William Tapley Bennett, Jr. Papers, 1930-1994
50 boxes, 23.5 linear feet

Administrative Information

- Access Restrictions
- User Restrictions
- Processing Notes
- Copyright Information
- Preferred Citation

Biographical Note

Scope and Content

Organization
and Arrangement

Related Collections

- In Russell Library
- In other repositories


Series Descriptions

Audiovisual Materials


Access Points

Folder List

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ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Access Restrictions: None.

User Restrictions: Library acts as “fair use” reproduction agent.

Processing Notes: In processing these papers, the original order has been retained when it could be determined. Photographs, audiovisual materials, and artifacts were separated for preservation.

Copyright Information: Before material from collections at the Richard B. Russell Library may be quoted in print, or otherwise reproduced, in whole or in part, in any publication, permission must be obtained from (1) the owner of the physical property, and (2) the holder of the copyright. It is the particular responsibility of the researcher to obtain both sets of permission. Persons wishing to quote from materials in the Russell Library collection should consult the Director. Reproduction of any item must contain a complete citation to the original.

Preferred Citation: William Tapley Bennett, Jr. Papers, Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, The University of Georgia Libraries, Athens, Georgia.


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BIOGRAPHICAL/HISTORICAL NOTE:

The longest serving officer in the American Foreign Service, William Tapley Bennett, retired in 1985 with more than forty years of diplomatic experience under nine presidents. Bennett was a career diplomat who served as United States Ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) at Brussels, Belgium (1977-1983); to the United Nations Security Council (1971-1977); to Portugal (1966-1969); and to the Dominican Republic (1964-1966).

Bennett was born in Griffin, Georgia on April 1, 1917. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Georgia in 1937; did graduate work at the University of Freidburg, Germany in 1937-1938; and later earned a Bachelor of Law degree from George Washington University.

From the outset of his career, Bennett believed his role in the foreign service was to serve his government and country, and to facilitate their best interests. He joined the United States Foreign Service in 1941, and his first post abroad was at the American Legation of Santo Domingo. In 1944 he was transferred to the American Embassy in Panama, and later that year volunteered for the U.S. Army.

After World War II, he returned to the U.S. Department of State. In 1945, he served on the U.S. delegation at the founding Conference on International Organizations in San Francisco, which resulted in the creation of the United Nations. From 1951 to 1954, Bennett was Deputy Director to the Office of South American Affairs. After studying at the National War College in 1954-1955, he served two years as Special Assistant to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs. From 1957 to 1964, he acted as Counselor and Minister in U.S. Embassies in Rome, Italy; Vienna, Austria; and Athens, Greece.

In 1964, Bennett became the U. S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic. A year later, the rookie ambassador was confronted with hostilities that broke out in April, 1965. Swift military action was taken by the United States against what President Johnson deemed as a popular revolt taken over by a "band of Communist conspirators." Bennett was both praised and criticized by his colleagues for his part in the Dominican Crisis.

Seeking relief from the tropical heat of the Dominican Republic, Bennett accepted an ambassadorial post in Portugal, where he served from 1966 to 1969. In 1972, he began serving concurrently as Ambassador to the United Nations Security Council and Deputy United States Representative to the United Nations. After representing the United States for six years at the United Nations, Bennett was appointed U.S. Ambassador to NATO in Brussels, Belgium.

Upon his retirement from the U. S. Department of State in 1985, Bennett lectured widely and also served as President of the Atlantic Treaty Association from 1991-1992. He died in Washington, D.C. in the fall of 1994.



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SCOPE AND CONTENT:


The papers of William Tapley Bennett, Jr. document Bennett's diplomatic service with the U. S. Department of State from 1944 to 1985 and his military service from 1944 to 1953. The personal papers extend over the same period (1944-1985) and the speech file on to the 1990s. Types of material represented in the collection include correspondence, speeches, news clippings, printed material, appointment books, photographs, and audiovisual materials. Accompanying the papers are plaques, posters, certificates, artifacts, and audiovisual materials.



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ORGANIZATION AND ARRANGEMENT:

Throughout his career, Bennett kept a file under the name of each diplomatic post, a file for personal papers, and one for speeches. Following this order, the papers are arranged into five series: Diplomatic Service, Personal Files, Speech and Press, Post-Retirement Activities, Photographs, Artifacts, and Audiovisual Materials. Earliest dates are placed at the beginning and a chronological/subject arrangement proceeds to the latest date.



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RELATED COLLECTIONS IN THIS REPOSITORY:

Dean Rusk Research Collection, 1937-1995
Richard B. Russell, Jr. Collection
Mrs. William Tapley Bennet, Jr. Oral History



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RELATED COLLECTIONS IN OTHER REPOSITORIES:

William Tapley Bennett, Sr. Papers, Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia Libraries



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SERIES DESCRIPTIONS:

I. Diplomatic Service, U.S. Department of State, 1944-1985
35 boxes, 17.5 linear feet
William Tapley Bennett's career in the U.S. Department of State can be followed through the correspondence, press releases, and news clippings, as he progressed through the ranks from Area Officer to Counselor and Minister to Ambassador. His assignment to the Dominican Republic as Ambassador encompassed the "Dominican Crisis of 1965" and the controversy surrounding the sending of U.S. Marines to San Domingo. The researcher will find detailed accounts of the action in Bennett's own words, from other witnesses, and many newspapers, as well as several scholarly papers written on the subject. The assignments are well documented with the exception of Rome, Italy in the spring of 1961 which lasted only a month; Bennett was then reassigned to Athens, Greece.

Bennett stated that his most responsible position was that of Representative to the North Atlantic Council of NATO from 1977 to 1983. Speeches made for NATO are included in this series, as well as, correspondence and farewell ceremonies (June, 1983) at the end of the assignment.

II. Personal File, 1944-1994
6 boxes, 2.75 linear ft.
The Personal File has two subseries: Official and Family. "Personal/Official" was a file kept parallel to the main file at each post and consists of correspondence with colleages in the State Department and other associates. Reading the two files together will give a more complete picture of Bennett's activities within a certain time frame.

Strictly personal or family papers form the second part of the series. Included are handwritten letters, information about Bennett's parents, children's education, and family travel.

III. Speech and Press, 1947-1990
8 boxes, 4 linear ft.
This series is divided into four subseries: Speeches by Bennett, 1947-1990; Speaking Engagements; Speech Material; and Speeches by Others, following headings kept by Bennett's office. "Speaking Engagements" includes some correspondence on arrangements, a log, and Speaker's Report from the U.S. Department of State.

Bennett's speeches are a corollary to the correspondence in earlier series in revealing his personality and his character. His command of the English language and adherence to rules of usage are worthy of note (and were a source of wit for his staff).


Bennett spoke on a wide variety of subjects and to varied audiences: university groups, churches, military installations among many. His tenure at the United Nations was a prolific period for speechmaking. Following his retirement in 1985, he gave lectures and speeches, some of which are included in the collection.

V. Post-retirement Activities, 1985-1994
1 box, 0.5 linear ft.
Ceremonies marking Bennett's retirement from the U. S. Department of State in 1985 are documented in this series. Papers indicating Bennett's leadership and participation in decision making of the North Atlantic Council and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are found here, as well as those of the Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis and other diplomatic organizations. A set of lectures given for the Royal Viking Lines is included, as well as, correspondence with the University of Georgia concerning a teaching position.

VI. Photographs
108 items
This series consists primarily of photographs representing Bennett's career in the United Nations and NATO. The majority of these photographs are of Bennett pictured with various political dignitaries abroad. Other images included in this series record Bennett's college years at the University of Georgia, his work abroad for the U.S. Department of State, and his ambassadorships in the Dominican Republic and Portugal. Notable individuals pictured in this series are Jacqueline Kennedy, Eleanor Roosevelt, Hubert Humphrey, Lyndon B. Johnson, Danny Kaye, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and George Bush, Sr.

VII. Artifacts
70 items
This series consists primarily of military insignia Bennett accumulated during his military service from 1944 to 1953 and his diplomatic service in the U.S. Department of State, including a Distinguished Public Service medal granted by the U.S. Defense Department and a Meritorious Honor medal from the U.S. Department of State. Also included in this series are honorary keys and charms associated with Bennett's college years at the University of Georgia.

VIII. Audiovisual Materials
1 16mm film, 15 audiotapes, 2 interview transcripts

The audiovisual materials from the William Tapley Bennett, Jr. Papers, 1930-1994 supplement the paper materials documenting Bennett's diplomatic service with the U. S. Department of State from 1944 to 1985 and focus primarily on the later years of his service. Included among the materials is one silent, black and white 16mm film of the 1966 farewell ceremony conducted upon Bennett's departure for his ambassadorial post in Portugal. Also included are fifteen audiotapes, many containing recordings of speeches and events including a statement by Gunnery Sergeant Jack E. Moonman regarding the U.S. Dominican Republic Intervention of April 1965, a 1977 interview of Bennett conducted by Bernard Gwertzman for The New York Times, the swearing in of Bennett as Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Intergovernmental Affairs in 1983, and an address delivered in 1978 on the Sender Freies-Berlin German radio station. Present among the audiotapes as well are a number of audio recordings of addresses delivered in Georgia during the 1970s and musical recordings made by Bennett of Fado songs of Portugal and of a performance by Pearl Bailey for U.S. President Gerald Ford and President of Egypt Anwar Sadat.

This series also includes an two oral history interviews for the Foreign Affairs Oral History Project conducted the under the auspices of the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training with the Honorable W. Tapley Bennett, Jr. made at DACOR Bacon House on Thursday the 16th of June, 1988. The interviewer was Horace G. Torbert, Jr.



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ACCESS POINTS

North Atlantic Council.
United Nations. Security Council.
United States. Dept. of State.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Ambassadors --United States.
Diplomats --United States.
Diplomatic and consular service, American.
Dominican Republic --Politics and government --1961-
United States --Foreign relations --Dominican Republic.
United States --Foreign relations --1945-
Dominican Republic --History --Revolution, 1965.
United States --Foreign relations --Austria.
Maxwell Air Force Base (Ala.)
Austria --Politics and government --1945-
United States --Foreign relations --Portugal.
Portugal --Politics and government --20th century.
Speeches.
Photographs.


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FOLDER LIST

Not available at this time. Please contact Russell Library for more information.


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