Editing Adlai Stevenson II (section)

==Early career==
[[File:Adlai Stevenson 19037a copy.jpg|thumb|left|Stevenson {{circa}} 1920s]]
In July 1933, Stevenson took a job opportunity as special attorney and assistant to [[Jerome Frank]], the [[General Counsel|general counsel]] of the [[Agricultural Adjustment Administration]] (AAA), a part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's [[New Deal]]. Following the repeal of [[Prohibition in the United States|Prohibition]] in December 1933, Stevenson changed jobs, becoming chief attorney for the Federal Alcohol Control Administration (FACA), a subsidiary of the AAA which regulated the activities of the alcohol industry.

In 1935, Stevenson returned to Chicago to practice law. He became involved in civic activities, particularly as chairman of the Chicago branch of the [[Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies]] from 1940 to 1941.<ref>(Martin, pp. 164–165)</ref> As chairman, Stevenson worked to raise public support for military and economic aid to the [[United Kingdom]] and its allies in fighting [[Nazi Germany]] during the [[Second World War]]. Stevenson "believed Britain [was] America's first line of defense" and "argued for a repeal of the neutrality legislation" and support for President Roosevelt's [[Lend-Lease]] programme.<ref>(Baker, p. 283)</ref> His efforts earned strong criticism from Colonel [[Robert R. McCormick]], the powerful, isolationist publisher of the ''[[Chicago Tribune]],'' and a leading member of the [[non-interventionist]] [[America First Committee]].<ref>(McKeever, p. 74)</ref>

In 1940, Major [[Frank Knox]], newly appointed by President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] as [[United States Secretary of the Navy|Secretary of the Navy]], offered Stevenson a position as Principal Attorney and special assistant. Stevenson accepted the position and in this capacity wrote speeches, represented Secretary Knox and the Navy on committees, toured the various theaters of war, and handled many administrative duties. Since Knox was largely a figurehead, there were few major roles for Stevenson. However, in early 1944 he joined a mission to Sicily and Italy for the [[Foreign Economic Administration]] to report on the country's economy. After Knox died in April 1944, Stevenson returned to Chicago where he attempted to purchase Knox's [[controlling interest]] in the ''[[Chicago Daily News]]'', but his syndicate was outbid by another party.<ref>(Martin, pp. 225–226)</ref>

In 1945, Stevenson took a temporary position in the [[United States Department of State|State Department]], as special assistant to US Secretary of State [[Edward Stettinius]] to work with [[United States Assistant Secretary of State|Assistant Secretary of State]] [[Archibald MacLeish]] on a proposed world organization. Later that year, he went to London as Deputy United States Delegate to the Preparatory Commission of the [[United Nations]] Organization, a position he held until February 1946. When the head of the delegation fell ill, Stevenson assumed his role. His work at the commission, and in particular his dealings with the representatives of the [[Soviet Union]], resulted in appointments to the US delegations to the United Nations in 1946 and 1947.<ref>(Martin, pp. 234–259)</ref>