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The British Foreign Office and American Foreign Policy, 1947–48

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 January 2009

Peter G. Boyle
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Extract

On 21 February 1947, the US Government was informed of Britain's decision to terminate aid to Greece as from 31 March 1947. This produced a flurry of activity culminating in President Harry Truman's address to Congress on 12 March 1947 in which he requested $400m. aid for Greece and Turkey and pronounced the Truman Doctrine, thereby commiting the United States to the worldwide containment of Communism by means of American aid to nations threatened either by Communist insurgency from within or by Communist aggression from abroad. Debate on the Greek-Turkish Aid Bill and on the implications of the Truman Doctrine was one of the important sources of Secretary of State George C. Marshall's speech at Havard University on 5 June 1947 which initiated the idea of the Marshall Plan, the four year programme (1948–52) of American Aid to sixteen European nations designed to build up the economics of these countries and to lessen the prospect of Communism gaining strength within them. Was Britain's sudden withdrawal of aid from Greece determined simply by financial weakness, or did British policy have a more positive and subtle aim, namely to induce the United States to commit itself decisively to a policy of containment in both its political and economic form? The British Foreign Office papers for the late 1940s, as well as the papers of other government departments such as the Treasury, which are now open as a consequence of the thirty year rule, facilitate a better understanding of British policy in 1947–48 and of the British view of American policy in those years, in particular with regard to the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of American Studies , Volume 16 , Issue 3 , December 1982 , pp. 373 - 389
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1982

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References

Peter Boyle is Lecturer in American History in the Department of American Studies at the University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD. He wishes to thank the Social Science Research Council for a grant in support of the research upon which this article is based.

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3 “Summary of British Expenditure in Greece,” Minute by Donald MacLean, 24 March 1947, F.O. 115, 4317, 658/128A/47, PRO.

4 Foreign Office to Washington, 19 February 1947, F.O. 371, 67033, R.2969/50/0.19, PRO.

5 Dalton to Attlee, 11 February 1947, F.O. 371, 67032, R.2443/50/G.19, PRO.

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7 Athens to Foreign Office, 21 February 1947, F.O. 371, 67032, R.2451/50/G.19; Minute by Orme Sargent, 22 February 1947, F.O. 371, 67032, R.2629/50/G.19; Washington to Foreign Office, 1 March 1947, F.O. 371, 67032, R.2817/50/G.19, PRO.

8 British Embassy to State Dept., 7 March 1947, F.O. 115, 4317, G.58/65/47; Attlee to Inverchapel, 7 April 1947, F.O. 115, 4317, G.58/146/47, PRO.

9 Washington to Foreign Office, 12 April 1947, F.O. 371, 67040, R.4989/50/G.19, PRO.

10 Moscow to Foreign Office, Foreign Secretary for Prime Minister, 16 April 1947, F.O. 371, 67040, R.5182/50/G.19, PRO.

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18 Athens to Foreign Office, 6 March 1947, F.O. 371, 67034, R.3055/50/619; Washington to Foreign Office, 20 July 1947, F.O. 371, 61055, AN.2552/40/45; Washington to Foreign Office, 29 August 1947, F.O. 371, 67045, R.11919/50/G.19; Washington to Foreign Office, 20 July 1947, F.O. 371, 61055, AN.2552/40/45, PRO.

19 Washington to Foreign Office, 1 June 1947, F.O. 371, 61055, AN.1902/40/45, PRO. For Kennan's reservations regarding the universalism of the Truman Doctrine, see Kennan, George F., Memoirs 1925–50 (Boston: Little, Brown, 1967), pp. 313–24Google Scholar.

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22 E. L. Hall-Patch, “Informal Note of Discussion with U.S. Senators and Congress men,” 18 January 1949, F.O. 371, 77874, UR.1191/85/98, PRO.

23 Allan Christelow, “ECA After Six Months: Some Personal Impressions,” 12 October 1948, F.O. 371, 71765, UR.7904/7/98, PRO.

24 F. G. Lee to R. W. B. Clarke, 10 July 1948, F.O. 371, 71759, UR.3470/7/98, PRO.

25 Washington to Foreign Office, 14 August 1947, F.O. 371, 61055, AN.2799/40/45, PRO.

26 Minute by E. L. Hall-Patch, 5 July 1947, F.O. 371, 62413, UE.6069/168/53, PRO.

27 Washington to Foreign Office, 25 February 1949, F.O. 371, 77835, UR.1866/60/68; Chicago Consulate to Embassy, 27 October 1949, F.O. 371, 74174, AN.3514/1023/45, PRO.

28 Gardner, Richard S., Sterling-Dollar Diplomacy (2nd ed.; New York: McGraw-Hill, 1969)Google Scholar; Watt, D. C., Personalities and Policies: Studies in the Formulation of British Foreign Policy in the Twentieth Century (London: Longman, 1965), pp. 64–71Google Scholar. For a convincing argument that the terms of the loan were in fact very generous but nevertheless left a feeling on the British part of an American Uncle Shylock, see Hathaway, Robert G., Ambiguous Partnership: Britain and America 1944–47 (New York: Columbia University Press, 1981), pp. 182–201Google Scholar.

29 W. Eady to F. Bridges, 9 April 1948, T. 236, F.O. 265/1G; Minute by E. L. Hall-Patch, 9 March, 1948, F.O. 371, 71851, UR.873/873/98, PRO.

30 Minute by E. A. Berthoud, 23 June 1948, F.O. 371, 71826, UR.2551/399/98; “Conversation between the Secretary of State and the U.S. Ambassador,” 29 June 1949, F.O. 371, 77876, UR.6746/85/98, PRO.

31 Minute by Roger Makins, 7 July 1948, F.O. 371, 71854, UR.2748/873/98, PRO.

32 Minute by Paul Gore-Booth, 21 August 1948, F.O. 371, 71854, UR.4459/916/98; Minute by D. F. MacDermott, 5 November 1948, F.O. 371, 71851, UR.7006/873/98, PRO.

33 Mayne, Richard, The Recovery of Europe: From Devastation to Unity, (London: Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 1970), pp. 121–31Google Scholar.

34 Roger Makins, “Draft Memorandum on the Work of OEEC,” 14 July 1948, F.O. 371, 71854, UR.3301 7399/98; E. W. Playfair to F. Kuhn, 4 September 1948, F.O. 371, 71827, UR.5114/399/98; Paul Gore-Booth, “Record of Conversation with Mr. H. Labouisse,” 22 October 1948, F.O. 371, 71828, UR.7321/399/98, PRO.

35 Memo of Conversation by First Secretary of Embassy in the U.K. (Avery F. Peterson), 24 06 1947, FRUS, 1947, 3, 275Google Scholar.

36 Minute by E. A. Barthoud, 23 June 1948, F.O. 371, 71826 UR.2551 /399/98, PRO; Cooke, Colin, The Life of Sir Stafford Cripps (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1957), pp. 371–73Google Scholar.

37 J. Balfour to C. F. A. Warner, 7 July 1947, F.O. 371, 66424, N.8291/1380/38; F. Roberts to C. F. A. Warner, 16 Sept., 1947, F.O. 371, 66425, N.10709/1380/38, PRO. See Boyle, Peter G., “The British Foreign Office View of Soviet-American Relations, 1945–46,” Diplomatic History, 3 (Summer 1979), pp. 307–20CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

38 Rothwell, Victor, Britain and the Cold War 1941–47 (London: Jonathan Cape, 1982), pp. 223–27Google Scholar; Jones, , Russia Complex, pp. 102–60Google Scholar.

39 Bevin and Bidault to Marshall, 18 March 1948, F.O. 115, 4359, G.3/104/48, PRO.

40 Washington to Foreign Office, 24 December 1948, F.O. 371, 68019, AN.4542/16/45; Washington to Foreign Office, 9 December 1948, F.O. 371, 68019, AN.4335/16/45; Foreign Office to Washington, 29 April 1948, F.O. 115, 4361, G.35/14/48, PRO.

41 Speech by Ernest Bevin to Foreign Press Association, 13 June 1947, F.O. 371, 62399, UE.4683/168/53, PRO.

42 Ambassador in France (Jefferson Caffery) to Secretary of State, 18 06 1947, FRUS, 1947, 3, 158Google Scholar; Ambassador in the Soviet Union (Bedell Smith) to Secretary of State, 23 06 1947, FRUS, 1947, 3, 266Google Scholar.

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44 Minute by Francis Rundall, 13 June 1947, F.O. 371, 61055, AN.2057/40/45; Washington to Foreign Office, 22 June 1947, F.O. 371, 61055, AN.2217/40/45; Washington to Foreign Office 28 June 1947, F.O. 371, 61055, AN.2307/40/45, PRO.

45 Williams, , Bevin, p. 265Google Scholar.

46 Minutes of Meeting of British Delegation, Paris Embassy, 18 June 1947, F.O. 371, 62402, UE.5062/168/53, PRO.

47 “Foreign Ministers Talks on Marshall Offer: Memo by Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs,” 5 July 1947, F.O. 371, 62407, UE.5594/168/53, PRO.

48 Memo of Conversation by First Secretary of Embassy in the U.K. (Peterson), 24 06 1947, FRUS, 1947, 3, 268Google Scholar.

49 Bucharest to Foreign Office, 4 July 1947, F.O. 371, 62405, UE.5436/168/53; Sofia to Foreign Office, 4 July 1947, F.O. 371, 62405, UE.5443/168/53; Budapest to Foreign Office, 9 July 1947, F.O. 371, 62409, UE.5443/168/53; Warsaw to Foreign Office, 11 July 1947, F.O. 371, 62413, UE.6104/168/53, PRO.

50 Prague to Foreign Office, 7 July 1947, F.O. 371, 62407, UE.5604/168/53; Prague to Foreign Office, 10 July 1947, F.O. 371, 62410, UE.5767/168/53, PRO.

51 Minute by Roger Ligbus, 11 July 1947, F.O. 371, 62403, UE.5266/168/53; G. Holliday to Robin Hankey, 11 July 1947, F.O. 371, 62413, UE.5963/168/53; Washington to Foreign Office, 28 June 1947, F.O. 371, 61055, AN.2307/40/45, PRO.

52 Washington to Foreign Office, 6 August 1947, F.O. 371, 61055, AN.2742/40/45, PRO.

53 Minute by Francis Rundall, 2 June 1947, F.O. 371, 61054, AN.1907/40/45; Washington to Foreign Office, 21 September 1947, F.O. 371, 61056, AN.3302/40/ 45, PRO.