The Rats
The Dark Decade: America in the 40s by Wendy Walters
Despite being locked in the middle of passing the GI Bill, which would eventually get through and prove a great boon to helping servicemen find jobs and security, Wallace was forced to spend precious time and political capital trying to rebuild his cabinet after the fallout of the Guru Letters. Practically the only person who didn’t voice criticism to Wallace over the affair was Truman and only because, in Truman’s words ‘we needed someone to replace Wallace and I was scared Wallace would handpick him.’ Firstly, some of the roles would be outright abolished, notably ‘Secretary of War’, which became the first ‘Secretary of Defence’ role in the United States. This would be presided over by Robert Patterson, who had become well known for his encouraging more participation from Black American soldiers in the War. Others would keep their jobs, such as Henry Morgenthau as Treasury Secretary, whom Wallace liked owing to their mutual, unflinching hatred of Fascism. Harry Dexter White was appointed as Morgenthau’s Deputy owing to their close relationship.
The most notable appointment came as a result of outrage by Secretary of State Edward Stettinius Jr. He was angry over the Guru Letters and Wallace didn’t trust a businessman running things in the highest reaches of the White House. Other names were thrown around, but one name was lobbied fairly aggressively. He had done a lot of great work with the United Nations, helping set up the charter and was well-liked internationally. He was considered a good candidate by everyone who heard Wallace’s reasoning. Thus, it was decided: Alger Hiss would be the next Secretary of State.