McGeorge Bundy
Encyclopedia
McGeorge "Mac" Bundy was United States National Security Advisor to Presidents John F. Kennedy
and Lyndon Johnson from 1961 through 1966, and president of the Ford Foundation
from 1966 through 1979. He is known primarily for his role in escalating the involvement of the United States in Vietnam
during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations.
, Massachusetts
, Bundy came from a wealthy family long involved in Republican
politics. His mother, Katherine Lawrence Putnam, was the daughter of two Boston Brahmin
families listed in the Social Register
. His father, Harvey Hollister Bundy
, was from Grand Rapids
, Michigan
and was a diplomat who helped implement the Marshall Plan
.
Bundy attended the elite Dexter School
in Brookline, Massachusetts
and then the Groton School
, where he placed first in his class and ran the student newspaper and debating society. He was then admitted to Yale University
, one year behind his brother William
. At Yale, where he majored in mathematics, he served as secretary of the Yale Political Union
and then chairman of its Liberal Party. He also wrote a column for the Yale Daily News
. Like his father, he was inducted into the Skull and Bones
secret society
, where he was nicknamed "Odin
". He remained in contact with his fellow Bonesmen for decades afterward.
's third-person autobiography with the just-retired United States Secretary of War
.
In 1949, Bundy took a position at the Council on Foreign Relations
in New York to study Marshall Plan
aid to Europe. The study group included such luminaries as Dwight Eisenhower, Allen Dulles, Richard M. Bissell, Jr.
and George Kennan
. The group's deliberations were sensitive and highly secret, dealing as they did with the highly classified fact that there was a covert side to the Marshall Plan, where the CIA used certain funds to aid anti-communist groups in France
and Italy
.
Bundy was one of Kennedy's "wise men," and noted professor of government at Harvard University, despite having only a bachelor's degree. In 1953, Bundy was appointed Dean of the Faculty at Harvard at the age of thirty-four, the youngest in the school's history. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
in 1954. He moved into public life in 1961, becoming national security adviser in the Kennedy administration. He played a crucial role in all of the major foreign policy
and defense decisions of the Kennedy and part of the Johnson administration. These included the Bay of Pigs Invasion
, the Cuban Missile Crisis
, and, most controversially, the Vietnam War
. From 1964 he was Chairman of the 303 Committee, responsible for coordinating government covert operations.
Bundy was a strong proponent of the Vietnam War during his tenure. He supported escalating the American involvement and the bombing of North Vietnam
.
He left government in 1966 to take over as president of the Ford Foundation
, a position he held until 1979. He was named to the "master list" of President Richard Nixon's infamous "Enemies List
."
In January 1969, he was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom
by President Lyndon Johnson.
From 1979 to 1989, he was Professor of History at New York University
. He was scholar-in-residence at the Carnegie Corporation from 1990–1996.
's war advisers, as they contemplated the alternative courses ahead in Afghanistan
. Richard C. Holbrooke, who had reviewed the book in late November, 2008, was now a member of the team of Presidential advisers.
, McGeorge Bundy is portrayed by Frank Wood
. In the 2002 HBO film Path to War
, Bundy is portrayed by Cliff DeYoung
. He was also played by James Olson
in the 1974, made for TV film, The Missiles of October
.
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
and Lyndon Johnson from 1961 through 1966, and president of the Ford Foundation
Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....
from 1966 through 1979. He is known primarily for his role in escalating the involvement of the United States in Vietnam
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations.
Early life
Raised in BostonBoston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, Bundy came from a wealthy family long involved in Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
politics. His mother, Katherine Lawrence Putnam, was the daughter of two Boston Brahmin
Boston Brahmin
Boston Brahmins are wealthy Yankee families characterized by a highly discreet and inconspicuous life style. Based in and around Boston, they form an integral part of the historic core of the East Coast establishment...
families listed in the Social Register
Social Register
Specific to the United States, the Social Register is a directory of names and addresses of prominent American families who form the social elite, . The "Directory" automatically includes the President of the United States and the First Family, and in the past always included the U.S. Senators and...
. His father, Harvey Hollister Bundy
Harvey Hollister Bundy
Harvey Hollister Bundy Sr., , was an American lawyer, Special Assistant to the Secretary of War during the second World War, and father of McGeorge Bundy. Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to McGeorge Bundy, a lawyer, he was grandson to Solomon Bundy, a lawyer and New York Congressman...
, was from Grand Rapids
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is located on the Grand River about 40 miles east of Lake Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 188,040. In 2010, the Grand Rapids metropolitan area had a population of 774,160 and a combined statistical area, Grand...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
and was a diplomat who helped implement the Marshall Plan
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was the large-scale American program to aid Europe where the United States gave monetary support to help rebuild European economies after the end of World War II in order to combat the spread of Soviet communism. The plan was in operation for four years beginning in April 1948...
.
Bundy attended the elite Dexter School
Dexter School
Founded in 1926, the Dexter School is an independent school for boys located in Brookline, Massachusetts, USA. Its campus is also home to its sister school, Southfield, an independent school for girls founded in 1992....
in Brookline, Massachusetts
Brookline, Massachusetts
Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, which borders on the cities of Boston and Newton. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 58,732.-Etymology:...
and then the Groton School
Groton School
Groton School is a private, Episcopal, college preparatory boarding school located in Groton, Massachusetts, U.S. It enrolls approximately 375 boys and girls, from the eighth through twelfth grades...
, where he placed first in his class and ran the student newspaper and debating society. He was then admitted to Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, one year behind his brother William
William Bundy
William Putnam "Bill" Bundy was a member of the CIA and foreign affairs advisor to Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. He had a key role in planning the Vietnam War. After leaving government service he became a historian.-Early years:Raised in Boston, Massachusetts he came from a...
. At Yale, where he majored in mathematics, he served as secretary of the Yale Political Union
Yale Political Union
The Yale Political Union , a debate society now the largest student organization at Yale University, was founded in 1934 by Professor Alfred Whitney Griswold , to enliven the university's political culture of the time. It was modelled on the Cambridge Union Society and Oxford Union...
and then chairman of its Liberal Party. He also wrote a column for the Yale Daily News
Yale Daily News
The Yale Daily News is an independent student newspaper published by Yale University students in New Haven, Connecticut since January 28, 1878...
. Like his father, he was inducted into the Skull and Bones
Skull and Bones
Skull and Bones is an undergraduate senior or secret society at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. It is a traditional peer society to Scroll and Key and Wolf's Head, as the three senior class 'landed societies' at Yale....
secret society
Secret society
A secret society is a club or organization whose activities and inner functioning are concealed from non-members. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence agencies or guerrilla insurgencies, which hide their...
, where he was nicknamed "Odin
Odin
Odin is a major god in Norse mythology and the ruler of Asgard. Homologous with the Anglo-Saxon "Wōden" and the Old High German "Wotan", the name is descended from Proto-Germanic "*Wodanaz" or "*Wōđanaz"....
". He remained in contact with his fellow Bonesmen for decades afterward.
Career
For a year and a half 1945-47, Bundy co-wrote Henry L. StimsonHenry L. Stimson
Henry Lewis Stimson was an American statesman, lawyer and Republican Party politician and spokesman on foreign policy. He twice served as Secretary of War 1911–1913 under Republican William Howard Taft and 1940–1945, under Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt. In the latter role he was a leading hawk...
's third-person autobiography with the just-retired United States Secretary of War
United States Secretary of War
The Secretary of War was a member of the United States President's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War," was appointed to serve the Congress of the Confederation under the Articles of Confederation...
.
In 1949, Bundy took a position at the Council on Foreign Relations
Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations is an American nonprofit nonpartisan membership organization, publisher, and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs...
in New York to study Marshall Plan
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was the large-scale American program to aid Europe where the United States gave monetary support to help rebuild European economies after the end of World War II in order to combat the spread of Soviet communism. The plan was in operation for four years beginning in April 1948...
aid to Europe. The study group included such luminaries as Dwight Eisenhower, Allen Dulles, Richard M. Bissell, Jr.
Richard M. Bissell, Jr.
Richard Mervin Bissell, Jr. was an American Central Intelligence Agency officer responsible for major projects such as the U-2 spy plane and the Bay of Pigs Invasion.-Early years:...
and George Kennan
George F. Kennan
George Frost Kennan was an American adviser, diplomat, political scientist and historian, best known as "the father of containment" and as a key figure in the emergence of the Cold War...
. The group's deliberations were sensitive and highly secret, dealing as they did with the highly classified fact that there was a covert side to the Marshall Plan, where the CIA used certain funds to aid anti-communist groups in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
Bundy was one of Kennedy's "wise men," and noted professor of government at Harvard University, despite having only a bachelor's degree. In 1953, Bundy was appointed Dean of the Faculty at Harvard at the age of thirty-four, the youngest in the school's history. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
in 1954. He moved into public life in 1961, becoming national security adviser in the Kennedy administration. He played a crucial role in all of the major foreign policy
Foreign policy
A country's foreign policy, also called the foreign relations policy, consists of self-interest strategies chosen by the state to safeguard its national interests and to achieve its goals within international relations milieu. The approaches are strategically employed to interact with other countries...
and defense decisions of the Kennedy and part of the Johnson administration. These included the Bay of Pigs Invasion
Bay of Pigs Invasion
The Bay of Pigs Invasion was an unsuccessful action by a CIA-trained force of Cuban exiles to invade southern Cuba, with support and encouragement from the US government, in an attempt to overthrow the Cuban government of Fidel Castro. The invasion was launched in April 1961, less than three months...
, the Cuban Missile Crisis
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation among the Soviet Union, Cuba and the United States in October 1962, during the Cold War...
, and, most controversially, the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. From 1964 he was Chairman of the 303 Committee, responsible for coordinating government covert operations.
Bundy was a strong proponent of the Vietnam War during his tenure. He supported escalating the American involvement and the bombing of North Vietnam
North Vietnam
The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...
.
He left government in 1966 to take over as president of the Ford Foundation
Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....
, a position he held until 1979. He was named to the "master list" of President Richard Nixon's infamous "Enemies List
Master list of Nixon political opponents
A master list of Nixon political opponents was compiled to supplement the original Nixon's Enemies List of 20 key people considered opponents of President Richard Nixon. The master list was compiled by Charles Colson's office and sent in memorandum form to John Dean. Dean later provided this...
."
In January 1969, he was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Presidential Medal of Freedom
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is an award bestowed by the President of the United States and is—along with thecomparable Congressional Gold Medal bestowed by an act of U.S. Congress—the highest civilian award in the United States...
by President Lyndon Johnson.
From 1979 to 1989, he was Professor of History at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
. He was scholar-in-residence at the Carnegie Corporation from 1990–1996.
Legacy
Gordon Goldstein's 2008 book Lessons in Disaster: McGeorge Bundy and the Path to War in Vietnam was reported to be, in late September, 2009, the "must-read-book" amongst President Barack ObamaBarack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
's war advisers, as they contemplated the alternative courses ahead in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. Richard C. Holbrooke, who had reviewed the book in late November, 2008, was now a member of the team of Presidential advisers.
Bundy in film
In the 2000 film Thirteen DaysThirteen Days (film)
Thirteen Days is a 2000 docudrama directed by Roger Donaldson about the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, seen from the perspective of the US political leadership. Kevin Costner stars, with Bruce Greenwood featured as John F. Kennedy....
, McGeorge Bundy is portrayed by Frank Wood
Frank Wood
Frank Wood is the name of:*Frank Wood , Iowa State Senator from the 42nd District*Frank Porter Wood , Canadian art collector*Frank Wood , American actor...
. In the 2002 HBO film Path to War
Path to War
Path to War is a 2002 American biographical television film, produced by HBO and directed by John Frankenheimer that deals directly with the Vietnam War as seen through the eyes of United States President Lyndon B...
, Bundy is portrayed by Cliff DeYoung
Cliff DeYoung
Clifford Tobin DeYoung is an American actor and musician.DeYoung was born in Los Angeles, California. He attended California State University....
. He was also played by James Olson
James Olson
James Olson may refer to:*James Olson , American actor*James S. Olson, American professor of history at Sam Houston State University*James Olson, 17th president of the University of Missouri System*Jim Olson, Seattle architect...
in the 1974, made for TV film, The Missiles of October
The Missiles of October
The Missiles of October is a 1974 docudrama made-for-television play about the Cuban missile crisis. The title evokes the book The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman about the missteps among the great powers and the failed chances to give an opponent a graceful way out, which led to the First...
.
See also
- The Best and the BrightestThe Best and the BrightestThe Best and the Brightest is an account by journalist David Halberstam of the origins of the Vietnam War published by Random House. The focus of the book is on the foreign policy crafted by the academics and intellectuals who were in John F...
by David HalberstamDavid HalberstamDavid Halberstam was an American Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, author and historian, known for his early work on the Vietnam War, his work on politics, history, the Civil Rights Movement, business, media, American culture, and his later sports journalism.-Early life and education:Halberstam... - Ford FoundationFord FoundationThe Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....
- Carnegie Corporation
- Council on Foreign RelationsCouncil on Foreign RelationsThe Council on Foreign Relations is an American nonprofit nonpartisan membership organization, publisher, and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs...
Sources
Further reading
- Bird, Kai. The Color of Truth: McGeorge and William Bundy, Brothers in Arms: A Biography. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1998. ISBN 0684809702.
- Bundy, McGeorge. Danger and Survival: Choices about the Bomb in the First Fifty Years. New York: Vintage Books, 1988. ISBN 0394522788.
- Bundy, McGeorge. "The Issue Before the Court: Who Gets Ahead in America?", The Atlantic Monthly 240, no. 5 (November 1977), pp. 41–54.
- Halberstam, David. "The Very Expensive Education of McGeorge Bundy". Harper's Magazine 239, no. 1430 (July 1969), pp. 21–41.
- Gardner, Lloyd. "Harry Hopkins with Hand Grenades? McGeorge Bundy in the Kennedy and Johnson Years", in Behind the Throne: Servants of Power to Imperial Presidents, 1898–1968, ed. by Thomas J. McCormick and Walter LaFeber. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1993. pp. 204–229. ISBN 0299137406.
- Goldstein, Gordon M., Lessons in Disaster: McGeorge Bundy and the Path to War in Vietnam (NY: Times Books/Henry Holt & Co., 2008) 300 pp. ISBN 0805090878 ISBN 978-0805090871
- Nünlist, Christian. Kennedys rechte Hand: McGeorge Bundys Einfluss als Nationaler Sicherheitsberater auf die amerikanische Aussenpolitik, 1961–63. Zurich: Center for Security Studies, 1999. ISBN 3905641615.
- Preston, Andrew. The War Council: McGeorge Bundy, the NSC, and Vietnam. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2006. ISBN 0674021983.
- Stimson, Henry and McGeorge Bundy, On Active Service in Peace and War (NY: Harper & Brothers, 1947).
External links
- McGeorge Bundy at Harvard
- Interview about the Cuban Missile Crisis for the WGBH series, War and Peace in the Nuclear Age
- Biography of McGeorge Bundy (in German)
- Review of biography of brothers William and McGeorge Bundy
- McGeorge Bundy headed the Ford Foundation from 1966–1979
- point of view of Nuremberg trial prosecutor Telford Taylor on McGeorge Bundy
- Pentagon papers: Telegram From the Ambassador in Vietnam (Lodge) to McGeorge Bundy on US Options With Respect to a Possible Coup, mentioning the term "plausible denial" Alternative link: Pentagon papers, Telegram 216, same cable
- Annotated bibliography for McGeorge Bundy from the Alsos Digital Library for Nuclear Issues
- Video of assassination denials made by Bundy
- NY Times Obituary
- Oral History Interviews with McGeorge Bundy, from the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library