Leopold II, King of the Belgians, had always wanted a colonial empire to call his very own.

With the help of Henry Morton Stanley, he was able to con local leaders in the Congo into signing

away their lands to him. But these treaties were mere scraps of paper, unless the Western nations could be persuaded to recognize them.

So he set out to get that recognition from the major powers, beginning with the United States.

Welcome to the history of the 20th century. Episode 20, Heart of Darkness Part 2 The

The You know, I hate, detest, and can't bear a lie, not because I am straighter than the rest of us, but simply because it appalls me.

There is a taint of death,

a flavor of mortality in lies, which is exactly what I hate and detest in the world, what I want to forget. It makes me miserable and sick, like biting something rotten would do.

Temperament, I suppose.

Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness.

Henry Shelton Sanford was a wealthy American businessman from Connecticut. He was appointed U.S.

ambassador to Belgium by President Lincoln in 1861. He served in that position throughout

the Lincoln and Johnson administrations. He represented the American Geographical Society

at King Leopold's conference to organize the International African Association.

In 1883, he met with U.S. President Chester Arthur to lobby for American recognition of the Congo

Association's claim to the Congo.

It was the most sophisticated lobbying effort a foreign power had ever made in the United States,

and you should bear in mind that at this point, although the United States is a rising power,

few people would call it a great power.

The United States government, the United States people, were not accustomed to being

lobbied by foreign interests. And this was a polished operation. Leopold managed it long distance

from Europe, sending coded telegrams back and forth to Sanford. And it wasn't just the U.S.

...