Affection and Trust: The Personal Correspondence of Harry S. Truman and Dean Acheson, 1953-1971

by David McCullough

  In your earlier letter you prod me about developments in connection with the USSR and with Iran. It seems to me clear that whatever inspired the Kremlin to make soft-sounding noises earlier in the year has ceased to inspire them. The recent notes, linking four-power talks with five-power talks at which Red China shall be present and insisting on an agenda for both which puts the most insoluble problems in the forefront, make clear to me that the Russians do not really want meetings except under conditions where we surrender first and talk about details of it later. I think Eden’s speech at the Party Conference shows his realization of this.

  The French are the troublesome ones, as they always have been. Indeed, French weakness has always been the disease from which our Grand Alliance has suffered. The French appear to be willing to do almost anything to stop the war in Indo-China on almost any terms. I do not see the answer to this, short of a change in the French constitution which will give them an executive strong enough to face up to difficult problems, make decisions, and survive long enough to live with the decisions until the politicians and the public have become adjusted to them. If every one of these decisions, which are always a choice between two difficult alternatives, has to win a popularity contest in the French Chamber, then we will always face governments falling like autumn leaves, the continuance of an inflation which is now thirty years old, and instability of the worst sort in the very heart of Europe.

  David Bruce continues to be optimistic about the European Defense Community, but even he says that the decision in favor of it, with the continuance of French weakness, will not solve the problem, although it will be a help.

  All of this, it seems to me, makes it clear that there is no sense in and no possibility of a four-power meeting at the level of heads of government. It seems plain that the Russians don’t want it. We certainly don’t and shouldn’t. Churchill, I think, is backing away from it. And only the French would be ready to gamble.

  As for Iran, there the Shah’s attempted coup, its failure, and the counter-attack and success of Zahedi, together with developments since, show again what we always urged on the British; that so far as relations with the West and the oil dispute were concerned, the problem was deeper than the personality of Mossadegh. The fact that he was impossible made the British believe that somebody else would be the opposite of Mossadegh. I think that this is not true, that Zahedi will be controlled by the same disorderly public emotions to which Mossadegh catered and that any solution of the troubles, if any is possible, will not be very different from the proposals which we made in the last week of your Administration. Details can be changed; a new contract with Anglo-Iranian might take the place of cash compensation, since they are merely different ways of saying the same thing. But I think it impossible that Anglo-Iranian would ever get back in the country on an operating concession basis. And I think that every week that passes it becomes more difficult for Iran to find a market for its oil even through Anglo-Iranian and with the cooperation of the other oil companies. So basically I think the problem remains as tough as ever. Mossadegh’s removal is a great help, which means that in working on a difficult problem one does not have to work with a crazy man, but the removal of the crazy man does not change the dimensions of the problem.

  This letter, with its enclosures, will already take up most of your working day, so I will only add a plea. Your account of your eighty-mile-an-hour dash at night through Missouri and parts of Arkansas gave me the creeps. Even without the Secret Service to make you behave, you really must be more careful. So please have a heart and remember that the doctrine of chance does not mean that you always win.

  Please tell Mrs. Truman from Alice that yesterday the present members and alumnae of the Spanish class were invited to tea at the White House. Alice, on advice—and indeed upon instructions—of counsel, attended. Recalling the days when a certain lady used to chew gum and respond to all questions with a paraphrase of “no comment”, Alice discovered that glamour had overtaken this far from perfect pupil. The ushers, however, had not changed and Alice was somewhat embarrassed when they insisted on putting her at the head of the line to be received, taking precedence over her successor. At this point I draw the veil over her comments.

  She also sends her love to Mrs. Truman and to you, in which I join.

  Most affectionately,

  Dean

  October 21, 1953

  Dear Dean:

  I’ll never be able to tell you how much I appreciated your good letter of the eighth. I’ll continue to regret that I didn’t get to the Wilson dinner and didn’t get a message there in time but I told you what my difficulties were.

  I am certainly glad the Republicans had to come to you for information and they will have to continue to do that if they expect to carry on a Foreign Policy that will do the peace of the world any constructive good.

  Your contribution to the Library is wonderful. We are really making progress and before long we will let a contract.

  I think you are entirely right on the four-power meeting. I hope Iran will come out of the kinks. It looks now as if Israel is in for a large shooting war again.

  Sincerely yours,

  Harry

  Acheson has just read remarks Truman made at a news conference on December 19, 1950, in response to demands from some Republicans that Acheson be removed from office. “How our position in the world would be improved by the retirement of Dean Acheson from public life is beyond me,” Truman said at the news conference. “Mr. Acheson has helped shape and carry out our policy of resistance to Communist imperialism.… If communism were to prevail in the world—as it shall not prevail—Dean Acheson would be one of the first, if not the first, to be shot by the enemies of liberty and Christianity.… This is a time of great peril. It is a time for unity, and for real bipartisanship. It is a time for making use of the great talents of men like Dean Acheson. Communism—not our own country—would be served if we lost Mr. Acheson.”

  Bill Benton is probably former Senator William B. Benton of Connecticut, who also served in the State Department during Truman’s presidency. The comment about Trieste refers to a running controversy about the future sovereignty over Trieste. Trieste was at this time claimed by both Italy and Yugoslavia. It was occupied by American and British troops, but the two governments had recently indicated that Italian troops would replace their own. Yugoslavia of course objected, and a minor crisis resulted.

  Senator Joseph McCarthy was pursuing lower-level staff in the Department of the Army, with—for a limited time—the cooperation of the army.

  October 21, 1953

  Dear Mr. President,

  Bill Benton will be seeing you on November first. I am working on him for the library and he will make a contribution but wants to talk with you first. He will probably not mention the contribution but will undoubtedly raise a pet complaint of his—that the library ought to be in Chicago, where it would get greater use than in Independence (so he says). I think that if he can be reasoned with on this point successfully his contribution will be larger.

  My second point is that in looking over the record of developments toward the end of 1950 I read again your wonderful statement to the press in response to the resolution of the Republicans in Congress asking you to remove me. It gave me all the thrills all over again, and makes as clear as day what is now lacking in the White House—courage and leadership. It has every mark of H.S.T. in every sentence. If you look at it again you will see why all of us are ready to go through anything for you. You know how I feel about you, but I want you to know again, because it is a continuing emotion.

  Our friend Dulles has landed us in a pretty pickle over Trieste. You remember that we went over this very suggestion from Eden in 1952 & rejected it because we foresaw the position of embarrassment we would get into having started something we could not finish. Why he will not think these things through before he acts I don’t know. I’m sure the [State] Department either did warn him or would have, if asked.

&n
bsp; Alice is in Milwaukee with our daughter Jane and will bring me the latest from the McCarthy front. Here again the Army seems to be cooperating in building him up and destroying its own morale.

  My warmest regards to you and Mrs. Truman,

  As ever,

  Dean

  Truman had to raise private money to build his presidential library, and Acheson helped as much as he could. Truman writes about his meeting with a prospective donor. Tom Evans, an owner of a drugstore chain and a television station in Kansas City, was one of Truman’s closest friends. Truman is elated because of strong Democratic results in the off-year elections in New York, New Jersey, and Virginia. The results in New Jersey were particularly important and were widely viewed as a repudiation of President Eisenhower’s policies. Truman often spelled Acheson’s name with a “t”—Atcheson—presumably because of the name of the town in northeastern Kansas—Atchison—and of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company.

  November 5, 1953

  Dear Dean:

  Your letter of Oct. 21 was very helpful on Bill Benton’s visit. I met him at the plane, took him out to Independence for dinner and made him acquainted with the two District Federal Judges and one from the Court of Appeals. You know Dick Duncan, who was on the Ways and Means Committee with Fred Vinson. I succeeded in having Roosevelt appoint him in 1942 and broke all the rules in the Senate getting him confirmed. The other District Judge you don’t know. He was a Circuit Court Judge on the Missouri State Court. Was in World War I with me, and when he came home studied law, became a good lawyer, was elected to the Missouri Bench, made a great Judge and I put him on the Federal Court. The Appeals Court Judge you’ve met, Caskie Collet.

  Well, we had a grand time talking about Dean Acheson, the State Dept., Ike and shoes and ships and sealing wax and things.

  I let Tom Evans take Bill back to the plane and Tom put in some good licks for the Library—so I guess you can nail him.

  Your comments on my statement to the press about you gave me a lift. I hope you’ll always feel that way.

  There’s an article in the last Reporter on Trieste which is a dinger. It says if we want a lesson in what not to do diplomatically Trieste is it. Well, if things keep up you and I are going to be tops in foreign policy and everything else.

  I’ve been sailing high since last Tuesday. Nearly all the newsmen called me for comment. All I said was that I was very happy at the endorsement of the New Deal and Fair Deal.

  The Madam and I leave for New York on Sunday morning by train—she won’t fly. I receive the Stephen Wise award Monday night, address the City College of New York on Wednesday and receive another award from the Hebrew University on Thursday. (Bill Hillman says I should be circumcised if this keeps up!) Well, anyway, I expect about a half bushel of shekels for the Library as a result of these appearances.

  Hope Mrs. Acheson had a good time in Milwaukee. When possible I want to visit with you. The book is fine but what a slave it made of me.

  Sincerely,

  Harry

  Why do I put that T in your name? (Anno Domini?)

  Acheson discusses the demagogic tactics used by Eisenhower’s attorney general, Herbert Brownell, Jr., who discharged some Department of Justice employees with vague imputations of security risk. Acheson refers to Adlai Stevenson’s efforts to position the Democratic Party for a better campaign than that of 1952. Lewis W. Douglas and Walter S. Gifford were both U.S. ambassadors to the United Kingdom during Truman’s administration.

  December 3, 1953

  Dear Mr. President,

  I have an unanswered letter from you which came before the Brownell explosion. As that disgraceful episode begins to take on perspective, I think the net result was harmful to all—most of all the country—the Republicans will suffer more from it than we will. This is so, I think, because they have supped with the devil with a very short spoon. Brownell’s tactics, as you so well said, were McCarthy’s and the latter has grown so great on this food that he now challenges Ike for the leadership. And Ike has responded very feebly. It is here, I guess, that Brownell has sown the dragon’s teeth. It is not what pious words Ike utters from time to time which will count, but what he does to assert control and put the fear of God into the sewer rats. I don’t see him doing it.

  Adlai seems to have done pretty well. The greatest lack I see is the absence of a small able group at the National Committee to keep working on these things, anticipate developments, help to devise a plan of campaign to meet them. I have talked with Charlie Murphy about this and he agrees. But apparently nothing is done. For instance, a theme to be constantly repeated until it becomes a slogan might be “A party which is vigorously and successfully solving the problems of its administration would be talking about its accomplishments.”

  On our small front the library moves along. Walter Gifford sent me a check for $1000 and a very nice note saying how grateful he was to you for the chance to work with us on the greatest constructive achievement of the country. He is all right—no fair weather sailor like Lew Douglas.

  We are all well. Alice has a one man show at the Corcoran in January. Our love to you and Mrs. Truman.

  Most warmly,

  Dean

  Truman frets about partisan press coverage unfavorable to him and his administration. Raymond Moley and David Lawrence were conservative journalists. The “total news monopoly newspaper” he refers to is the Kansas City Star. “Dulles, Wilson, Humphrey et al.” refers to members of President Eisenhower’s Cabinet and presumably other members of his administration. Charles E. Wilson was Secretary of Defense, and George M. Humphrey was Secretary of the Treasury.

  December 26, 1953

  Dear Dean:

  I’ve been thinking about you and Mrs. Acheson and trying to send you Christmas greetings. You know what hell is paved with—and I’ve just added another block to that famous pavement. The Boss and Margie and I appreciated most highly your good wishes on the card you sent us.

  I’ve been in debt to you for some time on a communication you sent me—but I had not much to say and wonder of wonders—for me I’ve said nothing worth repeating.

  Conditions are such that Ike can do no wrong and I can do no right. If it weren’t tragic it would be the best comedy in history. Ray Moley, Dave Lawrence, the Herald-Tribune, the Star in Washington, the Sat. Eve. Post and the Baltimore Sun have had some of the worst editorials and the funniest editorials I’ve ever seen. I’ve read the press on Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Jackson, Lincoln, Cleveland, Teddy R., Wilson and F.D.R. and there seems to me to be no parallel. Maybe I’m somewhat prejudiced!

  Dulles, Wilson, Humphrey et al. seem to be helping to make confusion thrice compounded and a lot of Republican editors are becoming “mouth pieces” for McCarthy and the Attorney General.

  Our total news monopoly newspaper was indicted along with its managing editor, Roy Roberts, some time back. He thought I had something to do with it. I did not but if I’d known about it I might have. Roberts has been writing front page editorials in the Kansas City Star and quoting Lawrence, Hearst, Sat. Eve. Post and all the rest. Hoping, I suppose, to have his and the Star’s indictments quashed. Brownell will probably do it too.

  Our Democrats seem to be waking up to the opportunities opening up before them and perhaps will come up with a program. I hope we do just that.

  Take care of yourself—we’ve got a lot of fighting to do in this great period of hysteria.

  My best to Mrs. Acheson and all the family.

  Sincerely,

  Harry Truman

  Dean Acheson shakes hands with General Dwight D. Eisenhower on January 6, 1951, as Harry Truman and Secretary of Defense George Marshall look on. Eisenhower is departing for Europe to survey his Atlantic Pact forces.

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  January 1954 to April 1955

  Eisenhower’s Foreign Policy – Musings on History and Government – Truman’s Memoirs – A Serious Operation – The Truman Library – Visits in Kansas City and Wa
shington – Testimony and Tough Political Talk

  Even though Truman and Acheson felt that America’s former strong position in the world, which they had passed on to the new President, was being dissipated, and their criticism of Eisenhower and his advisers, particularly his Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles, was often harsh, they styled themselves with mock self-deception as “nonpartisan” onlookers of the national scene. Truman enjoyed writing Acheson an occasional “spasm”—an unrestrained outburst—when particularly incensed. Acheson always loved receiving these reminders of his colorful old boss from White House days.

  Truman was deeply involved in writing his memoirs by mid-1954. He asked Acheson for help in recovering from memory and from the documentary record the story of the work they had done together in shaping a postwar foreign policy. Acheson traveled to Kansas City in February 1955 to give interviews to Truman’s research assistants and to help Truman in other ways. He liked recalling for the interviewers the momentous days of Truman’s presidency.

  In June 1954, Truman had a gallbladder operation and a bad reaction to an antibiotic, from which it took him months to recover.

  In April 1955, Truman traveled to Washington to testify before Congress about the United Nations Charter and to attend a testimonial dinner for House Speaker Sam Rayburn. Although he accepted the role of elder statesman when appearing before Congress, he relaxed at the Rayburn dinner and unleashed a little raw political rhetoric. During this trip he also got together with Acheson for lunch at Acheson’s home.