Acheson, Dean (Gooderham)

(born April 11, 1893, Middletown, Conn., U.S.—died Oct. 12, 1971, Sandy Spring, Md.) U.S. secretary of state (1949–53). After graduating from Yale University and Harvard Law School, he practiced law in Washington, D.C. In 1941 he joined the State Department, where he later served as undersecretary (1945–47). In 1947 he helped design the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan. As secretary of state under Harry S. Truman, he promoted the formation of NATO and was a principal creator of U.S. foreign policy in the early years of the Cold War. During congressional hearings held by Sen. Joseph McCarthy, Acheson refused to fire any alleged subversives in the State Department, including Alger Hiss. He established the policies of nonrecognition of China and aid to the regime of Chiang Kai-shek in Taiwan, and he supported U.S. aid to the French colonial regime in Indochina. After leaving office, he continued to advise successive presidents. His memoir Present at the Creation won a 1970 Pulitzer Prize.

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