SOURCE: "John Foster Dulles," in An Uncertain Tradition: American Secretaries of State in the Twentieth Century, edited by Norman A. Graebner, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1961, pp. 189-308.

In the following essay, Morgenthau examines Dulles's role as Secretary of State in relation to several factors, including Congress, the President, and general public opinion. Overall, Morgenthau argues that Dulles's work was essentially a continuation of his predecessors' foreign policies, and was aimed at maintaining the status quo while appearing to be innovative.

A contemporary American Secretary of State must perform two basic and difficult tasks: he must defend and promote the interests of the United States abroad, and he must establish and defend his position at home. Whereas the former task is inherent in the office, the latter is a result of five interconnected constitutional and political factors inherent in the American system of government. The position of the Secretary...