Sumner Welles Papers | Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum

The Papers are divided into 14 series.

Prior to accession into the FDR Library, the collection was in the possession of Benjamin Welles, son of Sumner Welles. While in Benjamin Welles’ possession, the collection was arranged through the work of several scholars, as well as Benjamin Welles himself. This work resulted in the creation of several indexes. The scholars included Terry E. Nadeau of the Ford Foundation who did the basic organizing of the collection: removing it from storage containers, placing it in filing cabinets, and creating most of the card file, 1919-1943. The card file was completed by Mrs. Frank W. Graff, whose husband did extensive research in the papers during 1972-74. Mrs. Graff also developed the cross-filing system while assisting in the research of her husband and Mr. Benjamin Welles.

Researchers should note several filing inconsistencies in the Welles Papers. (1) Names beginning with de or d', such as D'Alessandro, were filed both under the letter D and the letter A. (2) Again, correspondence with an individual may be filed under the person's name or the institution. (3) Finally, in cases of Spanish double surnames, e.g. Maximino Avila Camacho, letters were filed under both names. Although efforts were made to regularize (1) and (3), researchers should check under both letters to be certain, and also consult the card file.

Benjamin Sumner Welles (October 14, 1892 – September 24, 1961) was a US diplomat and government official, who served in the presidential administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt from 1933 until 1943.

Born in New York City on October 14, 1892, he was the son of Benjamin Sumner Welles Jr. and Frances Wyeth Swan. Welles preferred to go by the name Sumner, as opposed to his given name of Benjamin.

Sumner attended Harvard College, in the study of economics, as well as Iberian literature and culture. After graduation in 1914, Sumner entered the US State Department in the Foreign Service, on the advice of family friend, Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Welles and Roosevelt families were connected through marriage and other acquaintances. Welles’ first assignment overseas was as the third secretary in the US Embassy in Tokyo, Japan.

On April 14, 1915, Welles married Esther Slater. They had two children: Benjamin (1916) and Arnold (1918).

Welles became a specialist in Latin American affairs, also becoming fluent in Spanish. In 1919, he served in an appointment in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In 1921, Welles was appointed head of the Division of Latin American Affairs, by Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes. In March 1922, Welles resigned from the State Department over disagreement with the US Policy of using the military to protect business interests. In 1923, he returned at the request of Secretary Hughes, as special commissioner to the Dominican Republic.

Also in 1923, Welles’ wife, Esther, obtained a divorce from him on grounds of abandonment.

In 1924, President Coolidge appointed Welles mediator of a political dispute in Honduras, which resulted in a treaty. Welles then married Mathilde Scott Townsend on June 27, 1925. He was shortly thereafter dismissed by President Coolidge concerning Mathilde, who was recently divorced from the President’s friend, U.S. Senator Peter Gerry of Rhode Island.

Over the next seven years, Welles turned to writing a history of the Dominican Republic, Naboth’s Vineyard: The Dominican Republic, 1844-1924 (1928). He also served as an unofficial advisor to the Dominican Republic’s President, Horacio Vásquez.

In 1932, Welles assisted the Roosevelt presidential campaign on issues of foreign policy. The following year, President Roosevelt appointed Welles Assistant Secretary of State for Latin American Affairs. Within weeks however, he would be appointed special envoy to Cuba, to help resolve political unrest there.

In 1937, Welles was appointed Under Secretary of State by Roosevelt. As Under Secretary, Welles would become a trusted advisor of the President on foreign affairs. He developed a rivalry with Secretary of State Cordell Hull, which led to conflict within the department, as Roosevelt tended to favor both men. Welles led the U.S. delegation to the Pan American Conference in September, 1939. He would visit Europe in early 1940, to assess conditions there and to present U.S. peacemaking proposals to the war’s combatants. During his time as Under Secretary, Welles opposed the adjustment of immigration quotas to allow more Jews to escape from Germany in the late 1930s.

On July 23, 1940, while in the role of Acting Secretary of State, Welles publicly condemned the Soviet Union’s annexation of the Baltic States. Known as the “Welles Declaration,” it refused US recognition of Soviet control there.

In September, 1940, Welles accompanied FDR to Alabama for the funeral of House Speaker William B. Bankhead. On the return journey by train, while intoxicated, Welles solicited sex from two male African American porters. Reports of the incident were leaked to former US Ambassador to France, William Bullitt. Bullitt, who disliked Welles, and who sided with Hull in his rivalry with Welles, met with President Roosevelt to persuade Welles’ removal. Roosevelt felt the story was a libel campaign, and refused. Bullitt then reached out to Vice President Henry A. Wallace and Secretary Hull. Hull moved to dismiss Welles, and Bullitt next leaked the information to U.S. Senator Owen Brewster, a Roosevelt opponent. Brewster threatened a Senate inquiry. Now on the edge of a scandal, Roosevelt accepted Welles’ resignation on September 30, 1943.

After his resignation, Welles returned to speak for international causes, such as the formation of what would become the United Nations, an end to colonialism, and the establishment of Israel.

In 1944, he authored the book A Time for Decision (Harper & Brothers, 1944), in which he advocated the realignment of Germany’s borders, and the relocation of ethnic Germans, as well as the political division of Germany into 3 separate states. He also advocated for a European customs union, and the transfer of populations in Europe to align closer to international boundaries.

Welles also served as a commentator of international affairs, working with ABC Radio to provide radio commentary of the San Francisco Conference of the United Nations, in April, 1945.

He authored We Need Not Fail (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1948) which advocated a two state solution for Palestine and the establishment of the State of Israel, within an economic union. He received praise for his support of the establishment of Israel.

On December 7, 1948, Welles appeared before the House Un-American Activities Committee. He was questioned on concerns of Soviet espionage in the State Department over the Alger Hiss Case. Later that month he suffered a heart attack. He continued to be both directly and indirectly effected by the investigations into Communist activity in the Federal Government by US Senator Joseph McCarthy, for several years. His wife, Mathilde, died of peritonitis in 1949 while on vacation in Switzerland with Welles.

Welles married a third time, this time to Harriette Appleton Post, a childhood friend, on January 8, 1952.

Welles died on September 24, 1961, at age 68, in Bernardsville, New Jersey. He is buried in Rock Creek Cemetery, in Washington, D.C.