Background
Carlton Hayes was born to a Baptist family in upstate New York, the son of Permelia Mary (née Huntley) and Philetus Arthur Hayes.
historian, professor, ambassador
Carlton Hayes was born to a Baptist family in upstate New York, the son of Permelia Mary (née Huntley) and Philetus Arthur Hayes.
He was educated at Columbia University, which granted him a Ph.D. degree in 1909.
He had become a member of the staff of Columbia in 1911, and this association was maintained until his retirement in 1950.
He was a dramatic teacher of modern European history and communicated his enthusiasm to large numbers of students through his lectures and textbooks. His own scholarship lay mainly in studies of nationalism. They include Essays on Nationalism (1926) and The Historical Evolution of Modern Nationalism (1931). He was also author of A Generation of Materialism, 1871-1900 (1941).
Hayes was one of the most distinguished Catholic laymen in America. He was named U.S. ambassador to Spain at a crucial time (1942-1945) and wrote a record of that service, War Time Mission in Spain (1945). Some criticized him for being overly friendly with Francisco Franco, but it was generally held that he played a vital role in preventing Franco from siding with the Axis powers during the war. In 1945 President Roosevelt wrote him saying: "You have carried out a mission of great difficulty with outstanding success and in doing so you have made a contribution to the war effort of the highest importance".