British foreign relations with the United States during Lord Curzon's tenure as Foreign Secretary, 1919 to 1924 (George Nathaniel Curzon, Marquis of Curzon)

This thesis is an attempt to examine Anglo-American relations at the end of World War One, when Great Britain was no longer preeminent in world affairs and the United States was as yet unwilling to continue the responsibilities that it had taken during the war. Lloyd George who sought to keep the threads of power in his hands appointed Auckland Geddes as Ambassador to the United States, a man who was personally loyal to him, thus seeking to bypass Lord Curzon's authority as Foreign Secretary. Matters were complicated by the declining influence of President Wilson and the growth of isolationist sentiment in the United States. The advent of the Harding administration created further difficulties as Harding felt compelled to yield to the influence of public opinion which rejected the Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations.; Various issues had to be resolved, the future of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, the war debt, differences over the mandate of Yap, and the question of oil from the Middle East. Here the dealings of Anglo-American relations during Curzon's tenure at the Foreign Office are examined. Curzon took a conventional approach to Anglo-American negotiations. While Great Britain struggled to improve conditions with the United States, the outcome was nothing like the special relationship that manifested itself after 1945. Curzon's conventional view of foreign policy clashed with Lloyd George's essentially personal approach to foreign affairs. Geddes who was intended to be the Prime Minister's confidential agent proved, except on the question of the war debt, inadequate to the task.