The enduring friendship between John Foster Dulles (JFD) and Jean Monnet began at the Versailles Peace Conference in 1919 where JFD was legal advisor to the US representative on the reparations committee. Their association continued in the financial world and it was JFD, who was the lawyer for the consortium led by Monnet, for the Polish loan in 1927. In 1935 JFD provided the financial backing for Monnet and George Murnane to go into investment banking. During the second World War Monnet had worked with the British Supply Council in Washington, and Dulles was the legal adviser to this Council. So it was during these years and in the years after the war when peace was being established that JFD came to believe in a unified Europe, a federation of states like the US model. His association with Monnet would have fostered these beliefs and this was to be the basis of an enduring friendship, for Dulles committed himself to the re-building of Germany and its integration into a united Europe. Dulles' talents in the diplomatic field had been shown when he had helped construct the Japanese Peace Treaty 1950-1951. When the Schuman Plan was unveiled in May 1950, it was strongly endorsed by JFD, who had long favoured europeanising coal and steel production and promoting German/French co-operation as the best method of ensuring peace. In 1952, President Eisenhower appointed JFD Secretary of State and JFD used his power and influence in this position to push for US backing for the idea of a united Europe and thus for collective European institutions such as the European Defence Community (EDC). Monnet suggested to Dulles the idea of a US Representative/Ambassador to Europe to underline US support for European integration. Dulles took this suggestion to Eisenhower and so David Bruce was appointed to the position as US representative to the ECSC and observer to the EDC Committee, with William Tomlinson as his chief aide. Dulles, however was becoming impatient with the slow ratification of the EDC Treaty and so was advised to get tough with the French. So in a speech that was approved by Eisenhower, Douglas Dillon, American Ambassador to France and Bruce, JFD linked the success of NATO to the EDC in a speech in Dec 1953. This speech further irritated and worried the French as it appeared the US were dictating how they should run their affairs. To compensate for this hiccup and to show continuing US support for European Unification, Dulles on the advise of Monnet, made an A

The originals are held in various Archives and Presidential Libraries in the USA

The documents in this collection can be found in Princeton, under the section dealing with "Selected Correspondence and Related Material" generally in the folders entitled "Jean Monnet", but since thi