George Ball was best known as an American Diplomat who, during the Vietnam War, voiced his opposition to U.S. involvement in Vietnam and warned of the potential disaster such an involvement would, and did, bring. Ball also served under President Kennedy and President Johnson as the Under Secretary of State for Economic and Agricultural Affairs and was known as a dissenter because of his unpopular, at the time, opinions about Vietnam and his criticisms of how Israel dealt with its neighbors.

During the Nixon administration, Ball worked with policy makers to create policy about the conflicts in the Persian Gulf. Ball worked with presidential campaigns early on as a speechwriter and advisor to presidential candidates. In all, George Ball was a leader and thinker who influenced many presidential administrations.