Fire, Brimstone, and John Foster Dulles

Abstract

This chapter argues that John Foster Dulles was neither the fanatic that detractors have suggested nor the sole architect of U.S. foreign policy in the 1950s as claimed by his admirers. Dulles and Dwight D. Eisenhower made foreign policy for the United States together for seven years, during which time they established an effective working relationship. As secretary of state, Dulles was, without doubt, the president's key foreign policy ally, implementer, and emissary. He shaped Eisenhower's policies but never made decisions without consulting the president. As the president trusted his own judgment in military affairs, so Dulles believed he understood diplomacy better than most anyone else. Dulles, however, shared Eisenhower's disinterest in Asia and dismay at having to pay so much attention to China. Both men worried about and were possessed by the burden of ideology and security. Dulles and Eisenhower intended to fight Communism everywhere, but they were also pragmatic statesmen and politicians.