Career John Van Antwerp MacMurray

john van antwerp macmurray assistant secretary of state

following admission new york bar, macmurray sought career in government. letter of commendation woodrow wilson helped macmurray secure opportunity take foreign service examination. in 1907, appointed consul-general , secretary of legation in bangkok, siam, , became second secretary @ u.s. embassy in st. petersburg. there worked under ambassador william woodville rockhill, credited helping shape united states’ open door policy towards china.

upon returning washington in 1911, macmurray made chief of division of near eastern affairs, position held until 1913. had several appointments in east asia: 1913 1917, secretary of legation in peking, china, , 1917 1919, counselor of embassy in tokyo. had been offered post minister siam in 1913, declined in order pursue position in peking. again returned state department in 1919 serve chief of division far eastern affairs 1919 1924. during time, macmurray involved observer negotiations between china , japan concerning status of shandong peninsula, , authored book titled treaties , agreements , concerning china. book compilation of treaties , agreements china 1894 1919, , published carnegie endowment international peace.

macmurray briefly served assistant secretary of state 1924 1925. in 1925, appointed minister china under president calvin coolidge, described him our top china expert . assumed post in july 1925. macmurray regarded within diplomatic community in peking; sir ronald macleay british delegation described him friendly , agreeable, , relatively unburdened preconceived ideas , sentimentality towards china afflicted several of predecessors. macleay noted macmurray express himself , forcefully in diplomatic meetings, rather academic , , may have lacked confidence in himself. imagine allows himself little freedom of action , refers washington on every possible occasion, wrote macleay. british diplomat, sir miles w. lampson, recorded macmurray s complaints washington allowed him little initiative, , seldom adopted proposals.

soon after arriving in china, macmurray fell disagreement washington on u.s. policy towards ruling kuomintang (nationalist) government, had been demanding immediate revisions or cessation of treaty system in place between 2 countries. whereas washington wished make concessions nationalist government, macmurray favored enforcement of existing treaties. these differences of opinion led him resign in november 1929, whereupon became professor of international relations @ johns hopkins university.

in 1933, macmurray returned foreign service. on september 9 of year, appointed envoy extraordinary , minister plenipotentiary estonia, latvia , lithuania—a position held until 1936. 1936 1941, macmurray served ambassador extraordinary , plenipotentiary in turkey. returned washington in 1942 , worked special assistant secretary of state until retirement in 1944.

1935 memorandum

in 1935, tensions in east asia mounting, assistant secretary of state east asian affairs, stanley hornbeck, commissioned macmurray write memorandum on situation. memorandum, developments affecting american policy in far east , challenged many of underlying assumptions of u.s. policy towards japan. conventional wisdom held japan unprovoked aggressor in brewing conflict china. however, macmurray posited chinese , american policies partly blame japan’s actions; whereas japan had closely adhered treaties , agreements brokered during washington disarmament conference, united states, great britain , china undermined them. until japanese invasion of manchuria in 1931, japanese government ... endeavoring in unimpeachable faith live undertakings , wrote macmurray. issue of success or failure policies evolved @ washington conference in hands of china herself, of great britain, , of united states.

according arthur waldron, macmurray found china in particular systematically flouted legal framework alone guaranteed international position, , doing invited japan’s wrath. macmurray believed united states should have valued japan’s efforts comply treaty agreements, , suggested united states should acknowledge japanese grievances, rather aligning ever more closely china. barring that, wrote, american war japan likely:

to oppose japanese domination of china , actively take available means , occasions frustrate it ... would, if pursued consistently , determinedly, inevitably mean war japan ... such war major misfortune us, assuming our victory ... hideously long , costly process ... elimination of japan, if possible, no blessing far east or world. merely create new set of stresses, , substitute japan ussr successor of imperial russia contestant (and @ least equally unscrupulous , dangerous one) mastery of east. nobody except perhaps russia gain our victory in such war.

macmurray s classified memorandum shelved state department, , warnings went unheeded. following second world war, available in select archives. in 1992, memorandum published first time introduction university of pennsylvania historian arthur waldron. although had been suppressed , largely disregarded @ time written, macmurray s analysis considered prescient later generations of scholars , diplomats. george f. kennan wrote of 1935 memorandum: know of no document on record in our government respect foreign policy more penetrating , thoughtful , prescient one.