TLS as president, one page, 6.75 x 8.75, White House letterhead, June 11, 1951. Letter to Attorney General J. Howard McGrath, in full: "For some time it has been my opinion that an all out investigation ought to be made of Lobbies at work here in Washington, particularly the Real Estate Lobby and the China Lobby. I think the China Lobby is of vital interest to the Government and a special effort should be made to find all its ramifications. I, therefore, direct that you use whatever Bureaus are necessary to get this information and, if it becomes necessary, to take whatever action the facts require." In fine condition, with rusty paperclip stains to the upper left corner.
The 'China Lobby' was comprised of several loosely organized advocacy groups of nationalist Chinese and powerful American conservatives who supported Chiang Kai-shek's efforts to overthrow communism in China during the 1950s. It has been credited with forcing a reluctant Truman administration to continue aid to Chiang during the Chinese civil war, preventing recognition of the People's Republic of China and barring it from the United Nations, and blocking the distribution of a book exposing the operations of the China lobby.
One of the China Lobby's political allies, Senator Joseph McCarthy, took aim at a number of State Department officials in the early 1950s, accusing them of being pro-Communist. Among those who were dismissed or forced to resign were John Carter Vincent, O. Edmund Clubb, John Stuart Service, and John Patton Davies. A fascinating presidential letter from the Cold War era, in which Truman instructs his attorney general to investigate foreign influence in domestic politics.
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