinkmanship became a game of chicken between the U.S. and the Soviets, two offensive and powerful nations.

Despite some accusation throughout his reign, the “once unpopular man”* became a strong and respected leader under Eisenhower, and brought the U.S. through the very challenging worldwide struggle of the cold war to gain power and respect, just as he did as secretary of state.

* John Foster Dulles : 1888-1959. John Robinson Beal. Harper & Brothers; N.Y. 1951.

# “Dulles, John Foster,” Microsoft ? Encarta. Copyright (c) 1994 Microsoft Corporation. Copyright (c) 1994 Funk & Wagnalls Corporation.

% The Americans : A History. Jordan, Greenblatt, Bowes. MLHM; 1996.