“It Is the Indescribable Consanguinity of Race ...”: Race as the Foundation for the U.S.-Australian Relationship in World War II and the Early Cold War

Upon his arrival in Australia in 1942, after the fall of the Philippines, General Douglas MacArthur issued a proclamation to the Australian people in which he stated, “There is a link that binds our countries together which does not depend upon a written protocol, upon treaties of alliance, or upon diplomatic doctrine. It goes deeper than that. It is the indescribable consanguinity of race which causes us to have the same aspirations, the same hopes and desires, the same ideals and the same dreams of future destiny.” The American – Australian alliance that emerged out of World War II became a central aspect of both nations’ post-war Pacific foreign policy. Most historians have attributed this to a natural inclination towards friendly relations based on a shared cultural background or on economic ties but have not examined the important role of race in this bond. 
           This paper argues that the central foundation upon which the U.S. – Australian relationship was built during World War II and the early Cold war was a shared ideology of race. An examination of the writings of both American and Australian officials as well as common men and women reveal how racial ideologies helped both nations overcome vast gulfs of differences in their cultures and economic approaches to the post-war world. This paper allows a more thorough understanding of the U.S. – Australian alliance while at the same time shedding more light on the role that ideology, particularly race, has played in the formulation of 20^th century American foreign policy.