It has long been argued that Baldwin's second government, especially the Foreign Office led by Austen Chamberlain, was to blame for the deterioration in Anglo-American relations in 1927–9. This book argues that Austen Chamberlain, by suggesting a reduction in maritime belligerent rights, consistently worked for an improvement in relations and found the means for a settlement in 1929, though Labour's success in the general election caused the credit to go to others and Chamberlain's reputation remained tarnished. While the earlier view was based mainly on the memoirs of contemporary critics, Dr McKercher bases his analysis on a wide range of public and private archival material.