Truman, Franco's Spain, and the Cold War - Hardcover

“A balanced, behind-the-scenes account of the struggle of these two nations to find common ground.”—Larry W. Blomstedt, Galveston College, author of Truman, Congress, and Korea

“A well-written and important book that will contribute greatly to the historiography of the United States toward Franco’s Spain.”—David A. Messenger, University of Wyoming, author of Hunting Nazis in Franco’s Spain

Well-deployed primary sources and brisk writing by Wayne H. Bowen make this an excellent framework for understanding the evolution of U.S. policy toward Spain, and thus how a nation facing a global threat develops strategic relationships over time.

President Harry S. Truman harbored an abiding disdain for Spain and its government. During his presidency (1945–1953), the State Department and the Department of Defense lobbied Truman to form an alliance with Spain to leverage that nation’s geostrategic position, despite Francisco Franco’s authoritarian dictatorship. The eventual alliance between the two countries came only after years of argument for such a shift by nearly the entire U.S. diplomatic and military establishment. This delay increased the financial cost of the 1953 defense agreements with Spain, undermined U.S. planning for the defense of Europe, and caused dysfunction over foreign policy at the height of the Cold War.

Wayne H. Bowen is Professor and Chair of the Department of History at Southeast Missouri State University, and author of three books published by the University of Missouri Press, including Spain and the American Civil War. He lives in Cape Girardeau, MO.

Wayne H. Bowen is professor and chair of the Department of History at Southeast Missouri State University, and author of three books published by the University of Missouri Press, including Spain and the American Civil War. He lives in Cape Girardeau, MO.