250 to 250: 65. Dean Acheson, Narrated by Antony Blinken

Heather Cox Richardson and 250 to 250: Dean Acheson, Narrated by Antony Blinken

Antony Blinken served as the 71st U.S. Secretary of State. Blinken profiles Dean Acheson, the statesman who helped build the rules-based international order—from the Marshall Plan to NATO—that stabilized the postwar world.

Dean Acheson was an American government leader.

• He worked for the United States from 1933 to 1953.
• During World War II, he helped create the Lend-Lease program.
• The program sent supplies to Great Britain and other allies.
• After the war, he helped rebuild Europe through the Marshall Plan.
• He also helped create North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1949.
• NATO is a group of countries that work together for peace and security.
• Acheson believed countries should help one another.
• He believed strong allies would make the United States safer.
• He believed trade and cooperation would help many countries grow.
• His work helped strengthen friendships between the United States and other nations.
• Today, Dean Acheson is remembered for helping build international cooperation after World War II.

POP Interview and Civics Quiz:

• N-400 Part 9:05a. Have you EVER been a member of, involved in, or in any way associated with any Communist or totalitarian party anywhere in the world?
• USCIS 100:83. During the Cold War, what was the main concern of the United States?
• USCIS 128:108. Who was the United States’ main rival during the Cold War?

Family Fun

• CFR: Dean Acheson and the Birth of the Liberal International Order 
• Carnegie: How Dean Acheson Won the Cold War: Statesmanship, Morality, and Foreign Policy
• Gilder Lehrman Institute: Harry S. Truman to Dean Acheson, March 31, 1950 lesson plan
• NPS: Minuteman Missile National Historic Site |  Junior Ranger Program 7-11 | 12 & up | American Cold War Policy
• National Museum of American Diplomacy: The Road to NATO: Building the Transatlantic Alliance | Foundations of Diplomacy playlist
• Truman Library: 'Harry and Dean' A Play by Karl Inderfurth
• uscitizenpod: 250 to 250: 46. NATO, Narrated by Adam Kinzinger