Truman plays hardball on Greenland

https://apnews.com/9d4a8021c3650800fdf6dd5903f68972

The United States in 1946 proposed to pay Denmark $100 million to buy Greenland after flirting with the idea of swapping oil-rich land in Alaska for strategic parts of the bleak Arctic island, documents in the National Archives show.

The $100 million was to be in gold. And even though the sale did not go through, the United States ended up with the military bases it wanted anyway.

Discovery of the documents, which have been declassified since the early 1970s, was first reported Sunday by the Copenhagen newspaper Jyllands-Posten.

One alternative that was discussed was for the United States to trade land in the Point Barrow district of Alaska for those portions of Greenland that the United States considered of military value.

Under this plan, the Danes would have received the rights to any oil discovered in the district and would have had to sell the oil to the United States.

The richest oil strike in U.S. history was made in 1967 in the Prudhoe Bay area, 200 miles east of Point Barrow. The Point Barrow area now is part of the National Petroleum Reserve, which are oil fields reserved for national defense.

The proposed purchase apparently first came up in November 1945, when Sen. Owen Brewster, R-Maine, said American military and naval authorities favored it and he considered it ″a military necessity.″

In April 1946, State Department official John Hickerson attended a meeting of the planning and strategy committee of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and reported that ″practically every member ... said that our real objective as regards to Greenland should be to acquire it by purchase from Denmark.″

″The committee indicated that money is plentiful now, that Greenland is completely worthless to Denmark (and) that the control of Greenland is indispensable to the safety of the United States,″ Hickerson said in a memo.

He said he told the committee that he doubted the Danes could be induced to sell the 844,000-square-mile island in the North Atlantic.

In a follow-up to this memorandum on May 24, 1946, William C. Trimble, assistant chief of the State Department’s division of northern European affairs, suggested that the United States offer $100 million in gold for the island.

He said only about 600 Danes resided in Greenland. In more recent years, there have been an estimated 10,000 Danes and 44,000 Inuit, or Eskimos.

″In the final analysis, there are few people in Denmark who have any real interest in Greenland, economic, political or financial,″ Trimble said.

He said it had been suggested that territory in the Point Barrow district be ceded to Denmark in return for strategic portions of the island, but he doubted the Danes would be more receptive to this than to an outright purchase.

He said purchase of Greenland would give the United States ″valuable bases from which to launch an air counteroffensive over the Arctic area in the event of attack.″

On June 20, 1946, Secretary of War Robert Patterson weighed in, writing to Undersecretary of State Dean Acheson that ″it might be a good idea to take prompt action toward securing from Denmark (even to the extent of purchasing the entire island, if necessary) the military rights which have been outlined by the Joint Chiefs of Staff.″

Acheson replied that the State Department was aware of the importance of Greenland, but he didn’t say anything about a purchase.

Secretary of State James Byrnes made the offer to visiting Danish Foreign Minister Gustav Rasmussen in New York on Dec. 14, 1946, according to a telegram from Byrnes to the U.S. Legation in Copenhagen.

After discussing other security arrangements for Greenland, Byrnes said he told Rasmussen that perhaps an outright sale to the United States ″would be the most clean-cut and satisfactory.″

″Our needs ... seemed to come as a shock to Rasmussen, but he did not reject my suggestions flatly and said that he would study a memorandum which I gave him,″ he said.

The Archives file containing the Byrnes memo did not contain any indication of whether the Danes responded or simply let the matter die.

Greenland was made an integral part of Denmark in 1951 after two centuries as a colony. In 1979, the island was granted home rule, but Denmark retains control of foreign and defense affairs.

Let's say Truman personally puts the squeeze on the Danes, perhaps threatening less Marshall Plan aid, or even the possibility of letting the Soviets occupy Bornholm, if they don't sell. What happens if Copenhagen accepts?
 
Lots of political turmoil at Copenhagen; even the sale of the West Indies 1917 were discussed as "you don't sell peoples" - "it's our blacks."

Of course they ended op with the Military Bases "untill the USA sees fit" as stipulated (in more diplomatic terms) that earned minister Kauffmann the ire of Danish Foreign Office and Government for acting independently though even then didn't recant the agreement! Really no reason for the USA to BUY the land when they were allowed to request anything!
 
An old post of mine:

***

This is really ASB territory, given Danish public opinion at the time. See Erik Beukel, Frede P. Jensen, and Jens Elo Rytter, *Phasing Out the Colonial Status of Greenland, 1945-54: A Historical Study*, pp. 49-51, http://books.google.com/books?id=gE8JTZHuHPcC&pg=PA49

"The notion that the US should purchase Greenland was occasionally debated publicly [in Denmark] during these years. Each time it was debated, *the mere idea of such a transaction was indignantly rejected by all political parties.* [my emphasis--DT] The Budget debate of March 1947 is a notable example, when Jens Sonderup (V) [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venstre_(Denmark)] stated:

'There have been rumours in the newspapers about America wishing to acquire Greenland. King Dollar is, so to speak, about to become a major factor in all areas. I am not aware of any approach concerning the purchase of Greenland, but assume that it is a given that we will not embark on anything in that respect. Should the Greenlanders desire another relationship or secession, that would be another matter, but in this respect there can be no question of any form of financial transaction.'

"Foreign Minister Gustav Rasmussen replied that the idea of Denmark ceding Greenland was absurd. On behalf of his government, he declared that Denmark was not wiling to sell or in any way cede Greenland to a foreign power..." (pp. 49-50)

The US had indeed suggested purchase as one possible (though admittedly "radical") solution to the problem of US bases in Greenland, but there was never any chance of Denmark accepting this solution: "...Rasmussen visited Washington at the end of 1946. He was presented with a memorandum containing three alternative solutions to annulment by American Secretary of State Byrnes. Two of the solutions represented variations of the 1941 agreement, while the third--which was preferred by the US and believed best for Denmark--was that the US should purchase Greenland. The American memorandum conceded that purchase was a radical solution, but it would once and for all end the complex problems that exposed both the US and Denmark to the criticism of other powers. Moreover, the purchase price amount would relieve Denmark's strained economic situation and release Denmark from further expenses in Greenland's administration. *The Danish Foreign Minister was surprised, if not shocked, by the American proposal*..." (pp. 50-51) [my emphasis--DT]

See also my post at https://soc.history.what-if.narkive.com/7pk5J5ke/truman-purchases-greenland#post5 When I posted it, I was unaware of the Byrnes memorandum, but I think my conclusion is still valid: "Before the 1947 election, any offer to purchase [I should have added; "unless it was rejected and its existence kept secret"] would just give the DKP [Danish Communist Party] a campaign issue with which to appeal to Danish national pride. After the election, in which the DKP lost half its seats and the SD [Social Democrats] gained at its expense http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danish_Folketing_election,_1947 Denmark had a government that was committed to allowing the US to keep the bases (and later to admitting Denmark into NATO) so no purchase was necessary."
 
Although, now that I think about it, a commie Denmark almost automatically means a commie Greenland

Of course but I wouldn't expect it to go all communist but with a much larger vote at elections leaving the Socialdemocrats thinking what to do to win back their seats.
 
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