The Resume

(April 11, 1893-October 12, 1971)
Assistant Secretary of State under Harry S. Truman (1941-1945)
Secretary of State under Harry S. Truman (1949-1953)
Wrote 'Power and Diplomacy (1958)' and 'Present at the Creation: My Years in the State Department (1969)'
Received the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1964)

Why he might be annoying:

While he was Secretary of State, China fell to the communists (1949).
He then wrote a report slamming the China lobby and blaming all of China's problems on Chiang Kai-shek instead of the communists.
His law firm made $50,000 when he approved a $90 million loan to Poland.
He was an architect behind the Truman Doctrine that lead the US into Vietnam, among other countries.
He was torn to pieces by Joseph McCarthy and Richard Nixon as a communist sympathizer.
McCarthy had a list of 205 communists that worked in his State Department.
There were calls for his impeachment.
As a result of these attacks, he became very unpopular with the American people.
Associating him with other Democratic politicians as a form of slander became fashionable in the 1950s.

Why he might not be annoying:

He was considered one of the chief architects of the Marshall Plan which saved Europe from communism.
Republicans accused him of many stupid things, like getting President Truman drunk in order to sign off on his ideas.
On the contrary, he worked very closely with Truman and only stated official diplomatic policy if Truman had approved it.
The list McCarthy had of communists in his State Department turned out to be false.
He took the side of President Truman when he removed Douglas MacArthur for obeying orders.
He went on to be an unofficial advisor for the Kennedy, Johnson and (surprisingly) Nixon administrations.
He recommended President Johnson pull-out from Vietnam and it was a major factor in getting him to stop the bombing raids (1968).
He was not afraid to make controversial decisions.
His political autobiography 'Present at the Creation' won the Pulitzer Prize for history.

Credit: Captain Howdy

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• Captain Howdy's Profiles [Series 4]
• Cold War Participants
• Egg Heads
• I am on a U.S. Postage Stamp [A-C]
• I Died in 1971 (Ranked: 79)
• Influenced by Reinhold Niebuhr
• Look at Me, I'm Relaxing
• Modern Library's 100 Best Non-Fiction Books of the 20th Century (Ranked: 47)
• Profiles 15501-15750 (Ranked: 15576)
• U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipients
• Vanity Fair's International Best Dressed Hall of Fame - Males (Ranked: 1969)
• Walruses
• We Died on the Same Day (Ranked: 19711012)

Year In Review:

In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 4 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 7 Votes: 71.43% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 6 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 3 Votes: 100% Annoying
In 2015, Out of 8 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
In 2014, Out of 15 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
In 2013, Out of 10 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2012, Out of 25 Votes: 56.00% Annoying
In 2011, Out of 17 Votes: 76.47% Annoying
In 2010, Out of 19 Votes: 73.68% Annoying
In 2009, Out of 32 Votes: 59.38% Annoying
In 2008, Out of 48 Votes: 77.08% Annoying
In 2007, Out of 78 Votes: 52.56% Annoying
In 2006, Out of 107 Votes: 64.49% Annoying
In 2005, Out of 72 Votes: 48.61% Annoying