Joseph E. Davies

wikisource|
Memorandum_from_Joseph_Davies_to_U.S._Secretary_of_State,_June_6,_1938Infobox US Ambassador
name=Joseph E. Davies


imagesize=
order=
ambassador_from=United States
country=the Soviet Union
term_start=January 25, 1937
term_end=June 11, 1938
predecessor=William C. Bullitt
successor=Laurence A. Steinhardt
president=
order2=
ambassador_from2=United States
country2=Belgium
term_start2=1938
term_end2=1939
president2=
predecessor2=Hugh Gibson
successor2=John Cudahy
birth_date=November 29, 1876
birth_place=Watertown, Wisconsin
death_date=May 9, 1958
death_place=
party=
spouse=
profession=
religion=
footnotes=

Joseph Edward Davies (November 291876-May 91958) was the second Ambassador to represent the United States in the Soviet Union.

Born in Watertown, Wisconsin, to Edward and Rahel (Paynter) Davies, "Joe" Davies rose to prominence with the administration of President Woodrow Wilson, when he was appointed to Chair the Federal Trade Commission from 1915 to 1916. Wilson also appointed Davies to serve as an economic advisor to the United States during the Paris Peace Conference following World War I. By profession, Davies was an attorney.

Davies married Emlen Knight in 1902. Davies also was married to General Foods heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post in 1935; the couple divorced in 1955.

Ambassador to the Soviet Union

Davies was appointed Ambassador to the Soviet Union by Franklin D. Roosevelt and served from 1936-38. His appointment was made in part based on his skills and politically loyalty to Roosevelt. Roosevelt possibly also believed that his wife’s inherited wealth was a strength in the appointment.

Davies' reports from the Soviet Union were generally pragmatic. While documenting the USSR's authoritarian form of government, Davies also remarked on its boundless natural resources and the generally peaceful nature of the Soviet populace. In one of his final memos from Moscow to Washington D.C., Davies bluntly assessed

:"Communism holds no serious threat to the United States. Friendly relations in the future may be of great general value." [Joseph Davies (April 20, 1938) "Memorandum", Declassified, 1980.]

Davies attended some of the Stalinist purge trials of the late 1930s, and was convinced of the guilt of the accused. His opinions were at odds with those of some of the diplomatic corps who were subordinate to him. Charles Bohlen later wrote: [Charles E. Bohlen (1973) "Witness to History", New York: Norton.]

:"Ambassador Davies was not noted for an acute understanding of the Soviet system, and he had an unfortunate tendency to take what was presented at the trial as the honest and gospel truth. I still blush when I think of some of the telegrams he sent to the State Department about the trial." (p.51)

:"I can only guess at the motivation for his reporting. He ardently desired to make a success of a pro-Soviet line and was probably reflecting the views of some of Roosevelt's advisor's to enhance his political standing at home."(p.52)

Davies duties in the Soviet Union resulted in his well-selling book, "Mission to Moscow". The book was adapted as a movie of 1943 starring Walter Huston as Davies and Ann Harding as his wife Marjorie Post Davies. The movie, made during World War II, showed the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin in a positive light in part because of the allied relationship between the two nations in the fight against the Axis powers. However during the era of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) hearings, the film was used against those involved in its production as an example of pro-Communist propaganda.

It has since been revealed that many important artistic treasures from the Tretyakov Gallery and other collections were donated, or offered at nominal prices, to Davies and his collector wife. He also bought art, at discount prices, that was expropriated from victims of Stalin's Terror. [Tzouliadis, Tim, "The Forsaken", Little, Brown, 2008]

After Moscow

After Moscow, Davies was assigned to the post of Ambassador in Belgium (1938-1939) and Minister to Luxembourg concurrently before being called back to the United States following the declaration of war in 1939. Davies served as a special assistant to Secretary of State Cordell Hull.

Following World War II, the Davies took up residence at Tregaron, where they entertained extensively.

He was divorced by his wife Marjorie in 1955. Ambassador Davies was entombed at Washington National Cathedral, Washington, D.C..

References

* Davies, Joseph Edward. Mission to Moscow; "(a record of confidential dispatches to the State department, official and personal correspondence, current diary and journal entries, including notes and comments up to October, 1941)". Simon and Schuster, 1941.

* Maclean, Elizabeth Kimball. Joseph E. Davies: Envoy To The Soviets. Praeger Publishers, February 1993. ISBN 0-275-93580-9

External links

* [http://www.usembassy.ru/links/ambassadors.php United State Embassy, Russia. "US Ministers and Ambassadors to Russia"]
* [http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/davie-davila.html Political Graveyard Web Site]
* [http://www.amctv.com/show/detail/0,,2209-1-EST,00.html Mission to Moscow (AMC Network)]
*imdb title|0036166|Mission to Moscow