“It Takes Only One…”: Transgressions of Race, Class, and Sexuality in Sumner Welles’ America

Throughout his life and illustrious career former Undersecretary of State Sumner Welles pressed up against the boundaries of heterosexuality, often surreptitiously though occasionally to his advantage. But by the 1940s attitudes about sexuality had begun to shift, spurred on by the dislocations of the Great Depression and World War Two. In this changed atmosphere Welles’ hitherto overlooked sexual non-normativity became increasingly conspicuous and problematic, culminating in an FBI investigation of Welles for allegedly soliciting sex from male railway porters in 1940 – an investigation that would eventually contribute to his forced resignation in 1943.

Welles’ alleged behaviour in 1940, and his sexuality more generally, has been fodder for historians for decades but none has examined closely the dynamics, implications, and meanings of Welles’ behaviour in the context of 1940s social mores. Through a close reading of the Welles’ personal papers and his FBI file, this paper analyzes the contours of Welles’ sexuality and the ways he navigated the sexual landscape of 1940s America. The investigation of Welles reveals the variety of locations and changing contexts in which same-sex relations could occur in the 1940s.

This paper also explores the implicit meanings of Welles’ sexuality. Besides violating norms of masculinity and prohibitions on homosexuality, Welles’ solicitations transgressed boundaries of race and class (the porters in question were working class African-Americans, Welles was upper class and white). Exploring the ways Welles navigated this treacherous terrain offers insights into the ways sexuality, race, and class intersected to create problems – as well as opportunities – for same-sex relations. Furthermore, this paper shows how sexuality during this time was understood differently depending on race and class and how the transgression of racial, sexual, and class boundaries in mid twentieth century America created opportunities and complications for all involved.