Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr.
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Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. (July 5, 1902 – February 27, 1985) was an American diplomat and politician who represented
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
in the United States Senate and served as
United States Ambassador to the United Nations The United States ambassador to the United Nations is the leader of the U.S. delegation, the United States Mission to the United Nations, U.S. Mission to the United Nations. The position is formally known as the Permanent representative to the U ...
in the administration of President
Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...
. In
1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...
, he was the Republican nominee for
Vice President A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...
on a ticket with
Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
, who had served two terms as Eisenhower's vice president. The Republican ticket narrowly lost to Democrats
John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...
and
Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...
; Lodge later served as a diplomat in the administrations of Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and
Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Ford assumed the p ...
. Lodge was a presidential contender in the
1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...
primary campaign. Born in
Nahant, Massachusetts Nahant () is a New England town, town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,334 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, which makes it the smallest municipality by population in Essex County. With just of l ...
, Lodge was the grandson of Senator
Henry Cabot Lodge Henry Cabot Lodge (May 12, 1850November 9, 1924) was an American politician, historian, lawyer, and statesman from Massachusetts. A member of the History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served in the United States ...
and the great-grandson of Secretary of State
Frederick Theodore Frelinghuysen Frederick Theodore Frelinghuysen (August 4, 1817May 20, 1885) was an American lawyer and politician from New Jersey who served as a U.S. Senator and later as United States Secretary of State under President Chester A. Arthur. Frelinghuysen was ...
. After graduating from
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
, Lodge won election to the
Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into ...
. He defeated Democratic governor James Michael Curley in 1936 to represent Massachusetts in the United States Senate. He resigned from the Senate in 1944 to serve in Italy and France during World War II. Lodge remained in the Army Reserve after the war and eventually rose to the rank of major general. In 1946, Lodge defeated incumbent Democratic Senator David I. Walsh to return to the Senate. He led the Draft Eisenhower movement before the 1952 election and managed Eisenhower's successful campaign for the Republican presidential nomination at the
1952 Republican National Convention The 1952 Republican National Convention was held at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, Illinois from July 7 to 11, 1952, and nominated Dwight David Eisenhower, Dwight D. Eisenhower of New York (state), New York, nicknamed "Ike", for Pres ...
. Eisenhower defeated Democratic nominee
Adlai Stevenson II Adlai Ewing Stevenson II (; February 5, 1900 – July 14, 1965) was an American politician and diplomat who was the United States ambassador to the United Nations from 1961 until his death in 1965. He previously served as the 31st governor of Ill ...
in the general election, but Lodge lost his own re-election campaign to then-Congressman Kennedy. Lodge was named as
ambassador to the United Nations An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...
in 1953 and became a member of Eisenhower's Cabinet. Vice President Nixon chose Lodge as his running mate in the 1960 presidential election, but the Republican ticket lost the close election. In 1963, the now-President Kennedy appointed Lodge to the position of Ambassador to South Vietnam, where Lodge supported the 1963 South Vietnamese coup. In 1964, Lodge won by a plurality a number of that year's party presidential primaries and caucuses on the strength of his name, reputation, and respect among many voters, though the nomination went to
Barry Goldwater Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and major general in the United States Air Force, Air Force Reserve who served as a United States senator from 1953 to 1965 and 1969 to 1987, and was the Re ...
. This effort was encouraged and directed by a low-budget but high-impact grassroots campaign by academic and political amateurs. He continued to represent the United States in various countries under Presidents Johnson, Nixon, and Ford. Lodge led the U.S. delegation that signed the
Paris Peace Accords The Paris Peace Accords (), officially the Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Viet Nam (), was a peace agreement signed on January 27, 1973, to establish peace in Vietnam and end the Vietnam War. It took effect at 8:00 the follo ...
with
North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; ; VNDCCH), was a country in Southeast Asia from 1945 to 1976, with sovereignty fully recognized in 1954 Geneva Conference, 1954. A member of the communist Eastern Bloc, it o ...
, leading to the end of the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
. He died in
Beverly, Massachusetts Beverly is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, and a suburb of Boston. The population was 42,670 at the time of the 2020 United States census. A resort, residential, and manufacturing community on the Massachusetts North Sho ...
, in 1985.


Early life and education

Lodge was born in
Nahant, Massachusetts Nahant () is a New England town, town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,334 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, which makes it the smallest municipality by population in Essex County. With just of l ...
. His father was George Cabot Lodge, a poet, through whom he was a grandson of Senator
Henry Cabot Lodge Henry Cabot Lodge (May 12, 1850November 9, 1924) was an American politician, historian, lawyer, and statesman from Massachusetts. A member of the History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served in the United States ...
, great-great-grandson of Senator Elijah H. Mills, and great-great-great-grandson of Senator George Cabot. Through his mother, Mathilda Elizabeth Frelinghuysen (Davis), he was a great-grandson of Senator
Frederick Theodore Frelinghuysen Frederick Theodore Frelinghuysen (August 4, 1817May 20, 1885) was an American lawyer and politician from New Jersey who served as a U.S. Senator and later as United States Secretary of State under President Chester A. Arthur. Frelinghuysen was ...
, and a great-great-grandson of Senator John Davis. He had two siblings:
John Davis Lodge John Davis Lodge (October 20, 1903 – October 29, 1985) was an American film actor, lawyer, politician, and diplomat. He was the 79th governor of Connecticut from 1951 to 1955, and later served as U.S. ambassador to Spain, Argentina, and Swit ...
(1903–1985), also a politician, and Helena Lodge de Streel (1905–1998). Lodge attended St. Albans School and graduated from
Middlesex School Middlesex School (informally known as MX) is a Mixed-sex education, coeducational, Private school, independent, and Nonsectarian, non-sectarian boarding school, boarding secondary school located in Concord, Massachusetts, Concord, Middlesex Count ...
. In 1924, he graduated cum laude from
Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...
, where he was a member of the Hasty Pudding and the Fox Club. Lodge worked in the newspaper business from 1924 to 1931. He was elected in 1932, and served in the
Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into ...
from 1933 to 1936.


U.S. senator (1937–1944, 1947–1953) and World War II service (1944–1945)

In November 1936, Lodge was elected to the
United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...
as a Republican, defeating Democrat James Michael Curley. He served from January 1937 to February 1944.


World War II

Lodge served with distinction during the war, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel. During the war he saw two tours of duty. The first was in 1942 while he was also serving as a U.S. senator. The second was in 1944 and 1945 after he resigned from the Senate. The first period was a continuation of Lodge's longtime service as an Army Reserve officer. Lodge was a major in the 1st Armored Division. That tour ended in July 1942, when President
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...
ordered congressmen serving in the military to resign one of the two positions, and Lodge, who chose to remain in the Senate, was ordered by Secretary of War
Henry Stimson Henry Lewis Stimson (September 21, 1867 – October 20, 1950) was an American statesman, lawyer, and Republican Party politician. Over his long career, he emerged as a leading figure in U.S. foreign policy by serving in both Republican and Demo ...
to return to Washington. During this brief service, he led a squadron of American tankers at
Gazala Gazala, or ʿAyn al-Ġazāla ( ), is a small Libyan village near the coast in the northeastern portion of the country. It is located west of Tobruk. History In the late 1930s (during the Libya as Italian colony, Italian occupation of Libya), th ...
; they were the first Americans to engage German troops on land in the war. After returning to Washington and winning re-election in November 1942, Lodge went to observe allied troops serving in Egypt and Libya, and in that position, he was on hand for the British retreat from
Tobruk Tobruk ( ; ; ) is a port city on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near the border with Egypt. It is the capital of the Butnan District (formerly Tobruk District) and has a population of 120,000 (2011 est.)."Tobruk" (history), ''Encyclop ...
."For Services Rendered"
''Time'', July 20, 1942.
Lodge served the first year of his new Senate term but then resigned his Senate seat on February 3, 1944, in order to return to active duty, the first U.S. senator to do so since the
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
. He saw action in Italy and France. In the fall of 1944, Lodge single-handedly captured a four-man German patrol. At the end of the war, in 1945, he used his knowledge of the
French language French ( or ) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-R ...
and culture, gained from attending school in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, to aid Jacob L. Devers, the commander of the
Sixth United States Army Group The 6th United States Army Group (also referred to as the Southern Group of Armies) was an Allied army group that fought in the European Theater of Operations during World War II. Made up of field armies from both the United States Army an ...
, to coordinate activities with the
French First Army The First Army () was a field army of France that fought during World War I and World War II. It was also active during the Cold War. World War I On mobilization in August 1914, General Auguste Dubail was put in the charge of the First Army, ...
commander,
Jean de Lattre de Tassigny Jean Joseph Marie Gabriel de Lattre de Tassigny (2 February 1889 – 11 January 1952) was a French ''général d'armée'' during World War II and the First Indochina War. He was posthumously elevated to the dignity of Marshal of France in 1952. ...
, and then carry out surrender negotiations with German forces in western
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
. Lodge was decorated with the French
Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...
and
Croix de Guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...
with palm. His American decorations included the
Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...
and the
Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious a ...
. After the war, Lodge returned to Massachusetts and resumed his political career. He continued his status as an Army Reserve officer and rose to the rank of major general.


Return to Senate and the drafting of Eisenhower

In 1946 Lodge defeated Democratic Senator David I. Walsh and returned to the Senate. He soon emerged as a spokesman for the moderate, internationalist wing of the Republican Party. After World War II, which Lodge believed was in part caused by American isolationism, he came to advocate internationalism, saying: "The ideal of a provincial nation has given way to the realization that we have become the world's greatest power ... World War II first taught us the value of collective security." In March 1950, Lodge sat on a subcommittee of the Government Operations Committee, chaired by Democratic Senator
Millard Tydings Millard Evelyn Tydings (April 6, 1890February 9, 1961) was an American attorney, author, soldier, state legislator, and served as a Democratic Representative and Senator in the United States Congress from Maryland, serving in the House from 1 ...
, which looked into Senator
Joseph McCarthy Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican Party (United States), Republican United States Senate, U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death at age ...
's list of possibly communist State Department employees. Lodge argued in hearings that Tydings demonized McCarthy and whitewashed McCarthy's supposed discovery of security leaks at the State Department. Lodge told Tydings:
Mr. Chairman, this is the most unusual procedure I have seen in all the years I have been here. Why cannot the senator from Wisconsin get the normal treatment and be allowed to make his statement in his own way, ... and not be pulled to pieces before he has had a chance to offer one single consecutive sentence. ... I do not understand what kind of game is being played here.
In July 1950, the record of the committee hearing was printed, and Lodge was outraged to find that 35 pages were not included. Lodge noted that his objections to the conduct of the hearing and his misgivings about the inadequacy of vetting suspected traitors were missing, and that the edited version read as if all committee members agreed that McCarthy was at fault and that there was no Communist infiltration of the State Department. Lodge stated "I shall not attempt to characterize these methods of leaving out of the printed text parts of the testimony and proceedings ... because I think they speak for themselves." Lodge soon fell out with McCarthy and joined the effort to reduce McCarthy's influence. In late 1951, Lodge helped persuade General
Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...
to run for the Republican presidential nomination. When Eisenhower finally consented, Lodge served as his campaign manager and played a key role in helping Eisenhower to win the nomination over Senator
Robert A. Taft Robert Alphonso Taft Sr. (September 8, 1889 – July 31, 1953) was an American politician, lawyer, and scion of the Republican Party's Taft family. Taft represented Ohio in the United States Senate, briefly served as Senate majority le ...
of
Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
, the candidate of the party's conservative faction. Taft favored a quasi-isolationist foreign policy, being opposed to American membership in NATO and the United Nations, and Lodge wanted Eisenhower to run in order to pull the GOP away from Taft's ideology. Gossip talk of the day said that he reportedly declined an offer to be Ike's running mate.


1952 Senate campaign

In the fall of 1952, Lodge found himself fighting in a tight race for re-election with
John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...
, then a U.S. Representative. His efforts in helping Eisenhower caused Lodge to neglect his own campaign. In addition, some of Taft's supporters in Massachusetts defected from Lodge to the Kennedy campaign out of anger over Lodge's support of Eisenhower. In November 1952 Lodge was defeated by Kennedy; Lodge received 48.5% of the vote to Kennedy's 51.5%. This was the second of three Senate elections contested between a member of the Republican Lodge family and a member of the Democratic Fitzgerald-Kennedy clan, after the 1916 election between Lodge's and Kennedy's grandfathers and before the 1962 special election between Lodge's son and Kennedy's younger brother Ted. Kennedy was congratulated for his victory by his dominating father, Joseph Kennedy Sr, saying at long last an Irish Catholic had humbled a scion of the
WASP A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder ...
Boston Brahmin The Boston Brahmins are members of Boston's historic upper class. From the late 19th century through the mid-20th century, they were often associated with a cultivated New England accent, Harvard University, Anglicanism, and traditional Britis ...
elite, saying that this was the most satisfying of all his son's electoral victories.


Ambassador to the United Nations (1953–1960)

Lodge was named U.S. ambassador to the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
by President Eisenhower in February 1953, with his office elevated to Cabinet-level rank. In contrast to his grandfather (who had been a principal opponent of the UN's predecessor, the
League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...
), Lodge was supportive of the UN as an institution for promoting peace. As he famously said about it, "This organization is created to prevent you from going to hell. It isn't created to take you to heaven." Since then, no one has even approached his record of seven and a half years as ambassador to the UN. During his time as UN Ambassador, Lodge supported the
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
policies of the Eisenhower administration, and often engaged in debates with the UN representatives of the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
. Lodge often appeared on television "talking tough" to Soviet diplomats, and famously responded to the charge that the United States was responsible for aggression around the world by saying: "Membership in the United Nations gives every member the right to make a fool of himself, and that is the right of which the Soviet Union, in this case, has taken full advantage of." During the CIA-sponsored overthrowing of the legitimate Guatemalan government, when Britain and France became concerned about the US being involved in the aggression, Lodge (as US Ambassador to the United Nations) threatened to withdraw US support to Britain on Egypt and Cyprus, and to France on Tunisia and Morocco, unless they backed the US in their action. When the government was overthrown, the
United Fruit Company The United Fruit Company (later the United Brands Company) was an American multinational corporation that traded in tropical fruit (primarily bananas) grown on Latin American plantations and sold in the United States and Europe. The company was ...
, of which Lodge was a significant stockholder, re-established itself in Guatemala. The episodes tainted an otherwise distinguished career and painted Lodge as a face of US imperialism and exceptionalism. In 1959, he escorted Soviet leader
Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and the Premier of the Soviet Union, Chai ...
on a highly publicized tour of the United States. In 1960 he embarked on a reciprocal tour of the Soviet Union, including stops at the Bibi-Khanym Mosque in Samarkand.


1960 vice presidential campaign

Lodge left the UN ambassadorship, turning over his seat to Deputy Chief Jerry Wadsworth during the election of 1960 to run for
Vice President A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...
on the Republican ticket headed by
Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
, against Lodge's old foe, John F. Kennedy. Before choosing Lodge, Nixon had also considered Representative Walter Judd of
Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
and Senator Thruston B. Morton of
Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
. Eisenhower had supported the choice of Lodge. Nixon finally settled on Lodge in the mistaken hope that Lodge's presence on the ticket would force Kennedy to divert time and resources to securing his Massachusetts base, but Kennedy won his home state handily. Nixon also felt that the name Lodge had made for himself in the United Nations as a foreign policy expert would prove useful against the relatively inexperienced Kennedy. Nixon and Lodge lost the election in a razor-thin vote. The choice of Lodge proved to be questionable. He did not carry his home state for Nixon. Also, some conservative Republicans charged that Lodge had cost the ticket votes, particularly in the South, by his pledge (made without Nixon's approval) that if elected, Nixon would name at least one African American to a Cabinet post. He suggested appointing the diplomat
Ralph Bunche Ralph Johnson Bunche ( ; August 7, 1904 – December 9, 1971) was an American political scientist, diplomat, and leading actor in the mid-20th-century decolonization process and US civil rights movement, who received the 1950 Nobel Peace Priz ...
as a "wonderful idea". Nixon was furious at Lodge for this pledge, and accused him of spending too much time campaigning with minority groups, instead of the white majority. One Republican from West Virginia said of Lodge's speech: "Whoever recommended that Harlem speech should have been thrown out of an airplane at 25,000 feet". Between 1961 and 1962, Lodge was the first director-general of the Atlantic Institute.


Ambassador to South Vietnam (1963–1964)

Kennedy appointed Lodge ambassador to South Vietnam, which he held from 1963 to 1964. Lodge's appointment came as Kennedy began to lose confidence in South Vietnam's President
Ngô Đình Diệm Ngô Đình Diệm ( , or ; ; 3 January 1901 – 2 November 1963) was a South Vietnamese politician who was the final prime minister of the State of Vietnam (1954–1955) and later the first president of South Vietnam ( Republic of ...
, particularly after Diệm denied culpability for the Huế Phật Đản shootings and instead blamed the
Viet Cong The Viet Cong (VC) was an epithet and umbrella term to refer to the communist-driven armed movement and united front organization in South Vietnam. It was formally organized as and led by the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam, and ...
. As the current ambassador, Frederick Nolting, was a partisan of Diệm, Kennedy felt it was time for a new ambassador who would be tough on Diệm in a way that Nolting never could be. Furthermore, Nolting had considered it his duty to silence unfavourable press coverage of Diệm, causing him to feud with reporters who wrote that the Diem regime was corrupt and unpopular. On June 27, 1963, Kennedy named Lodge as his ambassador to South Vietnam. Lodge had visited Vietnam as a newsman in the 1930s, and though he spoke no Vietnamese, he was fluent in French, a language widely used by the South Vietnamese elite. More importantly, Kennedy was haunted by the way that the "
loss of China In American political discourse, the "loss of China" is the unexpected Chinese Communist Party coming to power in mainland China from the U.S.-backed Nationalist Chinese Kuomintang government in 1949 and therefore the "loss of China to communism." ...
" had badly damaged the Truman administration, and feeling that South Vietnam might likewise now be lost, wanted a well-known Republican politician as his ambassador in South Vietnam to shield him from potential Republican attacks that he "lost" South Vietnam. Kennedy had chosen Lodge because he knew he would accept. The Cabot Lodges were one of the most distinguished Boston Brahmin families with a long history of public service, and that given his pride in his family's history, Lodge would never turn down an opportunity to serve the United States. Lodge for his part believed that if he was successful as an ambassador to an important American ally in the middle of a crisis, that would help his presidential ambitions. When Kennedy asked Lodge if he was willing to serve as an ambassador, Lodge replied: "If you need me, of course, I want to do it". Eisenhower warned Lodge against taking the job, believing that Kennedy only offered Republicans the more difficult jobs to damage their reputations. Despite Eisenhower's advice, Lodge told him that he felt it was his patriotic duty to accept, saying that the Cabot Lodges had always served the United States regardless if the president was a Democrat or a Republican, and he was not going to break with his family's traditions. Lodge arrived in Saigon on August 22, 1963, finding a city gripped by protests in response to the Xá Lợi Pagoda raids that had taken place the night before. Thrust into the crisis, Lodge received a cable from Kennedy demanding to know what was going on, and in his reply Lodge wrote that Ngô Đình Nhu had ordered the raids "probably" with the "full support" of Diem. In his first press conference, Lodge gave a roistering talk about the freedom of the press, earning cheers from the reporters who resented Nolting's attempts to silence them. Knowing that Lodge had been sent to Saigon to be tough with Diem, some of the reporters taunted South Vietnamese officials present by saying: "Our new mandarin is going to lick your old mandarin". One of Lodge's first acts as ambassador was to visit the Agency for International Development (AID) office in Saigon, where two Buddhist monks had taken refuge, and to whom he agreed to grant asylum. When Lodge learned that the two monks were vegetarians, he ordered the AID workers to bring them only vegetables and fruits. Ever since July 1963, a group of senior South Vietnamese generals had been in contact with the
Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
(CIA), asking for American support for a
coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...
. Lodge advised caution, saying a coup would be a "shot in the dark". On August 26, Lodge arrived at the Gia Long Palace to present his credentials to President Diem. As Lodge spoke no Vietnamese and Diem no English, they talked in French. Lodge had a very poor working relationship with Diem, as both men were from wealthy and distinguished families and too used to having others defer to them. Lodge gave Diem a list of reforms to carry out such as his dismissing Nhu; silencing his abrasive and bombastic wife,
Madame Nhu Trần Lệ Xuân (; 22 August 1924 – 24 April 2011), more popularly known in English as Madame Nhu, was the ''de facto'' First Lady of South Vietnam from 1955 to 1963. She was the wife of Ngô Đình Nhu, who was the brother and chief adviso ...
; trying the officials responsible for the shootings in Hue; and providing greater religious tolerance, all of which were anathema to Diem.


Role in the 1963 coup d'état

Lodge quickly determined that Diem was both inept and corrupt, and that South Vietnam was headed for disaster unless Diem reformed his administration or was replaced. On August 29 Lodge wrote in a cable: "We are launched on a course from where there is no respectable turning back: the overthrow of the Diem government. There is no turning back because U.S. prestige is already publicly committed to this end in large measure, and will become more so as the facts leak out. In a more fundamental sense, there is no turning back because there is no possibility, in my view, that the war can be won under a Diem administration". Lodge, noting that the South Vietnamese Army was completely reliant upon American military aid, demanded that Kennedy halt all such aid as long as Diem was president, and to make an "all-out effort" to have the mutinous generals "move promptly", as the outcome of the coup would depend "at least as much on us as them". Lodge warned that to allow Diem to continue would lead to a popular revolt that would bring in a "pro-Communist or at best neutralist set of politicians". At the same time, French President
Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...
had launched a major diplomatic initiative to end the war in Vietnam that called for a federation of North and South Vietnam, and for both Vietnams to be neutral in the Cold War. Lodge was opposed to the peace plan, as he saw the proposed neutralization of South Vietnam as no different from Communist control of South Vietnam. Kennedy accepted Lodge's recommendations and gave him ''carte blanche'' to manage the affairs in Vietnam as he best saw fit, and gave him the power to cut off American aid if necessary. Just why Kennedy delegated such to Lodge has remained a matter of debate. Historian
Arthur Schlesinger, Jr Arthur Meier Schlesinger Jr. ( ; born Arthur Bancroft Schlesinger; October 15, 1917 – February 28, 2007) was an American historian, social critic, and public intellectual. The son of the influential historian Arthur M. Schlesinger Sr. and a sp ...
. later wrote Lodge was "a strong man with the bit between his teeth" whom Kennedy could not manage. In contrast, journalist Stanley Karnow speculated that Kennedy having embraced and praised Diem preferred that the "messy job" of overthrowing him be contracted out to Lodge, all the more so as there was always the possibility that the coup might fail, in which case the president would blame a "rogue ambassador". On October 5, Lodge cabled back to Kennedy that he learned that the generals were finally ready to proceed. The CIA officer, Lucien Conein met with General
Dương Văn Minh Dương Văn Minh (; 16 February 19166 August 2001), popularly known as Big Minh, was a South Vietnamese politician and a senior general in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and a politician during the presidency of Ngô Đình Diệm. ...
, who asked that the United States "not thwart" a coup and promise to continue to provide the aid worth about $500 million per year after Diem was overthrown. Lodge seized upon Minh's remark to argue to Kennedy that the United States should promise that it "will not attempt to thwart" a coup, a formula that Kennedy embraced. Lodge himself later used this line as a defence against criticism, saying he did not promise to support a coup, only "not thwart" it. Kennedy had his National Security Adviser,
McGeorge Bundy McGeorge "Mac" Bundy (March 30, 1919 – September 16, 1996) was an American academic who served as the U.S. National Security Advisor to Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson from 1961 through 1966. He was president of the Ford Fou ...
, send Lodge a cable on October 25 saying that the United States should abandon the coup if there were "poor prospects of success". Lodge in reply maintained "it seems at least an even bet that the next government would not bungle and fumble as the present one has". Lodge also argued to stop a coup would be to take on "an undue responsibility for keeping the incumbents in office", which was a "judgment over the affairs of Vietnam". In the next sentence, he ignored his principle of noninterference in South Vietnamese internal affairs by suggesting that in a post-Diem cabinet should include Tran Quoc Buu, a trade union leader who had long been funded by the CIA, and the Buddhist leader Tri Quang, who had impressed Lodge with his
anticommunism Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism, communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global ...
. On October 28, Lodge sent a dispatch to Kennedy saying a coup was "imminent", and that he would have only four hours notice before the coup started, which "rules out my checking with you". On October 29, Kennedy called a meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) to discuss what to do. Persuaded by Robert Kennedy — his younger brother, Attorney General and right-hand man — President Kennedy changed his mind and decided against the coup. Writing on behalf of Kennedy, Bundy sent a message to Lodge warning the possibility of a civil war between pro-Diem and anti-Diem forces "could be serious or even disastrous for U.S. interests". Lodge was ordered to have Conein tell General
Trần Văn Đôn Trần Văn Đôn (; August 17, 1917 – 1998) was a general in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam, and one of the principal figures in the 1963 South Vietnamese coup d'état which overthrew President Ngô Đình Diệm. Personal life Đôn w ...
that "we do not find that the presently revealed plans give a clear prospect of quick results" and to put General Paul D. Harkins in charge of the embassy in Saigon when the ambassador was due to leave shortly for a meeting in Washington. Lodge ignored this order from Bundy, stating in his reply that to have Harkins in charge of the embassy during an event "so profoundly political as a change of government" would violate the principle that the serving officers of the U.S. armed forces must always be non-political. He further argued that the only way of stopping the coup would be to inform Diem which officers had been plotting against him which would "make traitors out of us" and destroy the "civilian and military leadership needed to carry the war ... to its successful conclusion" as Diem would have the rebel officers all shot. Lodge told Kennedy that when the coup started, he would grant asylum to Diem and the rest of the Ngo family should they ask for it, but felt that to stop the coup would be interference in South Vietnam's internal affairs. Lodge also argued that the money should be "discreetly" provided to the plotters to "buy off potential opposition" and for the United States to immediately recognize a post-Diem government. Finally, he argued that was needed for South Vietnam was "nation-building". Lodge wrote: "My general view is that the United States is trying bring this medieval country into the twentieth century ... We have made considerable progress in military and economic ways, but to gain victory we must also bring them into the twentieth century politically, and that can only be done by either a thoroughgoing change in the behaviour of the present government or another government". Faced with stark warnings from Lodge that the majority of the South Vietnamese people hated the Ngo family and there no possibility of a victory over the Viet Cong as long as Diem continued in power, Kennedy changed his mind yet again. In his final message to Lodge, Kennedy wrote: "If you should conclude that there is not clearly a high prospect of success, you should communicate this doubt to the generals in a way calculated to persuade them to desist at least until chances are better ... But once a coup under responsible leadership has begun ... it is in the interest of the U.S. government that it should succeed". Kennedy had essentially abdicated responsibility by leaving the final decision about whatever to back a coup to Lodge, who had no doubts in his mind that a coup was the best course of action. On November 1, 1963, at about 10 am, Lodge visited the Gia Long Palace to meet Diem who gave him a two-hour-long lecture about American ingratitude towards his regime. At about noon, Lodge returned to the embassy for lunch. At about 1 pm, the coup began. Later that day, the Ngo brothers secretly fled into Cholon, the Chinese district of Saigon. Lodge attempted to get into touch with Diem with the aim of arranging for him to go into exile, but it was unclear just where he was, as Diem kept claiming that he was still at the Gia Long Palace. Finally, Diem revealed in a phone call to Đôn that he and his brother were at Saint Francis Xavier, and was willing to go into exile provided he, his brother and their families were promised safe conduct. Despite the promise of safe conduct, the Ngo brothers were shot in the armored personnel carrier that was supposed to take them to the airport. Lodge invited the generals to the embassy to congratulate them for what he saw as a job well done. In a cable to Kennedy, he wrote: "The prospects now are for a shorter war".


After the coup

On November 24, 1963, two days after Kennedy's assassination, Lodge arrived in Washington to meet the new president,
Lyndon Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after assassination of John F. Kennedy, the assassination of John F. Ken ...
. Johnson told Lodge he would not "lose" Vietnam, saying "tell those generals in Saigon that Lyndon Johnson intends to stand by our word". After Diem's assassination, Lodge seems to have lost interest in Vietnam as he became increasingly lethargic in performing his duties as ambassador. After his high hopes that Diem's removal would spark improvements, he reported that the new leader, General Dương Văn Minh, was a "good, well intentioned man", but asked "Will he be strong enough to get on top of things?" In December 1963, the Secretary of Defense,
Robert McNamara Robert Strange McNamara (; June 9, 1916 – July 6, 2009) was an American businessman and government official who served as the eighth United States secretary of defense from 1961 to 1968 under presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson ...
, visited South Vietnam where he reported the American team in Saigon "lacks leadership, has been poorly informed and is not working to a common plan". McNamara described a dysfunctional atmosphere at the embassy as Lodge was still feuding with Harkins and had blocked him from using the embassy's cable room to communicate with Washington. Lodge distrusted the diplomats at the embassy, and was noted for his secretive ways. The coup sparked a rapid succession of leaders in South Vietnam, each unable to rally and unify their people and in turn overthrown by someone new. These frequent changes in leadership caused political instability in the South, since no strong, centralized and permanent government was in place to govern the nation, while the
Viet Minh The Việt Minh (, ) is the common and abbreviated name of the League for Independence of Vietnam ( or , ; ), which was a Communist Party of Vietnam, communist-led national independence coalition formed at Pác Bó by Hồ Chí Minh on 19 May 1 ...
stepped up their infiltration of the Southern populace and their pace of attacks in the South. Having supported the coup against President Diem, Lodge then realized it had caused the situation in the region to deteriorate, and he suggested to the State Department that South Vietnam should be made to relinquish its independence and become a
protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a State (polity), state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over ...
of the United States (like the former status of the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
) so as to bring governmental stability. The alternatives, he warned, were either increased military involvement by the U.S. or total abandonment of South Vietnam by America. In June 1964, Lodge resigned as ambassador to run to seek the Republican nomination to be the presidential candidate for the election of that year. Lodge had been unpopular with his embassy staff, and most were happy to see him go.


1964 presidential candidacy

Despite their defeat in 1960, neither Nixon's nor Lodge's national profiles were damaged, with both being speculated candidates for the 1964 presidential election. Lodge made the "Most Admired Men" list for 1962 and led major candidates such as George Romney and
Nelson Rockefeller Nelson Aldrich "Rocky" Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979) was the 41st vice president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford. He was also the 49th governor of New York, serving from 1959 to 197 ...
in Republican presidential polling. In 1962 after helping campaign for his son George C. Lodge in the Senate race Paul Grindle, the nephew of Senator
Leverett Saltonstall Leverett Atholville Saltonstall (September 1, 1892June 17, 1979) was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts. He served three two-year terms as the List of Governors of Massachusetts, 55th Governor of Massachusetts, and for more th ...
who had filled Lodge's seat after his resignation to join World War II, along with Sally Saltonstall, Caroline Williams, and David Goldberg opened a Lodge for President office in Boston, but in 1964 was forced to shut down after failing to prove any affiliation with Lodge. However, Grindle relocated to Concord, New Hampshire. The organization acquired a mailing list of 96,000 Republican voters which successfully established a base for Lodge in New Hampshire. Footage of former President Eisenhower endorsing Lodge for vice president in 1960 was used in TV commercials and portrayed as Eisenhower endorsing Lodge for president. Three days before the March 10 New Hampshire primary Goldwater chose to stop campaigning in the state as he predicted a victory for himself with a substantial number of votes for Lodge. In 1964, Lodge, while still Ambassador to South Vietnam, was the surprise
write-in A write-in candidate is a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot but seeks election by asking voters to cast a vote for the candidate by physically writing in the person's name on the ballot. Depending on electoral law it may be poss ...
victor in the Republican
New Hampshire primary The New Hampshire presidential primary is the first in a series of nationwide party primary elections and the second party contest, the first being the Iowa caucuses, held in the United States every four years as part of the process of cho ...
, defeating declared presidential candidates
Barry Goldwater Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and major general in the United States Air Force, Air Force Reserve who served as a United States senator from 1953 to 1965 and 1969 to 1987, and was the Re ...
and
Nelson Rockefeller Nelson Aldrich "Rocky" Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979) was the 41st vice president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford. He was also the 49th governor of New York, serving from 1959 to 197 ...
. His entire campaign was organized by a small band of political amateurs working independently of the ambassador, who, believing they had little hope of winning him any delegates, did nothing to aid their efforts. However, when they scored the New Hampshire upset, Lodge, along with the press and Republican party leaders, suddenly began to seriously consider his candidacy. Many observers remarked on the situation's similarity to 1952, when Eisenhower had unexpectedly defeated Senator
Robert A. Taft Robert Alphonso Taft Sr. (September 8, 1889 – July 31, 1953) was an American politician, lawyer, and scion of the Republican Party's Taft family. Taft represented Ohio in the United States Senate, briefly served as Senate majority le ...
, then leader of the Republican Party's conservative faction. However, Lodge (who refused to become an open candidate) did not fare as well in later primaries, and Goldwater ultimately won the presidential nomination. Like most liberal Republicans, Lodge opposed Goldwater, particularly his proposal to realign the Democratic and Republican parties into Liberal and Conservative parties, calling it "abhorrent", and felt that nobody should oppose the aid of the federal government in helping Americans. At one point during the convention, Lodge was confronted by a staunch Goldwater supporter who called him terrible for opposing Goldwater. In reply, Lodge said: "You're terrible, too."


Later diplomatic career (1965–1977)

He was re-appointed ambassador to South Vietnam by President
Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...
in 1965, and served thereafter as
Ambassador-at-large An ambassador-at-large is a diplomat, a secretary of state, secretary, or a minister (government), minister of the highest rank who is accredited to represent a country and its people internationally. Unlike an ambassador-in-residence, who is us ...
(1967–1968) and Ambassador to West Germany (1968–1969). In 1969, when his former running mate Richard M. Nixon finally became president, Nixon having decided not to reselect him as his running mate, he was appointed by President Nixon to serve as head of the American delegation at the Paris peace negotiations, and he served occasionally as personal representative of the President to the
Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...
from 1970 to 1977.


Personal life

In 1926, Lodge married Emily Esther Sears. They had two children: George Cabot Lodge II (born 1927) and Henry Sears Lodge (1930–2017). George worked in the federal civil service and is now professor emeritus at
Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...
. Henry Sears married Elenita Ziegler of
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
and was a former sales executive. Henry's son, Henry Sears Lodge Jr., MD, (1958–2017) was a physician at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and became well known as the author of the 'Younger Next Year' series of books. In 1966 he was elected an honorary member of the Massachusetts
Society of the Cincinnati The Society of the Cincinnati is a lineage society, fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the American Revolutionary War that saw the creation of the United States. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of milita ...
. Lodge died in 1985 after a long illness and was interred in the
Mount Auburn Cemetery Mount Auburn Cemetery, located in Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, is the first rural or garden cemetery in the United States. It is the burial site of many prominent Boston Brahmins, and is a National Historic Landmark. Dedicated in ...
in
Watertown, Massachusetts Watertown is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, part of Greater Boston. The population was 35,329 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Its neighborhoods include Bemis, Coolidge Square, East Watertown, Watertown Sq ...
. Two years after Lodge's death, Sears married Forrester A. Clark. She died in 1992 of
lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...
and is interred near her first husband in the Cabot Lodge family
columbarium A columbarium (; pl. columbaria), also called a cinerarium, is a structure for the reverential and usually public storage of funerary urns holding cremated remains of the dead. The term comes from the Latin ''columba'' (dove) and originally solel ...
.


See also

* List of United States political appointments that crossed party lines


Footnotes


References

* * * *
online reviews
* * *


External links



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