Charles de Gaulle: A Thorn in the Side of Six American Presidents

377 Pages·2021·1.98 MB·English

by  William R. Keylor

Charles de Gaulle

Charles de Gaulle
A Thorn in the Side of Six American Presidents
William R. Keylor
Rowman & Littlefield
Lanham • Boulder • New York • London
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Keylor, William R., 1944– author.
Title: Charles de Gaulle : a thorn in the side of six American presidents / William R.
Keylor.
Description: Lanham : Rowman & Littlefield, 2020. | Includes bibliographical
references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020013444 (print) | LCCN 2020013445 (ebook) | ISBN
9781442236745 (cloth) | ISBN 9781442236769 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Gaulle, Charles de, 1890–1970. | France—Foreign relations—
United States. | United States—Foreign relations—France. | France—Politics
and government—20th century. | United States—Politics and government—20th
century. | World War, 1939–1945—Diplomatic history.
Classification: LCC E183.8.F8 K49 2020 (print) | LCC E183.8.F8 (ebook) | DDC
327.4407309/045—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020013444
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020013445
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper
for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.
To Pierre Mélandri and Maurice Vaisse

C O N T E N T S
Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
Chapter 1 T he Young Charles de Gaulle, 1890–1940:
Before the Fall of France 5
Chapter 2 F allen France, 1940–1941:
Occupation, Collaboration, and Exile 23
Chapter 3 F DR and de Gaulle, 1940–1945:
A Cold Shoulder from the “Stubborn Dutchman”
to the “Stubborn Frenchman” 33
Chapter 4 F rance’s Role in the Postwar International Order 95
Chapter 5 T ruman and de Gaulle, 1945–1946:
A Brief Encounter with Pinpricks 115
Chapter 6 D e Gaulle in the Political Wilderness, 1946–1958:
Failed Attempt at a Comeback before Success 135
Chapter 7 E isenhower and de Gaulle, 1958–1961:
Two Wartime Buddies in Power 147
Chapter 8 K ennedy and de Gaulle, 1961–1963:
JFK’s Grand Design Derailed 175
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viii • Contents
Chapter 9 Johnson and de Gaulle, 1963–1968:
Distant Antagonists 205
Chapter 10 N ixon and de Gaulle, 1969:
Realism Triumphant and Mutual Admiration 249
Chapter 11 D e Gaulle and the United States:
A Long and Contentious Relationship 257
A Note on Sources 263
Notes 265
Bibliography 329
Index 349
About the Author 365
A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S
Acknowledgments
I owe such an enormous debt to a long list of individuals who for decades
have contributed to my understanding of the foreign relations of the United
States, the foreign relations of France, and/or the relationship between those
two countries since the Second World War. On this side of the pond (as
they say), these include (in alphabetical order): the late Chuck Cogan, Bob
Dallek, Will Hitchcock, the late Stanley Hoffman, Steve Kalberg, Stephen
Kinzer, the late Sally Marks, the late Ernie May, David Mayers, Kim Mun-
holland, Cathal Nolan, Arnie Offner, David Schalk, Bruce Schulman, Tom
Schwartz, Marc Trachtenberg, the late Nick Wahl, and Irwin Wall.
In France I have been blessed by friendships and fruitful conversations
with the following outstanding historians over many years (again in alpha-
betical order): Denise Artaud, the late Jacques Bariéty, the late Jean-Baptise
Duroselle, André Kaspi, Pierre Mélandri, Yves-Henri Nouailhat, Elizebeth
de Réau, Serge Ricard, Georges-Henri Soutou, Benjamin Stora, and Maurice
Vaisse. Two French scholars with whom I have become acquainted briefly at
conferences, for whose scholarship I have the highest regard, and on whose
work I have relied on a great deal in composing this book are André Béziat
and Frédéric Bozo.
I gratefully acknowledge the financial assistance I have received from
the Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University and its founding
dean, Dr. Adil Najam, which enabled me to visit numerous archives and
libraries. I also was privileged to receive travel grants from the Dwight D.
Eisenhower Library in Abilene, Kansas, and the Harry S. Truman Library in
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