Representing the US government during the earliest era of the United Nations, Warren Austin, who served the Truman administration, and Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., who was Eisenhower's ambassador, both attempted to navigate a delicate path in tumultuous time period marked by the beginning of the Cold War, the end of European imperialism, the McCarthyite scare in the United States, and the threat of atomic annihilation. Their success in doing so laid the groundwork for the victory of the West over the Soviet Union and ensure the United Nations would win crucial US support and avoid the fate of its predecessor, the League of Nations.
Sean Brennan is professor of history at the University of Scranton.
Preface Chapter 1: Lodge, Austin, and their Relations with the White House Chapter 2: Selling the United Nations to the American Public Chapter 3: Atomic Energy and Arms Control Chapter 4: The Thunder Breaks: Warren Austin and the Korean War Chapter 5: The Chinese Question Chapter 6: The Special Relationship between the US and UK at the United Nations Chapter 7: The End of the European Empires Chapter 8: Dueling with the Soviets Chapter 9: The Sky Suspended: Henry Cabot Lodge, Hungary, and the Suez Crisis Conclusion
Was there more to Cabot Lodge, Jr. than his ambassadorship to South Vietnam? There was a lot more, including his ambassadorship to the United Nations. Squarely rooted in archival research, Sean Brennan's study of Lodge and his predecessor, Warren Austin, is well written while the chapters move smoothly. The book fleshes out significant challenges that they faced during a pivotal period of the Cold War. During the fifteen years that Austin and Lodge spent in the UN, they helped the U.S. navigate a series of international crises while educating the American public on the UN. Notably, they helped to ensure that the U.S. would not fall back to isolationism, which was still advocated by some members of their own political party. Brennan also draws comparisons between Austin's and Lodge's service under different White House administrations, the different stages of their careers, and the trajectories of their political careers. I warmly recommend this book to scholars and readers interested in U.S. diplomacy, Cold War history, and the history of the UN. -- Tuan Hoang, Pepperdine University Sean Brennan's Warren Austin, Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. and the Cold War at the United Nations, 1947-1960 takes readers to a time when creativity was a central feature of American diplomacy. Expertly researched and with a lively prose, Brennan shows how we can apply the lessons of history to the challenges of today. -- Luke Nichter, Chapman University Sean Brennanhas, with this book, contributed significantly to our knowledge of a key period in the history of the US relationship with, and actions in, the United Nations. Brennan examines the ambassadorial careers of Henry Cabot Lodge Jr and the lesser-known Warren Austin in a manner that will interest scholars of the UN and of the early Cold War. -- Steven Brady, George Washington University Sean Brennan carefully explores the contributions of two internationalist Republicans, Warren Austin and Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. during their notable service as American ambassadors to the United Nations. In the process, he sheds important light on some key episodes such as the Korean War and the Suez Crisis, and on some significant developments in American policymaking on issues such as arms control and decolonization during the initial decades of the Cold War. This insightful book will be of interest to all students of the Truman and Eisenhower foreign policies. -- Wilson Miscamble, University of Notre Dame "This is a valuable and engrossing look at high-level diplomacy in the early years of the UN, a period in which the new international organization confronted the challenges of decolonization, the Korean War, the Soviet invasion of Hungary, and the Suez Crisis. During that tumultuous time, Warren Austin and Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., both prominent Republican internationalists, struggled to advance the mission of the UN while representing US interests. Sean Brennan's insightful and carefully crafted study shows how Austin and Lodge, through skillful and dedicated service, overcame the skepticism of the US foreign policy establishment and the suspicions of the American public and convinced Americans that the UN was a crucial institution in international relations." -- Marc Gallicchio, Villanova University
