Author Type

Graduate Student

Date of Award

1996

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Status

Version of Record

Submission Date

October 2026

Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]

O'Sullivan, John

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the policy of "unconditional surrender" and the historical role of Joseph C. Grew and his attempts to affect this policy. Grew was a career diplomat who served as Ambassador to Japan from 1932 to 1942 and he also served as Under Secretary and Acting Secretary of State between December 1944 and August 1945. Grew's experience made him one of the administration's diplomatic experts on Japan and he became a key figure in the formulation of the eventual surrender policy. The traditional analysis of Grew argued that he was an advocate of a "soft peace" with Japan because he suggested the retention of the Emperor as a means of quickly ending the war. However, throughout Grew's tenure as a member of the State Department he continued to publicly and enthusiastically support the administration's call for unconditional surrender. The evidence shows that Grew's concern for the retention of the Emperor was based upon his pragmatic belief that the institution of the throne was the best formula for ending the war quickly with a minimum loss of American and Allied lives.

Extent

209 p.

Comments

Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1996.|Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters

Identifier

FADT15297

Format

pdf

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