Manuscript DS as president, one page, 23 x 19, July 24, 1941. President Roosevelt appoints Thomas M. Wilson of Tennessee as "Commissioner of the United States of America to India with the rank of Minister." Boldly signed at the conclusion by Roosevelt and countersigned by Acting Secretary of State Sumner Welles. The white paper seal affixed to the lower left remains fully intact. In fine condition, with scattered light creasing. During his career, Thomas M. Wilson served as consul in China, Madras, and Bombay, as consul general in Sydney, and as minister/consul general in Iraq. This was a significant appointment in the history of the Indian independence movement, opening quasi-diplomatic relations between the United States and a not-yet-free India. Roosevelt did much to pressure Winston Churchill to modify British policy toward the nation, especially as India became a major base of operations against the Japanese in World War II.
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