C.D. Jackson

C.D. Jackson (Charles Douglas Jackson) served as Special Assistant to President Dwight D. Eisenhower from February 16, 1953 to March 31, 1954.

According to the Eisenhower Library files in Abilene, Kansas, C.D. Jackson's "area responsibility was loosely defined as international affairs, cold war planning, and psychological warfare. His main function was the coordination of activities aimed at interpreting world situations to the best advantage of the United States and her allies and exploiting incidents which reflected negatively on the Soviet Union, Communist China and other enemies in the Cold War."

"Jackson's background in psychological warfare during World War II [according to the finding aid to the C.D. Jackson Papers] prepared him for the task. As Special Assistant to the President, Jackson worked closely with the Psychological Strategy Board and the Operations Coordinating Board, and served as an official member of the latter. The PSB was authorized by President Harry S. Truman in June 1951 to coordinate activities which had previously been handled separately by the State Department and the Defense Department. The Deputy Secretary of Defense, the Under Secretary of State, and the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency comprised the Board. The PSB's efforts were not notably successful. Shortly after his inauguration President Eisenhower appointed a Committee on International Information Activities to study the matter. The group was referred to as the Jackson Committee after its chairman, William Jackson, although C.D. Jackson was also a member. The Committee recommended that the PSB be abolished and replaced by the OCB, which was accomplished in September 1953.In addition to the representatives from State, Defense and CIA who had served on the PSB, the OCB membership included the Director of the Foreign Operations Administration and the President's Special Assistant for Psychological Warfare. The Special Assistant for National Security Affairs and the Director of the United States Information Agency also were authorized to attend meetings."

"In addition to the numerous letters, cables, memoranda, reports, intelligence summaries and newspaper clippings can be found in this series. Correspondents include high level government officials such as Sherman Adams, Allen Dulles, Robert Cutler, Gordon Gray, Gabriel Hauge, James Hagerty, Henry Cabot Lodge, Walter Bedell Smith, Lewis Strauss, George Kennan, and Nelson Rockefeller. Material from PSB and OCB staff members and correspondence between Jackson and experts and consultants outside the federal government, such as Walter Rostow of MIT, is filed here, as well as correspondence from representatives of the following groups: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Voice of America, U.S. Information Agency, International Information Administration, Committee for Free Asia, Inc., Free World Congress, and World Veterans Federation. Although general public mail was received by PSB and OCB, administrative records in the third series indicate that most such correspondence was destroyed." - The 1990 University Publications of America Guide to President Dwight D. Eisenhower's Office Files, 1953-1961 (Part 1: Eisenhower Administration Files) has this to say about C.D. Jackson:

"An even better source for the propaganda and psychological warfare campaigns of the Cold War are the letters and memos in the C. D. Jackson files. Jackson, whom Eisenhower borrowed from Time-Life to serve directly under him in the White House as an idea man, was one of the most colorful figures in the administration. His brash advice on how to deal with the Soviets continued even after he left Washington in 1954 to return to the world of publishing. Eisenhower always took his suggestions seriously. The president's letters show that he used his relationship with Jackson as a means to goad the relatively conservative State Department toward a more dynamic course." --- C.D. Jackson Chronology from the Eisenhower Files

1902, Mar 16 Born, New York City 1924 A.B., Princeton University 1924-31 President, C.D. Jackson & Co. [marble and stone import business] 1931 Appointment Assistant to President of Time Inc. 1940 President of Council for Democracy 1942-43 Special Assistant to U.S. Ambassador to Turkey [Steinhardt] 1943-44 Deputy Chief, P.W.B., AFHQ 1944-45 Deputy Chief, PWD, SHAEF 1945 Managing Director, Time-Life International 1949 Publisher, Fortune Magazine 1951-52 President, Free Europe Committee (directed Radio Free Europe 1952 Speechwriter for Dwight D. Eisenhower 1953 Served on Presidents' Committee on International Information Activities (Jackson Committee) Feb 16, 1953-Mar 31, 1954 Special Assistant to President for International Affairs 1954 U.S. Delegate to Ninth General Assembly, United Nations 1958 Speechwriter and consultant to President Eisenhower 1960 Became publisher of Life Magazine 1964, Sep 18 Died, New York City --- The Papers of C.D. Jackson, 1931-1967 were deposited in the Dwight D. Eisenhower Library in February 1972. The bulk of the collection falls into the years from 1940-1964.

According to the collection's Finding Aid: "Almost a fourth of this collection concerns C.D. Jackson's psychological warfare activities during World War II when Jackson, representing the Office of War Information (OWI), served as Deputy Chief, Psychological Warfare Branch (PWB), Allied Forces Headquarters (AFHQ) in 1943, and Deputy Chief, Psychological Warfare Division (PWD), Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF), 1944-45. At AFHQ in Algiers, he directed OWI propaganda leaflet and newswriting activities, and in London with PWD, SHAEF, he participated in Allied efforts to arouse the conquered people of Europe against the Germans. During the late stages of the war Jackson directed the Allied Information Service which distributed information about the Allies' war efforts to France and other liberated areas."

"Important subjects include propaganda methods, Allied liberation of France and relations with the French, information control in Allied- occupied Germany, OWI functions, civil affairs, displaced persons, and the surrender of Italy. Prominent psychwar personnel with whom C.D. Jackson corresponded include Richard Crossman, Brigadier General Robert McClure, Edward Barrett, and Fred Auberjonois." -- Famous Quote: Great ideas need landing gear as well as wings. ~C.D. Jackson ---

Related SourceWatch resources

 * Bilderberg
 * psyops