Arthur H. Vandenberg - United Nations and Internationalism 1940-1950

United Nations and Internationalism 1940-1950

During World War II, Vandenberg's position on American foreign policy changed radically. Although he continued to vote with the conservative coalition against Roosevelt's domestic proposals, Vandenberg gradually abandoned his isolationism to become an architect of a bipartisan foreign policy, which he defined as a consensus developed by consultation between the President, the State Department, and congressional leaders from both parties, especially those in the Senate. On January 10, 1945, he delivered a celebrated "speech heard round the world" in the Senate Chamber, publicly announcing his conversion from "isolationism" to "internationalism." In 1947, at the start of the Cold War, Vandenberg became chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. In that position, he cooperated with the Truman administration in forging bipartisan support for the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, and NATO, including presenting the critical Vandenberg resolution.

As chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he asserted that "politics stops at the water's edge," and cooperated with the Truman administration in forging bipartisan support. Francis O. Wilcox, first chief of staff of the Foreign Relations Committee, recalls that Vandenberg's Senate career stands as a monument to bipartisanship in American foreign policy. “is legacy continues. Recently, "the Senate bestowed a unique honor on the Michigan senator," voting to add his portrait to a “very select collection” in the United States Senate Reception Room.