[1] His moderate tone of negotiations was confronted by the intensity of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev in a series of unpleasant episodes that turned the Cold War even colder in 1960–61.

Herter hated working for the scandal-ridden administration of President Harding, and returned to Boston, where he was a magazine editor and lecturer on international affairs.

In 1942, he sought the Massachusetts 10th district seat in the US House of Representatives, held by George H. Tinkham, whose isolationist views made him vulnerable during World War II.

Herter's main diplomatic challenges included escalating crises over the status of West Berlin in the Cold War; difficult negotiations with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, especially regarding the Soviet downing of the U-2 spy plane; the collapse of the Paris Summit conference; and the early stages of American efforts to divert Fidel Castro's Cuban revolution away from communism.

[5] After leaving office he chaired a blue ribbon committee on State Department personnel, and was one of President John F. Kennedy's representatives for trade negotiations.

[6] As an unemployed "elder statesman" after the election of 1960, Herter served on various councils and commissions, and was a special representative for trade negotiations, working for both John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson until his death.

"[7] In 1943, with Paul Nitze (a distant cousin by marriage), Herter co-founded the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), which incorporated with the Johns Hopkins University in 1950.

In 1968, the American Foreign Service Association established its Christian A. Herter Award to honor senior diplomats who speak out or otherwise challenge the status quo.

The Christian A. Herter Memorial Scholarship Program is a sponsored by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to recruit 10th and 11th grade students whose socio-economic backgrounds and environmental conditions may inhibit their ability to pursue higher education.

Each year, 25 students in the 10th and 11th grades are selected to receive awards of up to 50 percent (50%) of their calculated need at the college of their choice within the continental United States.