Robert Bacon

Robert Bacon (July 5, 1860 – May 29, 1919) was an American athlete, banker, businessman, statesman, diplomat and Republican Party politician who served as the 39th United States Secretary of State in the Theodore Roosevelt administration from January to March 1909. He also served as Assistant Secretary of State from 1905 to 1909 and Ambassador to France from 1909 to 1912.

Bacon was a native of Boston, Massachusetts and attended Harvard College. While a student at Harvard, he starred in athletics, captaining the football team, rowing crew, and winning events in boxing and track. He befriended future president Theodore Roosevelt, leading to a lifelong friendship and professional relationship. After graduation, he became an investment banker with the firm of Lee, Higginson & Co. before joining J.P. Morgan & Co. in New York.

As Secretary of State, Bacon pressed Roosevelt's interests in the United States Senate to ratify treaties with Colombia and the new nation of Panama to resolve disputes over the Panama Canal. He continued to advance United States interests in Latin America after leaving office, conducting a tour of the region for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and publishing a treatise arguing for better relations with South America.

Bacon was a leader in the movement for military preparedness following the outbreak of the First World War, establishing training programs for potential soldiers and officers prior to American entry to the war. In 1916, he narrowly lost the Republican primary for United States Senator from New York to William M. Calder. He was commissioned as a major in the United States Army in 1917 and served under General John Pershing in France. Pershing appointed Bacon to a major role as the chief American liaison to British General Headquarters. Historian James Brown Scott remarked, "There was nothing eventful in Mr. Bacon's ambassadorship."

Upon his arrival, Bacon focused on securing relief aid for the Great Flood of Paris. In April 1910, he hosted Theodore Roosevelt on the latter's return from an African safari. During the visit, Roosevelt delivered his famous Citizenship in a Republic speech at the Sorbonne. He continued to develop ties to Latin American colleagues in France, hosting an annual celebration for these countries on George Washington's birthday, at which he emphasized the similarities between Washington, Simón Bolívar and José de San Martín.

Bacon submitted his resignation as Ambassador on January 2, 1912, upon his election as a Fellow of Harvard University. He remained in office until Myron Herrick was nominated as his successor. Bacon and his family remained in Paris to brief Herrick on the diplomatic situation, causing them to cancel their planned trip on the RMS Titanic.

World War I

In August 1914, after the outbreak of World War I in Europe, Bacon went to France to help with the work of the American Field Service – which provided ambulances and drivers to support French and British forces. He was also attached to the British Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) and assisted with the establishment of a typhoid hospital near Ypres. His book For Better Relations with Our Latin American Neighbors was published in 1915.

thumb|340x340px|Bacon (right) served as the American liaison to Field Marshal [[Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig|Douglas Haig during World War I.]]

He was a staunch advocate of the United States' entry into World War I and spoke in favor of increased military preparedness via universal military service as the president of the National Security League in 1916. He criticized President Woodrow Wilson for inaction at the German invasion of Belgium and sought the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate against William M. Calder. Bacon continued to push for a stronger national defense as well as a protective tariff that could be used for the mobilization of industry in case of war. Although he had support from former president Theodore Roosevelt and Elihu Root, Bacon lost the race by about 9,000 votes and pledged to support Calder.

He was then commissioned as a major in the United States Army in May 1917, one month after the American entry into World War I, before sailing to France as a member of the staff of Major General John J. "Blackjack" Pershing, who was made commander of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF). Bacon was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1918 and served as chief of the American military mission at British General Headquarters working with the British commander, Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, commanding the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the Western Front. He returned to the United States in April 1919, five months after the war ended due to the Armistice with Germany on November 11, 1918. After the War Memorial Chapel at Harvard was completed in 1932, it was installed there.

World War I

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