Robert Lansing | |
|---|---|
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| 42ndUnited States Secretary of State | |
| In office June 24, 1915 – February 13, 1920 Acting: June 9 – 24, 1915 | |
| President | Woodrow Wilson |
| Preceded by | William Jennings Bryan |
| Succeeded by | Bainbridge Colby |
| 3rdCounselor of the United States Department of State | |
| In office April 1, 1914 – June 23, 1915 | |
| President | Woodrow Wilson |
| Preceded by | John Bassett Moore |
| Succeeded by | Frank Polk |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1864-10-17)October 17, 1864 Watertown, New York, U.S. |
| Died | October 30, 1928(1928-10-30) (aged 64) New York City, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Eleanor Foster (1890–1928) |
| Education | Amherst College (BA) |
Robert Lansing (/ˈlænsɪŋ/; October 17, 1864 – October 30, 1928) was an American lawyer and diplomat who served as the 42ndUnited States Secretary of State under PresidentWoodrow Wilson from 1915 to 1920. As Counselor to the State Department and then as Secretary of State, he was a leading advocate forAmerican involvement in World War I.
Lansing was born and raised inWatertown, New York, where he joined his father's law firm after graduating fromAmherst College. After developing expertise in international law and marrying the daughter of Secretary of StateJohn W. Foster, he served as associate counsel to the United States delegations to theBering Sea Arbitration and Bering Sea Claims, before arguing the United States case before theAlaska Boundary Tribunal in 1903.
As a conservative, pro-business voice in the Democratic Party, Lansing was appointed byWoodrow Wilson as Counselor to the State Department under Secretary of StateWilliam Jennings Bryan. When Bryan resigned on June 8, 1915 over Wilson's policy toward Germany, Lansing was elevated to succeed him.
As Secretary of State, Lansing was a strong advocate for theUnited States' role in establishing international law and an avowed critic of German autocracy and RussianBolshevism.[1] Before U.S. involvement in the war, Lansing vigorously advocated freedom of the seas and the rights of neutral nations. He later advocated U.S. participation in World War I, negotiated theLansing–Ishii Agreement with Japan in 1917 and was a member of theAmerican Commission to Negotiate Peace at Paris in 1919. However, Wilson madeColonel House his chief foreign policy advisor because Lansing privately opposed much of theTreaty of Versailles and was skeptical of the Wilsonian principle ofself-determination.
Robert Lansing was born inWatertown,New York, the son of John Lansing (1832–1907) and Maria Lay (Dodge) Lansing. He graduated fromAmherst College in 1886, studied law, and was admitted to thebar in 1889.[2]
From then to 1907, he was a member of the law firm of Lansing & Lansing at Watertown. An authority on international law, he served as associate counsel for the United States, during theBering Sea Arbitration from 1892–1893, as counsel for the United States Bering Sea Claims Commission in 1896–1897, as the government's lawyer before theAlaskan Boundary Tribunal in 1903, as counsel for the North Atlantic Fisheries in the Arbitration atThe Hague in 1909–1910, and as agent of the United States in the American and British Arbitration in 1912–1914. In 1914 Lansing was appointed counselor to the State Department by PresidentWoodrow Wilson. Lansing, who had argued cases before Judge Nicholas D. Yost in Watertown, was responsible for encouraging the judge's son, future AmbassadorCharles W. Yost, to join the Foreign Service.[2][3] He was a founding member of theAmerican Society of International Law and helped establish theAmerican Journal of International Law.[2]
Lansing initially advocated for the United States to adopt a position of "benevolent neutrality" after the outbreak ofWorld War I and opposed theblockade of Germany by theAllied powers.[4]
Following the sinking of theRMSLusitania on 7 May 1915 by the German submarineU-20, Lansing backed Woodrow Wilson in issuing three notes of protest to the German government.William Jennings Bryan resigned as Secretary of State following Wilson's second note, which Bryan considered too belligerent. ConsultingColonel House, Wilson was advised to select Lansing as replacement secretary because he did not have "too many ideas of his own". Unlike Bryan he lacked a political base, though he had technical knowledge of international law and diplomatic procedure. Wilson toldColonel House that as president he would practically be his own Secretary of State, and "Lansing would not be troublesome by uprooting or injecting his own views."[5]
According to John Milton Cooper, appointing Lansing and then "treating him like a clerk" would be one of Wilson's worst mistakes as president. While Wilson set foreign policy directions almost entirely on his own, Lansing resented this treatment, and attempted to undermine the president in various ways.[6] As Lansing said in his memoirs, following theLusitania tragedy he had the "conviction that we would ultimately become the ally of Britain". According to Lester H. Woolsey, Lansing expressed his views by manipulating the work of the State Department to minimize conflict with Britain and maximize public awareness of Germany's faults.
Woolsey states:
Although the President cherished the hope that the United States would not be drawn into the war, and while this was the belief of many officials, Mr. Lansing early in July, 1915, came to the conclusion that the German ambition for world domination was the real menace of the war, particularly to democratic institutions. In order to block this German ambition, he believed that the progress of the war would eventually disclose to the American people the purposes of the German Government; that German activities in the United States and in Latin America should be carefully investigated and frustrated; that the American republics to the south should be weaned from the German influences; that friendly relations with Mexico should be maintained even to the extent of recognizing the Carranza faction; that the Danish West Indies should be acquired in order to remove the possibility of Germany's obtaining a foothold in the Caribbean by conquest of Denmark or otherwise; that the United States should enter the war if it should appear that Germany would become the victor; and that American public opinion must be awakened in preparation for this contingency. This outline of Mr. Lansing's views explains why the Lusitania dispute was not brought to the point of a break. It also explains why, though Americans were incensed at the British interference with commerce, the controversy was kept within the arena of debate.[7]
German historianGerhard Ritter wrote of Lansing in this period: "Lansing had the coolest head among all of Wilson's advisers. His power politics were least inhibited by moral considerations and pacifist impulses."[8]
In 1916, Lansing hired a handful of men who became the State Department's firstspecial agents in the newBureau of Secret Intelligence. The agents were initially used to observe the activities of theCentral Powers in America and later to watch over interned German diplomats. The small group of agents hired by Lansing would eventually become the U.S.Diplomatic Security Service (DSS).
In 1919, Lansing became the nominal head of the US Commission to theParis Peace Conference. Because he did not regard theLeague of Nations as essential to the peace treaty, Lansing began to fall out of favor with Wilson, who considered participation in the League of Nations to be a primary goal. During Wilson's stroke and illness, Lansing called the cabinet together for consultations on several occasions. In addition, he was the first cabinet member to suggest forVice PresidentThomas R. Marshall to assume the powers of the presidency. Displeased by Lansing's independence, Edith Wilson requested Lansing's resignation. Lansing stepped down from his post on February 12, 1920.[9]
After leaving office, Lansing resumed practicing law. He died inNew York City on October 30, 1928 at the age of 64, and was buried at Brookside Cemetery inWatertown, New York.
Through his father Lansing was descended fromThomas Dudley,John Allin,Samuel Appleton andThomas Mayhew. Through his mother he was descended fromMiles Morgan,John Mason,Roger Williams,Anne Hutchinson andJohn Cutt.[10] In 1890, Lansing married Eleanor Foster, the daughter of Secretary of StateJohn W. Foster.[11] Eleanor's older sister Edith was the mother ofJohn Foster Dulles, who also became Secretary of State,Allen Welsh Dulles who served asDirector of Central Intelligence, andEleanor Lansing Dulles, an economist and high level policy analyst and advisor for the State Department.[12][13]
New York State SenatorRobert Lansing (1799–1878) was his grandfather; ChancellorJohn Lansing Jr. and State TreasurerAbraham G. Lansing were his great-granduncles.
Lansing was associate editor of theAmerican Journal of International Law, and with Gary M. Jones was the author ofGovernment: Its Origin, Growth, and Form in the United States (1902). He also wrote:TheBig Four and Others at thePeace Conference, Boston (1921) andThe Peace Negotiations: A Personal Narrative,[14] Boston/New York (1921).
Lansing kept a voluminous archive of US government communications during WWI, which are a key resource on US thinking and decision making in this period.
During World War II theLiberty shipSS Robert Lansing was built inPanama City, Florida, and named in his honor.[15]
Gilman, D. C.; Peck, H. T.; Colby, F. M., eds. (1905). "Robert Lansing".New International Encyclopedia (1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead.
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| Preceded by | U.S. Secretary of State Served under:Woodrow Wilson 1915 – 1920 | Succeeded by |
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