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{{Short description|American politician and diplomat (1864–1928)}}
{{other people|Robert Lansing}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name         = Robert Lansing
|image        = Robert Lansing, U.S. Secretary of State.jpg
|office       = 42nd [[United States Secretary of State]]
|president    = [[Woodrow Wilson]]
|term_start   = June 24, 1915
|term_end     = February 13, 1920<br/>Acting: June 9 –  24, 1915
|predecessor  = [[William Jennings Bryan]]
|successor    = [[Bainbridge Colby]]
|office1      = 3rd [[Counselor of the United States Department of State]]
|president1   = [[Woodrow Wilson]]
|term_start1  = April 1, 1914
|term_end1    = June 23, 1915
|predecessor1 = [[John Bassett Moore]]
|successor1   = [[Frank Polk]]
|birth_date   = {{birth date|1864|10|17}}
|birth_place  = [[Watertown, New York]], U.S.
|death_date   = {{death date and age|1928|10|30|1864|10|17}} 
|death_place  = New York City, U.S.
|party        = [[United States Democratic Party|Democratic]]
|spouse       = Eleanor Foster (1890–1928)
|education    = [[Amherst College]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])
}}
'''Robert Lansing''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|l|æ|n|s|ɪ|ŋ}}; October 17, 1864 – October 30, 1928) was an American lawyer and diplomat who served as the 42nd [[United States Secretary of State]] under President [[Woodrow Wilson]] from 1915 to 1920. As Counselor to the State Department and then as Secretary of State, he was a leading advocate for [[American involvement in World War I]].

Lansing was born and raised in [[Watertown, New York]], where he joined his father's law firm after graduating from [[Amherst College]]. After developing expertise in international law and marrying the daughter of Secretary of State [[John W. Foster]], he served as associate counsel to the United States delegations to the [[Bering Sea Arbitration]] and Bering Sea Claims, before arguing the United States case before the [[Alaska Boundary Tribunal]] in 1903.

As a conservative, pro-business voice in the Democratic Party, Lansing was appointed by [[Woodrow Wilson]] as Counselor to the State Department under Secretary of State [[William Jennings Bryan]]. When Bryan resigned on June 8, 1915 over Wilson's policy toward Germany, Lansing was elevated to succeed him.

As Secretary of State, Lansing was a strong advocate for the [[United States]]' role in establishing international law and an avowed critic of German autocracy and Russian [[Bolshevism]].<ref>{{cite book|author=David Glaser|title=Robert Lansing: A Study in Statecraft|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k47mBgAAQBAJ&pg=PR2-IA2|year=2015|pages=1–3|publisher=Xlibris Corporation |isbn=9781503545014}}</ref> Before U.S. involvement in the war, Lansing vigorously advocated freedom of the seas and the rights of neutral nations. He later advocated U.S. participation in World War I, negotiated the [[Lansing–Ishii Agreement]] with Japan in 1917 and was a member of the [[American Commission to Negotiate Peace]] at Paris in 1919. However, Wilson made [[Colonel House]] his chief foreign policy advisor because Lansing privately opposed much of the [[Treaty of Versailles]] and was skeptical of the Wilsonian principle of [[self-determination]].

==Career==
Robert Lansing was born in [[Watertown, New York|Watertown]], [[New York (state)|New York]], the son of John Lansing (1832–1907) and Maria Lay (Dodge) Lansing. He graduated from [[Amherst College]] in 1886, studied law, and was admitted to the [[bar association|bar]] in 1889.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Robert Lansing - People - Department History - Office of the Historian |url=https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/lansing-robert |access-date=2023-03-08 |website=history.state.gov}}</ref>

From then to 1907, he was a member of the law firm of Lansing & Lansing at Watertown. An authority on international law, he served as associate counsel for the United States, during the [[Bering Sea Arbitration]] from 1892–1893, as counsel for the United States Bering Sea Claims Commission in 1896–1897, as the government's lawyer before the [[Alaskan Boundary Tribunal]] in 1903, as counsel for the North Atlantic Fisheries in the Arbitration at [[The Hague]] in 1909–1910, and as agent of the United States in the American and British Arbitration in 1912–1914. In 1914 Lansing was appointed counselor to the State Department by President [[Woodrow Wilson]]. Lansing, who had argued cases before Judge Nicholas D. Yost in Watertown, was responsible for encouraging the judge's son, future Ambassador [[Charles W. Yost]], to join the Foreign Service.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Robert Lansing {{!}} United States statesman {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Robert-Lansing |access-date=2023-03-08 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> He was a founding member of the [[American Society of International Law]] and helped establish the [[American Journal of International Law]].<ref name=":0"/>
[[File:Lansing Nomination.JPG|thumb|left|alt= |Lansing's Secretary of State nomination]]
[[File:Robert Lansing and John W. Davis.jpg|thumb|left|Lansing and [[Solicitor General of the United States]] [[John W. Davis]] in 1917]]

===World War I===
Lansing initially advocated for the United States to adopt a position of "[[Neutral country|benevolent neutrality]]" after the outbreak of [[World War I]] and opposed the [[Blockade of Germany (1914–1919)|blockade of Germany]] by the [[Allies of World War I|Allied powers]].<ref>[https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1914-20v01/d277 Papers relating to the foreign relations of the United States, The Lansing Papers, 1914–1920, Volume I, Document 277]. The enclosure states, "If the British Government is expecting an attitude of “benevolent neutrality” on our part—a position which is not neutral and which is not governed by the principles of neutrality—they should know that nothing is further from our intention."</ref>

Following the sinking of the [[RMS Lusitania|RMS ''Lusitania'']] on 7 May 1915 by the German submarine {{SMU|U-20|Germany|2}}, Lansing backed Woodrow Wilson in issuing three notes of protest to the German government. [[William Jennings Bryan]] resigned as Secretary of State following Wilson's second note, which Bryan considered too belligerent. Consulting [[Colonel House]], Wilson was advised to select Lansing as replacement secretary because he did not have "too many ideas of his own". Unlike Bryan he lacked a political base, though he had technical knowledge of international law and diplomatic procedure. Wilson told [[Colonel House]] that as president he would practically be his own Secretary of State, and "Lansing would not be troublesome by uprooting or injecting his own views."<ref>Arthur S. Link, ''Wilson: the struggle for neutrality 1914-1915'' (1960) 3:427-428</ref>

According to John Milton Cooper, appointing Lansing and then "treating him like a clerk" would be one of Wilson's worst mistakes as president. While Wilson set foreign policy directions almost entirely on his own, Lansing resented this treatment, and attempted to undermine the president in various ways.<ref>John Milton Cooper, ''Woodrow Wilson: a biography'' (2009) p. 295</ref> As Lansing said in his memoirs, following the ''Lusitania'' tragedy he had the "conviction that we would ultimately become the ally of Britain". According to Lester H. Woolsey, Lansing expressed his views by manipulating the work of the State Department to minimize conflict with Britain and maximize public awareness of Germany's faults.

Woolsey states:<blockquote>Although the President cherished the hope that the United States would not be drawn into the war, and while this was the belief of many officials, Mr. Lansing early in July, 1915, came to the conclusion that the German ambition for world domination was the real menace of the war, particularly to democratic institutions. In order to block this German ambition, he believed that the progress of the war would eventually disclose to the American people the purposes of the German Government; that German activities in the United States and in Latin America should be carefully investigated and frustrated; that the American republics to the south should be weaned from the German influences; that friendly relations with Mexico should be maintained even to the extent of recognizing the Carranza faction; that the Danish West Indies should be acquired in order to remove the possibility of Germany's obtaining a foothold in the Caribbean by conquest of Denmark or otherwise; that the United States should enter the war if it should appear that Germany would become the victor; and that American public opinion must be awakened in preparation for this contingency. This outline of Mr. Lansing's views explains why the Lusitania dispute was not brought to the point of a break.  It also explains why, though Americans were incensed at the British interference with commerce, the controversy was kept within the arena of debate.<ref>Lester H. Woolsey, "Robert Lansing's Record as Secretary of State." Current History 29.3 (1928): 386-387</ref></blockquote>

German historian [[Gerhard Ritter]] wrote of Lansing in this period: "Lansing had the coolest head among all of Wilson's advisers. His power politics were least inhibited by moral considerations and pacifist impulses."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ritter|first1=Gerhard |date=1972 |title= The Sword and the Scepter vol III: The tragedy of statesmanship |publisher=University of Miami Press|pages=143}}</ref>

In 1916, Lansing hired a handful of men who became the State Department's first [[special agent]]s in the new [[Bureau of Secret Intelligence]]. The agents were initially used to observe the activities of the [[Central Powers]] in America and later to watch over interned German diplomats. The small group of agents hired by Lansing would eventually become the U.S. [[Diplomatic Security Service]] (DSS).

===Later life===
In 1919, Lansing became the nominal head of the US Commission to the [[Paris Peace Conference, 1919|Paris Peace Conference]]. Because he did not regard the [[League of Nations]] as essential to the peace treaty, Lansing began to fall out of favor with Wilson, who considered participation in the League of Nations to be a primary goal. During Wilson's stroke and illness, Lansing called the cabinet together for consultations on several occasions. In addition, he was the first cabinet member to suggest for [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]] [[Thomas R. Marshall]] to assume the powers of the presidency. Displeased by Lansing's independence, Edith Wilson requested Lansing's resignation. Lansing stepped down from his post on February 12, 1920.<ref>{{Cite journal |jstor = 24910117|title = The Resignation of Secretary of State Robert Lansing|journal = Diplomatic History|volume = 3|issue = 3|pages = 337–343|last1 = Williams|first1 = Joyce G.|year = 1979|doi = 10.1111/j.1467-7709.1979.tb00319.x}}</ref>

After leaving office, Lansing resumed practicing law. He died in [[New York City]] on October 30, 1928 at the age of 64, and was buried at Brookside Cemetery in [[Watertown, New York]].

==Personal life and family==
[[File:Eleanor Foster 001.jpg|thumb|160px|Eleanor Foster]]
Through his father Lansing was descended from [[Thomas Dudley]], [[John Allin (Puritan minister)|John Allin]], [[Samuel Appleton (born 1625)|Samuel Appleton]] and [[Thomas Mayhew]]. Through his mother he was descended from [[Miles Morgan]], [[John Mason (c. 1600–1672)|John Mason]], [[Roger Williams]], [[Anne Hutchinson]] and [[John Cutt]].<ref>Daughters of the American Revolution Magazine</ref> In 1890, Lansing married Eleanor Foster, the daughter of Secretary of State [[John Watson Foster|John W. Foster]].<ref>[https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/lansing-robert Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, ''Biographies of the Secretaries of State: Robert Lansing''] accessed 13 January 2010</ref>  Eleanor's older sister Edith was the mother of [[John Foster Dulles]], who also became Secretary of State, [[Allen Welsh Dulles]] who served as [[Director of Central Intelligence]], and [[Eleanor Lansing Dulles]], an economist and high level policy analyst and advisor for the State Department.<ref>[http://www.accuracyproject.org/cbe-Foster,JohnW.html Internet Accuracy Project, ''John W. Foster''] accessed 13 January 2011</ref><ref>[https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/foster-john-watson Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, ''Biographies of the Secretaries of State: John Watson Foster''] accessed 13 January 2011</ref>

New York State Senator [[Robert Lansing (state senator)|Robert Lansing]] (1799–1878) was his grandfather; Chancellor [[John Lansing Jr.]] and State Treasurer [[Abraham G. Lansing]] were his great-granduncles.

==Authorship==
Lansing was associate editor of the ''American Journal of International Law'', and with Gary M. Jones was the author of ''Government: Its Origin, Growth, and Form in the United States'' (1902). He also wrote: ''The [[The Big Four (World War I)|Big Four]] and Others at the [[Paris Peace Conference, 1919|Peace Conference]]'', Boston (1921) and ''The Peace Negotiations: A Personal Narrative'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/peacenegotiatio02lansgoog|title=The peace negotiations, a personal narrative|first=Robert|last=Lansing|date=21 November 2018|publisher=Boston, New York, Houghton Mifflin company|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> Boston/New York (1921).

Lansing kept a voluminous archive of US government communications during WWI, which are a key resource on US thinking and decision making in this period.

*{{cite web|url=https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1914-20v01|title=Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, The Lansing Papers, 1914–1920, Volume I|year=1939}}
*{{cite web|url=https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1914-20v02|title=Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, The Lansing Papers, 1914–1920, Volume II|year=1940}}

==Legacy and honors==
During World War II the [[Liberty ship]] {{SS|Robert Lansing}} was built in [[Panama City, Florida]], and named in his honor.<ref>{{cite book
  |last=Williams
  |first=Greg H.
  |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=A5oWBAAAQBAJ
  |title= The Liberty Ships of World War II: A Record of the 2,710 Vessels and Their Builders, Operators and Namesakes, with a History of the Jeremiah O'Brien
  |date= 25 July 2014
  |publisher= McFarland
  |isbn= 978-1476617541
  |access-date= 7 December 2017
  }}
</ref>

==See also==
* [[Foreign policy of the Woodrow Wilson administration]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
*{{Cite NIE|title=Robert Lansing}}

==Further reading==
===Books===
*{{cite book|author=David Glaser|title=Robert Lansing: A Study in Statecraft|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k47mBgAAQBAJ&pg=PR2-IA2|year=2015|pages=1–3|publisher=Xlibris Corporation |isbn=9781503545014}}
*{{cite book|last=Hannigan|first=Robert E.|title=The New World Power|publisher=Univ. of Pennsylvania Press|year=2013}} ([https://www.amazon.com/New-World-Power-American-1898-1917-ebook/dp/B00E1XZJUI/ excerpt])
*{{cite book|last=Hannigan|first=Robert E.|title=The Great War and American Foreign Policy, 1914-24|year=2016}} ([https://www.amazon.com/American-Foreign-Policy-1914-24-Foundation/dp/0812248597/ excerpt])
* {{cite book|last=Smith|first=Daniel M.|title=Robert Lansing and American Neutrality, 1914-1917|publisher=Univ. of California Press|year=1958}}
* {{cite book|last=Smith|first=Daniel M.|chapter=Robert Lansing|title=An Uncertain Tradition: American Secretaries of State in the Twentieth Century|year=1961|pages=61}}

===Scholarly articles===
*{{cite journal|last=Craft|first=Stephen G.|title=John Bassett Moore, Robert Lansing, and the Shandong Question|journal=Pacific Historical Review|volume=66|issue=2|year=1997|pages=231–249|doi=10.2307/3640629 |jstor=3640629 |url=https://commons.erau.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1233&context=publication}}
*{{cite journal|last=Glaser|first=David|title=1919: William Jenkins, Robert Lansing, and the Mexican Interlude|journal=Southwestern Historical Quarterly|volume=74|issue=3|year=1971|pages=337–356|jstor=30236652 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/30236652}}
* {{cite journal|last=Kahle|first=Louis G.|title=Robert Lansing and the Recognition of Venustiano Carranza|journal=Hispanic American Historical Review|volume=38|issue=3|year=1958|pages=353–372|doi=10.2307/2509760 |jstor=2509760 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2509760|url-access=subscription}}
*{{cite journal|last=Lazo|first=Dimitri D.|title=A Question of Loyalty: Robert Lansing and the Treaty of Versailles|journal=Diplomatic History|volume=9|issue=1|year=1985|pages=35–53|doi=10.1111/j.1467-7709.1985.tb00521.x }}
* {{cite journal|last=Seymour|first=Charles|title=War Memoirs of Robert Lansing, Secretary of State|journal=American Historical Review|volume=41|issue=3|year=1936|pages=561–563|jstor=1839894 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1839894}}
* {{cite journal|last=Smith|first=Daniel M.|title=Robert Lansing and the Formulation of American Neutrality Policies, 1914-1915|journal=Mississippi Valley Historical Review|volume=43|issue=1|year=1956|pages=59–81|doi=10.2307/1895283 |jstor=1895283 |url=http://www.academia.edu/download/32480508/lansing.pdf}}{{dead link|date=January 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
* {{cite journal|last=Williams|first=Joyce G.|title=The Resignation of Secretary of State Robert Lansing|journal=Diplomatic History|volume=3|issue=3|year=1979|pages=337–344|doi=10.1111/j.1467-7709.1979.tb00319.x }}
* {{cite journal|last=Woolsey|first=Lester H.|title=Robert Lansing's Record as Secretary of State|journal=Current History|volume=29|issue=3|year=1928|pages=384–396|doi=10.1525/curh.1928.29.3.384 |jstor=45333036 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/45333036|url-access=subscription}}

===Primary sources===
* {{cite journal|last=Grenville|first=John Ashley Soames|title=The United States Decision for War, 1917: Excerpts from the Manuscript Diary of Robert Lansing|journal=Culture, Theory and Critique|volume=4|issue=1|year=1960|pages=59–81}}
* {{cite book|last=Lansing|first=Robert|title=The Peace Negotiations|year=1921|publisher=Boston, New York, Houghton Mifflin company |url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924032724084}}
* {{cite book|last=Lansing|first=Robert|title=War Memoirs of Robert Lansing|year=1935|url=https://archive.org/details/warmemoirsofrobe0000lans}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{wikisource|works=or|Robert Lansing}}
* [http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/4x51hj03k Robert Lansing Papers at the Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library, Princeton University]
* {{Gutenberg author | id=3538| name=Robert Lansing}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Robert Lansing}}
* [https://2009-2017.state.gov/ofm/ U.S. Diplomatic Security - Office of Foreign Missions (OFM)]
* {{Cite EB1922|wstitle=Lansing, Robert |short=x}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{U.S. Cabinet official box
| before=[[William Jennings Bryan]]
| after=[[Bainbridge Colby]]
| years=1915 – 1920
| president= [[Woodrow Wilson]]
| department= Secretary of State}}
{{s-end}}
{{USSecState}}
{{Wilson cabinet}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lansing, Robert}}
[[Category:1864 births]]
[[Category:1928 deaths]]
[[Category:United States secretaries of state]]
[[Category:Woodrow Wilson administration cabinet members]]
[[Category:American legal writers]]
[[Category:American political writers]]
[[Category:American male non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:Amherst College alumni]]
[[Category:Lansing family|Robert]]
[[Category:Dulles family]]
[[Category:New York (state) Democrats]]
[[Category:New York (state) lawyers]]
[[Category:Politicians from Watertown, New York]]
[[Category:Writers from New York (state)]]
[[Category:20th-century American politicians]]
[[Category:American anti-communists]]