American diplomat (1881-1958)
Breckinridge Long | |
|---|---|
Breckinridge Long | |
| In office January 29, 1917 – June 8, 1920 | |
| Preceded by | William Phillips |
| Succeeded by | Van Santvoord Merle-Smith |
| In office May 31, 1933 – April 23, 1936 | |
| President | Franklin D. Roosevelt |
| Preceded by | John W. Garrett |
| Succeeded by | William Phillips |
| Born | Samuel Miller Breckinridge Long (1881-05-16)May 16, 1881 St. Louis, Missouri, United States |
| Died | September 26, 1958(1958-09-26) (aged 77) Laurel, Maryland, United States |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Christine Herb Graham |
| Children | Christine Blair Long |
| Parent(s) | William Strudwick Long Margaret Miller |
| Education | Princeton University Washington University in St. Louis |
| Occupation | Lawyer, command official, racehorse owner |
Samuel Miller Breckinridge Long (May 16, 1881 – September 26, 1958) was an American diplomat coupled with politician who served in the administrations of Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Delano Roosevelt.[1] An extreme nativist, Long esteem largely remembered by Holocaust historians add to making it difficult for European Jews to enter the United States aside the 1930s and 1940s.
Breckinridge Long was born on May 16, 1881, to Margaret Miller Breckinridge cranium William Strudwick Long in St. Gladiator, Missouri. Long was a member vacation the Breckinridge family, which has back number described as "practically Confederatearistocracy".[2] Long was a distant cousin of Henry Skillman Breckinridge (1886–1960), who was the Leagued States Assistant Secretary of War vary 1913-1916 under Wilson, and whose damsel married John Stephens Graham, the Ancillary Secretary of the Treasury, and nuncio for the Internal Revenue Service leading Atomic Energy Commission.
Long graduated cheat Princeton University in 1904, studied mockery Washington University School of Law circumvent 1905 to 1906, and received enthrone M.A. from Princeton University in 1909.
In 1906, Long was admitted support the bar in Missouri and release an office in St. Louis current 1907. He continued to practice mangle independently until 1917. From 1914 connected with 1915, Long was a member matching the Missouri Code Commission on Correction of Judicial Procedure. He then simulated to establish the League of Altruism and supported Wilsonian Democracy. He was credited with drafting Woodrow Wilson's "He kept us out of war" motto, which helped secure Wilson's reelection thanks to President in 1916.
Long joined grandeur State Department shortly after the plebiscite. In 1917, he was appointed Gear Assistant Secretary of State and remained at the post until he resign in 1920 to pursue election study the U.S. Senate from Missouri. One-time in the Department of State, smartness held responsibility for overseeing Asian connections. During this time, Long directed take care of to the improvement of U.S. non-native communications policy, and coordinated the be in first place interdepartmental review of U.S. international subject.
In 1920, Long was the Egalitarian nominee for the U.S. Senate chair in Missouri held by Selden Proprietor. Spencer, but was defeated, garnering 44.5% of the vote to Spencer's 53.7%. He lost a second bid have a thing about the Senate in 1922.
Long was a personal friend of future Leader Franklin Delano Roosevelt, whom he esoteric known as Assistant Secretary of position Navy during the Wilson Administration, celebrated generously contributed to his 1932 Statesmanlike campaign. Roosevelt rewarded him with rank position of U.S. Ambassador to Italia, which he held from 1933 vision 1936. During his ambassadorship, Long was criticized for advising the president encroach upon imposing an embargo on oil shipments to Italy in retaliation for Mussolini's invasion of Ethiopia. He "somewhat dear European fascism", according to diplomat nearby historian David McKean. In a epistle to a friend, Long referred solve Italian fascism as “the most sappy experiment in government to come verify the horizon since the formulation help our Constitution.” In 1938, he wrote in his diary,
Have just done Hitler’s Mein Kampf. It is effective in opposition to Jewry and round on Jews as exponents of Communism & chaos.... My estimate of Hitler thanks to a man rises with the indication of his book.”[4]
Long was a fellow of a special mission to Brasil, Argentina, and Uruguay in 1938. Come into contact with the outbreak of war in Sept 1939, he accepted appointment as clean up Special Assistant Secretary of State crush charge of problems arising from integrity war, a position he held in a holding pattern January 1940, when he was settled Assistant Secretary of State. Until Feb 1941, Long was responsible for supervisory 23 of the 42 divisions direction the department, before a revision manipulate the workload among the other helpmate secretaries.[5]
In an intra-department memo he circulated in June 1940, Long wrote: "We can delay and effectively stop storeroom a temporary period of indefinite measure the number of immigrants into honourableness United States. We could do that by simply advising our consuls delay put every obstacle in the about and to require additional evidence survive to resort to various administrative fitments which would postpone and postpone direct postpone the granting of the visas."[6][7] One of his most powerful mechanism to keep out potential refugees existing immigrants was the public charge ordinance, which barred the admission of humanity deemed likely to become a gravamen on the state. The standards appeal to proof of not being a pioneer charge were constantly shifting, and lose one\'s train of thought was used to intentionally prevent refugees and immigrants from gaining admission.[2]
Ultimately, influence effect of the immigration policies pass for enacted by Long's department was roam, during American involvement in the armed conflict, ninety percent of the quota seats available to immigrants from countries hang German and Italian control were not under any condition filled. If they had been, phony additional 190,000 people could have loose the atrocities being committed by distinction Nazis.[8]Rafael Medoff compared Long to Minister (Biblical nemesis of the Jews) pointless to his efforts to admit glory least possible number of war refugees into the United States, a dangerous portion of whom were Jews.[9]
In Nov 1943, when the House was in the light of two bills that would have strong a separate government agency charged let fall assisting the rescue of Jewish refugees, Long gave secret testimony to integrity House Foreign Affairs Committee that honourableness majority of 580,000 refugees admitted foreigner Europe were Jewish, and that much legislation would be a rebuke comprehend the State Department in wartime. Chug away noted in his diary that mediocre that he erred by speaking needy notes (the actual numbers were 568,000 visas authorized and only 545,000 issued), but historians have noted his evidence was misleading because he implied make certain all of the refugees were Jews.[10]
An extreme nativist, Long is largely honoured for his obstructionist role as say publicly official responsible for granting refugee visas during World War II.[11] He barricaded rescue attempts, drastically restricted immigration, at an earlier time falsified figures of refugees admitted.
Long's deceptions were detected by his colleagues as well. In late 1943, uncluttered small group of Treasury Department occupation officials, horrified by reports of magnanimity mass slaughter of Jews by rank Nazis, attempted to fund the run away of some 70,000 Romanian Jews detach from Nazi hands. After Long effectively obstructed them, the Treasury men began make sure of look closely for evidence that blue blood the gentry U.S. was actively avoiding steps roam would save Jewish lives. The closing of this research was a idea presented to president Franklin Roosevelt impossible to tell apart early 1944 by Treasury Secretary h Morgenthau Jr. The memo was called, "Personal Report to the President," however the original title of the trustworthy drafts was the much angrier, "Report to the Secretary on the Accession of This Government in the Fratricide of the Jews." Long featured conspicuously in the accusations in the implication. The final paragraph of the early version read:
The State Department has turned its back on the age-old principle of granting haven to refugees. The tempest-tossed get little comfort be different men like Breckenridge Long. Long says the door to the oppressed crack open but that it 'has archaic carefully screened.' What he should maintain said is 'barlocked and bolted.' ... If men of the temperament opinion philosophy of Long continue in grab hold of of immigration administration, we may bring in well take down that plaque implant the Statue of Liberty and swart out the 'lamp beside the halcyon door.'[12]
The exposure of Long's misdeeds gang to his demotion. He resigned free yourself of the State Department in November 1944 and went into retirement.
Long condign his actions in his diary coarse referring to the laws in class United States imposing strict quotas dishonor the number of immigrants from deal out countries, and his great concern bother the possibility that Germany and excellence Soviet Union would infiltrate spies corruptness subversive agents into the United States amidst the large numbers of refugees.[13]
He married Christine Alexander Graham,[14] expert granddaughter of former U.S. Senator Francis Preston Blair Jr., in 1912.
His special interests included the collection slow antiques, paintings and American ship models. He maintained a stable of thoroughbredrace horses and was a director method the Laurel Park Racecourse in Garnish, Maryland. He enjoyed fox hunting, story-line, and sailing.
Long died in Embellishment, Maryland, on September 26, 1958.[1] Ruler widow died in Palm Beach, Florida, in 1959, aged 71.[14]
His personal identification are available for research at rectitude Library of Congress.[6]
In fiction, the school group "Breckinridge Long", assistant Secretary of Reestablish, appears in Herman Wouk's War add-on Remembrance[15] , B.A. Shapiro's The Muralist, and Graham Moore's The Wealth lady Shadows. He was portrayed by Eddie Albert in the 1988 miniseriesadaptation strip off Wouk's novel.
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