University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014 1974 John Foster Dulles : pragmatist or moralist. Harry Park Tolles University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/theses Tolles, Harry Park, "John Foster Dulles : pragmatist or moralist." (1974). Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014. 2507. Retrieved from https://scholarworks.umass.edu/theses/2507 This thesis is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014 by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. JOHN FOSTER DULLES: PRAGMATIST OR MORALIST A Thesis Presented By Harry Park Tolies Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS August 1974 (Month) (Year) Major Subject: POLITICAL SCIENCE JOHN FOSTER DULLES: PRAGMATIST OR MORALIST A Thesis By Harry Park Tolies Approved as to style and content by: Peter Fliess, Chairman of the Committee Constance Friesen, Member r i rjO Glen Gordon, Department Head Augu st 1974 TMonthT (Year) To my wife Robbyn Lynn iv CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS vi INTRODUCTION vii CHAPTER I. DEVELOPMENT OF THE VIEWS OF JOHN FOSTER DULLES Childhood, Formal Education, and Early Diplomatic Experiences 1 Law Career and Diplomacy 6 War, Peace and Change 14 World War Two, Bipartisanship, and Politics 19 War or Peace 23 Japanese Peace Treaty, 1952 Election 28 II. THE ADMISSION OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA TO THE UNITED NATIONS Early Experiences with China 32 The Communist Revolution 36 Initial Support for United Nations Membership 45 Reversal of Position 49 "Red" China Policy, 1953 and 1954 53 The "Pragmatic Formula". 56 III. THE "PEACEFUL LIBERATION" OF EASTERN EUROPE Evolution of the Concept..... 63 The Policy of Containment 68 1952 Presidential Campaign and the "liberation" 70 Promise ' 7Q East German Riots "Liberation" Policy in the First Four Years 87 V Hungarian Revolt and the "Redefinition" of Liberation 92 IV. CONCLUSION The Pragmatist Versus the Moralist 97 BIBLIOGRAPHY 102 vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Words are not adequate to describe my appreciation for the help of Professor Fliess, my thesis advisor, whose many hours of work and innumerable suggestions were most valuable in the preparation of this thesis. I wish also to thank Professor Friesen whose cheerful words of encouragement bolstered my ofttimes sagging spirits. To my mother, Katherine Tolies, goes special appreciation for her seemingly tireless efforts in the arduous task of proof reading this manuscript. Finally, to my wife Robbyn Lynn, who over the past two years has been friend, advisor, critic, and my most ardent supporter, I give my deepest gratitude. vii INTRODUCTION Mr. Dulles' critics have labeled the former Secretary of State as a man obsessed with an overriding moralistic approach to American for- eign policy. This morality, it is argued, often surfaced as a right- eous indignation against what Secretary Dulles derogatorily referred to as "atheistic Communism." As a result, critics contend, Mr. Dulles was unable to deal pragmatically with real opportunities for detente with the Soviet Union and normalization of relations with the People's Republic of China. This thesis will deal with such criticism by first examining Mr. Dulles' views and how they developed from his childhood to the time he became Secretary of State. With this background information covered, the balance of the work will explore two specific aspects of Dulles' foreign policy: First, the question of "Red" Chinese membership in the United Nations; and second, the policy of "peaceful liberation." Dulles had two positions concerning the admission of "Red" China to the United Nations. Not long after the Communist revolution, he favored a policy of "Red" Chinese membership. However, when "Red" China became embroiled in the Korean War, he shifted his position to one of adamant opposition to "Red" Chinese membership. The second chapter will discuss this change of position and whether it was motivated by moral indignation or was a pragmatic decision by Dulles in order to will remain in the mainstream of public opinion. Further discussion center on Dulles' China policy and the reasons behind the failure to normalize relations with the People's Republic of China. viii The policy of "peaceful liberation" was Mr. Dulles' counterpropo- sal to the Truman policy of containment. In the third chapter, Dulles' "liberation" policy and its implementation will be studied. Further examination of this policy will raise the question of whether or not there was a potential for detente with the Soviet Union or whether it was Dulles' dogmatic determination to hold to his "liberation" policy which may have spoiled this chance. Finally, did the Hungarian revolt ultimately represent a failure of the Dulles "liberation" policy? The conclusion of this thesis will address the questions: Was Mr. Dulles predominately an overbearing moralist as his critics assert? Was he a pragmatist operating on a basis of political expedience? Or was he, perhaps, a combination of both of these aspects? CHAPTER I DEVELOPMENT OF THE VIEWS OF JOHN FOSTER DULLES Childhood, Formal Education, and Early Diplomatic Experiences The oldest son born to Reverend Allen Macy Dulles and Edith Foster Dulles on February 25, 1888, John Foster Dulles, was profoundly influ- enced during his childhood by both his father and grandfather. John Watson Foster, Dulles' grandfather, was a prominent American Statesman and former Secretary of State. Dulles' father was a Presbyterian min- ister, who for his time tended toward a "liberal" approach to religion. He emphasized that the Christian religion was not dependent upon belief in the "virgin birth." To his children, Reverend Dulles stressed the importance of religious education. As a result, the young Dulles was exposed to a comprehensive religious upbringing, including as many as three Sunday services, regular attendance in Sunday school, and Wednesday evening prayer meetings. Aside from the formal training there was a family requirement to memorize a passage from the Bible each week. This extensive religious training, Louis Gerson indicates, was not always pleasant; however, as Dulles grew older, "... he appreciated the early religious upbringing, seeing 'how relevant' it was 'in the far-flung and changing scenes of life.'"^ It was this demanding religious education which led to the first indications of Dulles' rather remarkable intellectual capabilities. Diplo- *Louis L. Gerson, The American Secretaries of State and their York: Cooper Square Publishers, Inc., macy XVII John Foster Dulles , (New 1967), p. 7. ^ 2 Townsend Hoopes cites remarks from the diary of Mrs. Dulles relevant to her son's intelligence: ... he has fine acquisitive powers, and such things as interest him he very promptly takes hold of and retains ... mentally, he is really remarkable for his intellectual acuteness. His logical acumen beto- kens a career as a thinker ... he reasons with a clearness far beyond his age. Dulles’ grandfather, John Watson Foster, exerted even more influence upon the young Dulles, an influence which would eventually lead Dulles to a diplomatic career culminating, in 1953, in his becoming the 69th Secre- tary of State. Deane and David Heller in their book note that though Dulles as a boy was devoted to his parents, he "idolized" his grandfather "... more than any other person..." it was grandfather Foster "... who guided 3 the youthful Foster Dulles in his choice of a career." Every summer Mrs. Dulles, accompanied by her children, visited grand- father Foster in Henderson Harbor located on Lake Ontario in upstate New York. There the young Dulles not only learned from his grandfather how to sail and fish, but listened to his stories of diplomatic adventures which were augmented by diplomatic goings on in Henderson Harbor. In his capacity as legal advisor to the Imperial Government of China in the nego- tiation of the Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895, Mr. Foster entertained sev- eral distinguished guests. This, notes Hoopes, could not help but widen and enrich the perspective of the Dulles children who viewed the (Boston: Atlantic ^Townsend Hoopes, The Devil and John Foster Dulles , Monthly Press Book, Little, Brown and Company, 1973), p. 11, citing Diary of Mrs. Allen Macy Dulles, February 25, 1893, Dulles Papers. 3 Soldier for Peace (New Deane and David Heller, John Foster Dulles: , York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1960), p. 23. 6 3 steady ... stream of distinguished visitors to Henderson Harbor: Chinese gentlemen, European ambassadors, American politicians, jour- nalists, and other men of marked or moderate consequence who came briefly to rest and rusticate and talk. 4 John Foster Dulles received his primary education from the Water- town public school system, because his parents could not afford a pri- vate school. Nevertheless, Mr. Dulles was proud of this education em- phasizing that he, "... learned here solidly the fundamentals of read- ing, writing, and arithmetic, plus American history." He was partic- ularly impressed with the way American history was taught then in pub- lic schools, ... so as to emphasize the best in our great American tradition.... Historians today seem to take pride in trying to find defects in our great national figures, and to show hypocrisy in our national conduct. At the age of fifteen, Foster finished high school. Despite his intelligence, his parents felt he was too young to enter college. As a result, in the summer of 1903, Mrs. Dulles took Foster and his sister Eleanor to Europe. They spent most of their time in Lausanne, Switzer- land, where the children studied French. Afterwards, young Foster re- turned to Washington where he was tutored for a year in preparation for entrance into Princeton in the Fall of 1904. Foster was sixteen when he entered Princeton, a young age which certainly must have been a social if not a psychological handicap.