John Franklin Carter

John Franklin Carter a.k.a. Jay Franklin a.k.a. Diplomat a.k.a. Unofficial Observer (1897–1967) was an American journalist, columnist, biographer and novelist. He notably wrote the syndicated column, "We the People", under his pen name Jay Franklin. He wrote over 30 books on a variety of subjects, including his detective novels about the character Dennis Tyler. In his column, he was one of the few who predicted Truman's victory in the 1948 presidential election.

Biography[]

Carter was born in Fall River, Massachusetts on April 27, 1897 as one of seven children of The Rev. John Franklin Carter. He attended Yale University, where he served as chairman of campus humor magazine The Yale Record^[1]

He left Yale early to serve as a representative of the Williamstown Institute of Politics in Italy. Afterwards, he became the Rome correspondent for the London Daily Chronicle and the New York Times.

In 1928, Carter began working for the State Department as an economic specialist.

He then became a correspondent for the magazines Liberty and Vanity Fair.

In 1941, Carter was appointed by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to conduct investigation into the loyalty of Japanese American communities on the West Coast of the United States. Carter hired Curtis B. Munson to compile the Report on Japanese on the West Coast of the United States.^[2]

He wrote the syndicated column, "We, The People" from 1936 to 1948 under his pen name "Jay Franklin". It chronicled the Franklin D. Roosevelt and Truman Administrations.

In 1948, Carter worked as a speech writer for Harry S. Truman.

Carter died in Washington, D.C., on November 28, 1967 at the age of 70. His books "The New Dealers" (1934) and "American Messiahs" (1935) remain valuable sources for historians of the New Deal era.

Works[]

Detective novels written as "Diplomat"

• Murder in the Embassy (1930)
• Murder in the State Department (1930)
• Scandal in the Chancery (1931)
• The Corpse on the White House Lawn (1932)
• Death in the Senate (1933)
• Slow Death at Geneva (1934)
• The Brain Trust Murder (1935)

Partial list of other novels

• The Rat Race (1950)
• Champagne Charlie (1950)

Political Narrative written as "Unofficial Observer"

• "The New Dealers" (1934)
• "American Messiahs" (1935)

Non-fiction

• Remaking America. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1942. Also available from Hathi Trust.

References[]

• "John Franklin Carter, 70, Dies; Wrote Column as Jay Franklin; Friend of a President". The New York Times. 1967-11-29. p. 47. Retrieved 2008-04-30.(subscription required)
• "Milestones: Dec. 8, 1967". Time. 1967-12-08. Archived from the original on January 27, 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-30.(subscription required)
• Ginny Kilander (March 2005). "University of Wyoming American Heritage Center Guide to Journalism Resources" (PDF). p. 15. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-06. Retrieved 2008-04-30.
• Simkin, John. "John Franklin Carter". Spartacus Educational. Retrieved 2018-06-06.
• Tuck, Donald H. (1978). The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy. Chicago: Advent. p. 362. ISBN 0-911682-22-8.

For more on Carter's role in war-time intelligence, see

• Mauch, Christof (2005). The Shadow War Against Hitler: The Covert Operations of America's Wartime Secret Intelligence Service. New York: Columbia University Press. pp. 48–51.

External links[]

• John Franklin Carter papers at the University of Wyoming - American Heritage Center
• John Franklin Carter correspondence at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, NY and online via U.S. Archives
• Works by John Franklin Carter at Project Gutenberg
• Works by John Franklin Carter at Faded Page (Canada)
• Works by John Franklin Carter at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)