John Foster Dulles Papers. 1950 - 1959. Telephone Conversations Files

ArchivalResource

John Foster Dulles Papers. 1950 - 1959. Telephone Conversations Files

John Foster Dulles Papers. 1950 - 1959. Telephone Conversations Files

1953-1959

https://catalog.archives.gov/id/580986

This series consists of memorandums of telephone conversations conducted by Secretary of State John Foster Dulles. The telephone conversations, excluding those with the President, were routinely monitored by his personal assistants who took shorthand notes while listening. Later, the personal assistants prepared memorandums based on the shorthand notes. Dulles' staff used the memoranda to insure that any required action resulting from the telephone conversations were taken. The purpose of these memorandums was primarily operational. Consequently, while Secretary Dulles' personal assistants tried to be accurate and complete in their note-taking, they were not concerned about nuance or detail. Dulles seldom read these memorandums because his staff coordinated any necessary actions. After serving their operational purpose, the memorandums were filed and kept only as a convenient reference of the time and date of various calls. Secretary Dulles' telephone conversations with the President were rarely monitored. Therefore, memorandums of these telephone conversations were normally dictated by the Secretary himself, although occasionally his Special Assistants, Roderic O'Connor and John Hanes, would dictate the memoranda from what Secretary Dulles had told them. In these cases, Secretary Dulles' Special Assistants always submitted such memorandums to the Secretary for his information and his approval. This series includes memorandums of conversations with cabinet and sub-cabinet officials, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Richard Nixon, U.S. Senators and Congressmen, news reporters, prominent private citizens, President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Conversations with White House staff members Sherman Adams, Robert Cutler, James Hagerty and C. D. Jackson appear frequently. The memorandums are normally one page in length but occasionally are longer. These typed, singled spaced documents contain details on major and minor foreign policy issues, personnel, political patronage, loyalty-security, intelligence, and general administrative matters. Most major international relations matters are covered and the number of telephone conversations on any given day varies. Thus this series contains numerous memorandums of telephone conversations during peak crises over Korea, especially the Korean armistice; Indochina; the Suez Canal Crisis of 1956; Middle Eastern affairs in general; relations with the Soviet Union; and U.S. relations with its major allies and with other nations of the world, particularly in Asia and Europe.

Approximately 13,000 pages

eng, Latn

Dwight D. Eisenhower Library