@ Duke of Awesome: Maybe yes, maybe no.
@ Soviet Amerika: Yeah, the Krauts have been stalled outside Bruges since late November 1914.
@ Undead-Hippie. These are the only real fronts, but I could do a short update on the African and Pacific fronts later.
On January Fourteenth, Wilson met with his foreign policy adviser "Colonel" Edward M. House, a man who in many ways had a much more important role in determining American foreign policy than Secretary of State Wheeler. House and Wilson had already discussed the possibility of creating a body to study Europe in preparation for the eventual settlement of a permanent peace treaty. The meeting at the White House would crystallize this informal talk into a concrete policy. Wilson authorized House to create a commission to study Europe in preparation for the eventual peace settlement. The hope was that the settlement could be made just if it was determined by objective experts armed with reams of factual data, in many ways the Inquiry was a direct outgrowth of the Efficiency Movement and the principles of scientific management. House immediately set about gathering his team of intellectuals and other experts. As head of the project he chose the philosopher Sidney Edward Mezes.
Sidney Edward Mezes, official head of the Inquiry
But soon, another figure came to dominate the staffing choices, the head of research, a precocious 28 year-old Harvard graduate, Walter Lippmann. Lippmann, Menzes and House began meeting in a discreet office at 155th Street and Broadway in New York City, which would become the home of the Inquiry. In these first few meetings, the staffing of the Inquiry was decided, the members included Isiah Bowman, President of the American Geographical Society, James T. Shotwell, a lawyer well versed in international law, Archibald Cary Coolidge, historian and director of the Harvard library and Daniel Hunter Miller, another lawyer specializing in treaty law.
Walter Lippmann, Head of Research for the Inquiry
But this activity did not go unnoticed by the Secretary of State, Burton K. Wheeler. Wheeler was certain that House was plotting to overthrow him and have Wilson appoint him as Secretary of State in his stead. When Wheeler was informed of the Inquiry's existence, he became almost purple with rage screaming that "That sonuvabitch House is trying to screw me out of this job!" and he immediately embarked on a quest to make himself invaluable to the president and to destroy House at the same time.
So I've done some more reading about Burton Wheeler and I have some very interesting things planned out for our beloved Secretary of State. He'll be with us for a while, but maybe not in the administration.
@ Soviet Amerika: Yeah, the Krauts have been stalled outside Bruges since late November 1914.
@ Undead-Hippie. These are the only real fronts, but I could do a short update on the African and Pacific fronts later.
The Inquiry Caper, Part One
"Colonel" Edward M. House
"Colonel" Edward M. House
On January Fourteenth, Wilson met with his foreign policy adviser "Colonel" Edward M. House, a man who in many ways had a much more important role in determining American foreign policy than Secretary of State Wheeler. House and Wilson had already discussed the possibility of creating a body to study Europe in preparation for the eventual settlement of a permanent peace treaty. The meeting at the White House would crystallize this informal talk into a concrete policy. Wilson authorized House to create a commission to study Europe in preparation for the eventual peace settlement. The hope was that the settlement could be made just if it was determined by objective experts armed with reams of factual data, in many ways the Inquiry was a direct outgrowth of the Efficiency Movement and the principles of scientific management. House immediately set about gathering his team of intellectuals and other experts. As head of the project he chose the philosopher Sidney Edward Mezes.
Sidney Edward Mezes, official head of the Inquiry
But soon, another figure came to dominate the staffing choices, the head of research, a precocious 28 year-old Harvard graduate, Walter Lippmann. Lippmann, Menzes and House began meeting in a discreet office at 155th Street and Broadway in New York City, which would become the home of the Inquiry. In these first few meetings, the staffing of the Inquiry was decided, the members included Isiah Bowman, President of the American Geographical Society, James T. Shotwell, a lawyer well versed in international law, Archibald Cary Coolidge, historian and director of the Harvard library and Daniel Hunter Miller, another lawyer specializing in treaty law.
Walter Lippmann, Head of Research for the Inquiry
But this activity did not go unnoticed by the Secretary of State, Burton K. Wheeler. Wheeler was certain that House was plotting to overthrow him and have Wilson appoint him as Secretary of State in his stead. When Wheeler was informed of the Inquiry's existence, he became almost purple with rage screaming that "That sonuvabitch House is trying to screw me out of this job!" and he immediately embarked on a quest to make himself invaluable to the president and to destroy House at the same time.
So I've done some more reading about Burton Wheeler and I have some very interesting things planned out for our beloved Secretary of State. He'll be with us for a while, but maybe not in the administration.