C. Douglas Dillon – heir to a vast investment banking fortune, and one of the richest men in America during his political career – was a Republican who served in a Democratic administration and became one of the greatest modern treasury secretaries. He believed in bipartisanship and public duty, a sensibility that has all but faded from the current political climate.

With exclusive access to the family’s archive, in The Dillon Era Richard Aldous sets fresh eyes on a well-documented period in recent American history, unfolding a deeply influential but somewhat overlooked political career. In 1953 President Eisenhower appointed Dillon as ambassador to Paris, and he promoted him to second in command in the State Department in 1958. Tapped by Presidents Kennedy and Johnson for treasury secretary to reassure Wall Street that the nation’s finances were in safe hands, Dillon would become one of President Kennedy’s closest advisors, and perhaps the only cabinet member who was a personal friend. His impact on the Kennedy and Johnson administrations was immense, not least in delivering the most comprehensive income tax cuts the nation had ever seen. Overseas he worked to sustain political cooperation as the Bretton Woods system threatened to unravel. By the time he left office in 1965, the Washington Post recognized Dillon as “by far the best Secretary of the Treasury of the postwar period,” and European Economic Community president Walter Hallstein hailed a new “Dillon era.”

Dillon advocated for evolution and reform over radicalism, and he placed the national interest above party interest. The Dillon Era throws new light on the postwar period, identifying Dillon as a pivotal figure in American policymaking during these crucial years of the Cold War.

Richard Aldous is Eugene Meyer Professor of British History and Culture at Bard College.

Richard Aldous' profile page

“An informative, appreciative study of C. Douglas Dillon, secretary of the Treasury in the Kennedy administration … Mr. Aldous, a history professor at Bard College and the author of a well-regarded biography of Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., makes a persuasive case for Dillon’s beneficial role in the tumultuous history of postwar America.” The Wall Street Journal

“Richard Aldous vividly brings to life a vastly underappreciated, extraordinarily accomplished “wise man” of the post-war period who played an outsized role in helping Ike, JFK, and LBJ navigate the Cold War and nourish prosperity for America and the world. With a fast-paced writing style, and with gripping detail that he uses to great effect, Aldous shows how the calm, courteous, measured, and understated Douglas Dillon grew from political neophyte to savvy Washington insider, from a Wall Street banker of great privilege to a tough, adroit, polished, and ultimately commanding figure of great U.S. and global influence. I learned a great deal from The Dillon Era, enjoyed the literary ride immensely, and can’t recommend it highly enough to Cold War historians and the general public alike.” Lawrence J. Haas, author of The Kennedys in the World: How Jack, Bobby, and Ted Remade America’s Empire

“With vivid insights and lively prose, Richard Aldous resurrects a forgotten man of mid-twentieth-century America, a Wall Street banker who served Ike, JFK, and LBJ with equal loyalty and distinction – a natural balancer whose life makes for poignant reading in our polarized age.” David Reynolds, Cambridge University and author of America, Empire of Liberty

"Aldous, a professor at Bard College in New York state, underscores Dillon’s achievements, portraying his seminal contributions to American foreign and economic policy. These are detailed in an excellent work of historical non-fiction. Calm, reasonable and measured, Dillon did not draw attention to himself; he just quietly shaped and implemented policy. Aldous’s study rescues Dillon from historical obscurity, illuminating an unsung figure." The Winnipeg Free Press

“Douglas Dillon had one of the most important American public careers of the 1950s and 1960s. In this gracefully written and engaging book, Richard Aldous adroitly recounts Dillon’s role in the domestic and foreign policies of the United States in those years and his considerable influence on both.” Michael Mandelbaum, Johns Hopkins University and author of The Four Ages of American Foreign Policy: Weak Power, Great Power, Superpower, Hyperpower