World War II and beginning of the Cold War James F. Byrnes

1946 newsreel



potsdam conference: sitting (from left) clement attlee, ernest bevin, vyacheslav molotov, joseph stalin, william daniel leahy, james f. byrnes , harry s. truman.



sitting (from left): clement attlee, harry s. truman, joseph stalin; behind: william daniel leahy, ernest bevin, james f. byrnes , vyacheslav molotov.



the foreign ministers: vyacheslav molotov, james f. byrnes , anthony eden, july 1945.

byrnes left supreme court head roosevelt s office of economic stabilization, dealt vitally important issues of prices , taxes. how powerful new office become depended entirely on byrnes s political skills, , washington insiders reported in charge. in may 1943, became head of office of war mobilization, new agency supervised office of economic stabilization. under leadership of byrnes, program managed newly constructed factories across country utilized raw materials, civilian , military production, , transportation u.s. military personnel , credited providing employment needed officially bring end great depression. political experience, probing intellect, close friendship roosevelt, , in no small part own personal charm, byrnes exerting influence on many facets of war effort not technically under departmental jurisdiction. many in congress , press began referring byrnes assistant president.

many expected byrnes democratic nominee vice president roosevelt in 1944, replacing henry a. wallace, party officials felt eccentric replace ailing president going die before next term ended. roosevelt refused endorse other wallace. had personal preference u.s. supreme court justice william o. douglas. byrnes on roosevelt s list hardly first choice. in july meeting @ white house, party bosses pressed hard truman , roosevelt issued statement saying support either truman or douglas. byrnes regarded conservative organized labor, big city bosses opposed him ex-catholic offend catholics, , blacks wary of opposition racial integration. in short, byrnes never had serious chance @ being nominated vice-president, , nomination went instead u.s. senator harry s. truman of missouri. roosevelt brought byrnes yalta conference in 1945, seemed favor soviet plans. written in shorthand, notes comprise 1 of complete records of big 3 yalta meetings.

upon succession presidency after roosevelt s death on april 12, 1945, truman relied heavily on byrnes counsel, byrnes having been mentor truman truman s earliest days in u.s. senate. indeed, jimmy byrnes 1 of first people whom truman saw on first day of presidency. byrnes shared information new president on atomic bomb project (truman had known nothing manhattan project beforehand). when truman met roosevelt s coffin in washington, asked byrnes , former vice president wallace, 2 other men might have succeeded roosevelt, join him @ train station. truman intended both men play leading roles in administration, signaling continuity roosevelt s policies. while truman fell out wallace, retained working relationship byrnes , increasingly turned him support.

truman appointed byrnes secretary of state on july 3, 1945. secretary of state, first in line presidency there no vice-president during truman s first term. played major role @ potsdam conference, paris peace conference, , other major postwar conferences. according historian robert h. ferrell, byrnes knew little more foreign relations truman. made decisions after consulting few advisors, such donald s. russell , benjamin v. cohen. byrnes , small group paid little attention state department , ignored president.

in 1945, byrnes elected honorary member of south carolina society of cincinnati.

because byrnes had been part of delegation @ yalta, truman assumed had accurate knowledge of had transpired. many months before truman discovered not case. nevertheless, byrnes advised soviets breaking yalta agreement , truman needed resolute , uncompromising them. although byrnes hard line against soviets paralleled feelings of president, personal relations between 2 men grew strained, particularly when truman felt byrnes attempting set foreign policy himself, , informing president afterward. instance of friction moscow conference in december 1945. truman considered “successes” of conference “unreal” , highly critical of byrnes’s failure protect iran, not mentioned in final communiqué. “i had been left in dark moscow conference,” truman told byrnes bluntly. in subsequent letter byrnes, truman took harder line in reference iran, saying in part, without these supplies furnished united states, russia have been ignominiously defeated. yet russia stirs rebellion , keeps troops on soil of friend , ally— iran... unless russia faced iron fist , strong language war in making. 1 language understand—“how many divisions have?” not think should play compromise longer ...i tired of babying soviets . led iran crisis of 1946, , byrnes took increasingly hardline position in opposition stalin, culminating in speech in stuttgart on september 6, 1946. restatement of policy on germany , known speech of hope , set tone of future u.s. policy repudiated morgenthau plan, economic program permanently deindustrialize germany. byrnes named time man of year. truman , others believed byrnes had grown resentful had not been roosevelt s running mate , successor, , in resentment disrespecting truman. whether true or not, byrnes felt compelled resign cabinet in 1947 feelings of bitterness.