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The exhibition features papers, letters, and photographs from influential diplomats and foreign policy makers, focusing on the most significant issues during their careers. The documents used in the exhibit come from the collections of the Hoover Institution Archives. Some of the diplomats in the exhibit are Hugh Gibson, Stanley Hornbeck, Robert Murphy, Edward Lansdale, Robert Hill, Henry Kissinger, and George Shultz.

 

Image: Robert Murphy, Roosevelt's personal envoy and Eisenhower's political advisor, pinned the distinguished service medal on Ike during the North African campaign.

 


 

Shultz and Nudel

Secretary of State George Shultz made human rights an issue of discussion when he negotiated with the Soviets. He is shown with Soviet dissident Ida Nudel, who was finally allowed to emigrate to Israel.

 


Lansdale's mission to South VietnamEdward Lansdale's mission to South Vietnam, 1954­1956, included training the South Vietnamese army in techniques of psychological warfare.


Shultz and ShevardnadzeSecretary of state George P. Shultz shakes hands with Soviet foreign minister Eduard Shevardnadze during negotiations in Moscow, April, 1987.


Kissinger and Chou En-lai

Henry Kissinger secretly flew to China to meet with Chou En-lai in order to plan Nixon's forthcoming trip.

 


anti-Japan poster

pro-Japan poster

Far East foreign policy advisor Stanley Hornbeck advised the secretary of state not to condemn Japan for its take-over of Manchuria in 1931. He believed that the U.S. was unprepared to fight a war with Japan at that time. The posters show two points of view of the Japanese actions: the Chinese (left) and the Japanese (right).


poster promoting peaceThe horrors of World War I prompted over sixty countries including the United States to sign a pact outlawing war. Ambassador Hugh Gibson headed several American delegations meeting with the League of Nations to promote lasting peace through disarmament. With the rise of fascist states in the 1930s the 1932 Geneva Disarmament Conference recessed, never to reconvene.


 

Upcoming Events

Thursday, June 11, 2026
Regulating Transportation Networks: Opportunities And Challenges For Federal Regulatory Policy
Join the Hoover Institution for a virtual discussion on the impact of federal regulation on transportation networks. The panel discussion will… Virtual Panel Discussion
Thursday, June 11, 2026
America, War And The World: Applying History To Contemporary Strategic Challenges
Join Hoover Fellow Sir Niall Ferguson in conversation with Griffin Fellows, Tyler Goodspeed, Nick Lambert, Luke Nichter, Manny Rincon-Cruz, and Ziyi…
Wednesday, June 17, 2026
Choosing Freedom: Lives That Defied Tyranny
Choosing Freedom: Lives That Defied Tyranny
Uncover personal stories of courage in the pursuit of freedom in a new exhibition from the Hoover Institution Library & Archives Lou Henry Hoover Gallery, Hoover Tower
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