Cold War diplomacy Dean Acheson

acheson sworn office secretary of state, chief justice fred m. vinson, (january 21, 1949)

later, in 1945, harry s. truman selected acheson undersecretary of united states department of state; retained position working under secretaries of state edward stettinius, jr., james f. byrnes, , george marshall. and, late 1945 or 1946 acheson sought détente soviet union. in 1946, chairman of special committee prepare plan international control of atomic energy, wrote acheson–lilienthal report. @ first acheson conciliatory towards joseph stalin.

the soviet union s attempts @ regional hegemony in eastern europe , in southwest asia, however, changed acheson s thinking. point forward, 1 historian writes, achezon more present @ creation of cold war; primary architect. acheson found himself acting secretary during secretary s frequent overseas trips, , during period cemented close relationship president truman. acheson devised policy , wrote truman s 1947 request congress aid greece , turkey, speech stressed dangers of totalitarianism rather soviet aggression , marked fundamental change in american foreign policy became known truman doctrine. acheson designed economic aid program europe became known marshall plan. acheson believed best way contain stalin s communism , prevent future european conflict restore economic prosperity western europe, encourage interstate cooperation there, , american economy making trading partners richer.

on june 30, 1947 acheson received medal merit president truman.

dean acheson (fifth right) secretary of state, meeting of truman cabinet, (august 25, 1950)

in 1949, acheson appointed secretary of state. in position built working framework containment, first formulated george kennan, served head of acheson s policy planning staff. acheson main designer of military alliance nato, , signed pact united states. formation of nato dramatic departure historic american foreign policy goals of avoiding entangling alliances.