JAMES M. WILSON PAPERS, (1952) 1958-77

The James M. Wilson papers mainly concern his career in the State Department, 1958‑77. The topics most completely documented are Micronesian status negotiations and State Department human rights and humanitarian affairs policies and activities.

Wilson joined the State Department on detail from the Department of Defense in 1958 to work on the foreign aid program. He became a foreign service officer in 1961 and served overseas in Spain, Thailand, and the Philippines before returning to Washington in 1970 as a Deputy Secretary of State.

In 1972 he was detailed to the White House as U.S. Deputy Representative for Micronesian Status Negotiations. These negotiations, which began in the mid‑1960's, involved possible changes in the political status of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (Micronesia), the far-flung, sparsely populated collection of former Japanese-held islands which was administered by the United States, nominally on behalf of the United Nations, under a special strategic trust agreement concluded in 1947.

Wilson's role, as deputy to Ambassador Haydn Williams, was to attend most of the negotiating sessions, meet with Micronesian officials, and assist with the drafting of potential agreements. The question of the overall status of Micronesia was not resolved during Wilson's tenure, but separate negotiations with part of Micronesia known as the Northern Mariana Islands led to the signing of the Marianas Covenant on February 15, 1975. This agreement was designed to lead to eventual commonwealth status for the Marianas, similar to the relationship between the U.S. and Puerto Rico. The Wilson papers relate to both sets of Micronesian negotiations and include his presentations, notes, memoranda of conversations and working papers from various meetings he attended.

In 1975 Wilson assumed the newly created post of State Department Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs, handling departmental matters relating to human rights and refugees. Much of his initial work involved the Indochina refugee program. He also represented the United States at meetings of the United Nations High Commission on Refugees, testified before Congress on human rights questions, and made numerous speeches. Small files of documents relating to all these aspects of his work are included in the collection. Also included is an unpublished memoir describing his activities.

The collection is also useful for examining certain aspects of Wilson's work in Thailand, 1964‑66, and the Philippines, 1966‑70. Mr. Wilson was the highest ranking U.S. official in these two countries for about one-third of his tenure, due to extended absences by the ambassadors or vacancies in that position. His correspondence reveals much about the personal and social life of a foreign service officer with occasional reference to his official duties. His speeches and remarks illustrate the public aspects of his work. No detailed records concerning the issues and crises handled by the embassy staff are included. Such materials apparently became part of his official records retained by the Department of State.

The Wilson papers also include small amounts of material from the two periods in which he worked on the foreign aid program (1958‑61 and 1972), his brief service as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and Pacific, and the early years of his career when he served in various capacities in the Defense Department.

Related Materials (November 1985)
Several White House Central Files categories contain related material. They include:

• CO 120 - Philippines
• CO 148 - Thailand
• FO 3-2- Foreign Aid
• HU - Human Rights
• ND 18-2 - Displaced Persons-Refugees
• ST 51 - Territories and Island (includes Micronesia)

Other materials concerning the status of Micronesia appear in the Congressional Relations Office files of Max Friedersdorf, Robert Wolthuis, and Vernon Loen and Charles Leppert. The Bentley Historical Library of The University of Michigan has numerous collections relating to the Philippines, including the papers of G. Mennen Williams who served as Ambassador to the Philippines during part of Mr. Wilson's tenure there.