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The Diaries of Edward R. Stettinius, Jr., 1943-1946
Book by Stettinius, Edward R.
544 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1975
11 people want to read
About the author
Edward R. Stettinius
10 books1 followerEdward Reilly Stettinius Jr. was an American businessman who served as United States Secretary of State under Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman from 1944 to 1945, and as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations from 1945 to 1946.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
November 19, 2019
Edward R. Stettinius,Jr. never got around to writing any memoirs about his years in government in
the New Deal/World War 2 years. But when he was made Under Secretary of State in 1943 he started
a diary that contains some good insights into the diplomatic world of World War 2 and post World
War 2.
Before that Stettinius had a background in business and finance. He worked for both US Steel and
General Motors and was one of the very few back in those days who did not hate Franklin D. Roosevelt. He was an adviser on FDR's ill fated National Recovery Administration and when that
was declared unconstitutional Stettinius went back to private industry. In 1941 FDR made him administrator of the Lend Lease program.
In 1943 Stettinius replaced Sumner Welles as Under Secretary of State. In December of 1944 Cordell
Hull resigned as Secretary of State and Stettinius took over and just in time for Roosevelt to include
him as part of the delegation to the Yalta Conference in January 1945.
FDR was not a fan of the State Department and Hull was a political appointment there. He preferred using his own people to get information and report directly to him. Hull was frozen out
of all the strategic war planning conferences in World War 2. What Hull devoted his time to was
creating a new world organization to replace the failed League of Nations. In that he had Stettinius's support.
Being at Yalta post World War 2 got you a lot of criticism from the Republican right wing. Still that
came later in the 40s. Within a month of returning from the Yalta Conference FDR dies and Stettinius has to deal with a new president.
Knowing Harry Truman would be choosing his own cabinet soon enough Stettinius stayed on just
long enough for the San Francisco conference to get the United Nations going. As a reward for
his labor Truman made him our first Ambassador to the UN.
That lasted only a year. Stettinius was proud of where he served and thought that Truman should
have used the United Nations more in dealing with the Soviet Union as our alliance withered away
with the new Cold War.
Stettinius died only 3 years later. He was not looking to make any kind of great name in history,
just a guy doing his job. We don't really get a personal Stettinius in the book, but it does give some
interesting insights into a critical period of our history.
the New Deal/World War 2 years. But when he was made Under Secretary of State in 1943 he started
a diary that contains some good insights into the diplomatic world of World War 2 and post World
War 2.
Before that Stettinius had a background in business and finance. He worked for both US Steel and
General Motors and was one of the very few back in those days who did not hate Franklin D. Roosevelt. He was an adviser on FDR's ill fated National Recovery Administration and when that
was declared unconstitutional Stettinius went back to private industry. In 1941 FDR made him administrator of the Lend Lease program.
In 1943 Stettinius replaced Sumner Welles as Under Secretary of State. In December of 1944 Cordell
Hull resigned as Secretary of State and Stettinius took over and just in time for Roosevelt to include
him as part of the delegation to the Yalta Conference in January 1945.
FDR was not a fan of the State Department and Hull was a political appointment there. He preferred using his own people to get information and report directly to him. Hull was frozen out
of all the strategic war planning conferences in World War 2. What Hull devoted his time to was
creating a new world organization to replace the failed League of Nations. In that he had Stettinius's support.
Being at Yalta post World War 2 got you a lot of criticism from the Republican right wing. Still that
came later in the 40s. Within a month of returning from the Yalta Conference FDR dies and Stettinius has to deal with a new president.
Knowing Harry Truman would be choosing his own cabinet soon enough Stettinius stayed on just
long enough for the San Francisco conference to get the United Nations going. As a reward for
his labor Truman made him our first Ambassador to the UN.
That lasted only a year. Stettinius was proud of where he served and thought that Truman should
have used the United Nations more in dealing with the Soviet Union as our alliance withered away
with the new Cold War.
Stettinius died only 3 years later. He was not looking to make any kind of great name in history,
just a guy doing his job. We don't really get a personal Stettinius in the book, but it does give some
interesting insights into a critical period of our history.
Displaying 1 of 1 review