Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Lord Lansdowne's Peace Letter And The Controversy It Caused, Mary Virginia Burton Cash

Master's Theses

This study analyzes the letter Lord Lansdowne published in the 29 November 1917 Daily Telegraph and the varied reactions to it. The letter and his Cabinet Memorandum, which preceded it by a year, give no evidence of the traitorous, cowardly, sick, or tired old man his detractors portrayed. The detractors naturally included his political opponents, but also Americans such as Theodore Roosevelt and William Jennings Bryan. Interestingly, most abuse came from those of his own party with whom he had served his country in a variety of offices. This thesis explores the mystery of how a statesman could, by the …