ABSTRACT
Dean Acheson is widely considered by both critics and admirers to be one of the most significant figures in the history of American foreign policy. Powerful voices in and outside of government regarded that revolution as ill-conceived and dangerous, and provided alternative visions to what Acheson and Truman saw as America's necessary role as a great power after the Second World War. Given the complexities of the postwar world, it is not surprising that Acheson could sometimes be seen in wildly contradictory ways. He was charged during his tenure as being both soft on communism and a rigid anti-communist unwilling ever to negotiate with the Soviet Union. Acheson insisted that foreign policy formulation begin with an understanding of the historical context in which the nation lived and an appreciation of the character of the major regimes in the international system.
