Lord Lothian and the Federalist Critique of National Sovereignty

Abstract

Abstract Philip Kerr, Marquess of Lothian, is well known for his tenure at Washington as British Ambassador from September 1939 until his death in December 1940. One of the principal objectives of British foreign policy during these crucial months was to enlist American support for the struggle against Nazi Germany. Lothian’s role in the achievement of this objective was central. Through private diplomacy and a series of highly effective public speeches, Lothian played a notable part in persuading both the Roosevelt Administration, and the wider American public, that the fate of their country was inextricably linked to Britain’s. It is easy to forget, given the subsequent forging of the ‘special relationship’, that many Americans were committed to a thoroughly isolationist stance towards ‘Europe’s sordid squabbles’. Lothian did much to transform this inward-looking perspective. In doing so he paved the way for two deals that were vital for Britain’s war-effort: the destroyers-for-bases deal and the Lend-Lease programme. Not for nothing did Churchill describe Lothian as ‘our greatest Ambassador to the United States’.