Presidents Behaving Goodly: Calvin Coolidge and the End of War
Presidents have made what have seen to be some outlandish and bold pronouncements while in office, and in some cases they have been able to make good on them. For example, John F. Kennedy promised that America would land a man on the moon by the end of the decade, a promise that ultimately came true. Calvin Coolidge was not so fortuitous when he and several other nations signed a treaty renouncing war as a means of resolving international conflict. While the sentiment was a noble one, we all know how well the idea worked.
As President, Coolidge was not strictly an isolationist, but he was also reluctant to enter into foreign alliances. Coolidge interpreted the landslide Republican victory of 1920 that elected Warren Harding as President as a rejection of the idea that the United States should join the League of Nations. Coolidge was not completely opposed to the idea, but like many others, he believed that the League did not serve American interests. However he was in favor of the United States joining the Permanent Court of International Justice, provided that the nation would not be bound by advisory decisions. The Senate agreed with Coolidge and eventually approved joining the Court in 1926, though it suggested some modifications. The League of Nations accepted the reservations, but it suggested some modifications of their own. The Senate failed to approve these and the United States never joined the World Court.
But it was the Kellogg–Briand Pact of 1928, named for Coolidge's Secretary of State, Frank B. Kellogg, and French foreign minister Aristide Briand, that was Coolidge's most famous peacemaking endeavor. This treaty, ratified in 1929, committed all of its signatories (which included the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan) to "renounce war as an instrument of national policy in their relations with one another." While well-intentioned, the treaty did not achieve its intended result. Coolidge once said of the folly of war, "No nation ever had an army large enough to guarantee it against attack in time of peace, or ensure it of victory in time of war." Coolidge, Kellogg, along with Briand, wrote the Kellogg-Briand Pact, which condemned war and made it a criminal act of aggression.
Unfortunately, less than a decade after it was signed, Germany invaded neighboring nations, leading to the conflict that would become the second world war. The treaty wasn't completely useless however. It did provide many of the key principles for international law which would apply after the war.
Coolidge continued to advocate for peaceful solutions to international conflicts. He represented the U.S. at the Pan American Conference in Havana, Cuba, making him the first sitting President to ever visit the country. (Barack Obama recently became the second. Theodore Roosevelt went there as a soldier in the Spanish-American War, and Jimmy Carter visited as a former President). Coolidge withdrew American troops from the Dominican Republic in 1924. Though best remembered for his domestic issues such as budget controls and spending cuts, Coolidge's foreign policy was one that looked for peaceful solutions to world problems.
As President, Coolidge was not strictly an isolationist, but he was also reluctant to enter into foreign alliances. Coolidge interpreted the landslide Republican victory of 1920 that elected Warren Harding as President as a rejection of the idea that the United States should join the League of Nations. Coolidge was not completely opposed to the idea, but like many others, he believed that the League did not serve American interests. However he was in favor of the United States joining the Permanent Court of International Justice, provided that the nation would not be bound by advisory decisions. The Senate agreed with Coolidge and eventually approved joining the Court in 1926, though it suggested some modifications. The League of Nations accepted the reservations, but it suggested some modifications of their own. The Senate failed to approve these and the United States never joined the World Court.
But it was the Kellogg–Briand Pact of 1928, named for Coolidge's Secretary of State, Frank B. Kellogg, and French foreign minister Aristide Briand, that was Coolidge's most famous peacemaking endeavor. This treaty, ratified in 1929, committed all of its signatories (which included the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan) to "renounce war as an instrument of national policy in their relations with one another." While well-intentioned, the treaty did not achieve its intended result. Coolidge once said of the folly of war, "No nation ever had an army large enough to guarantee it against attack in time of peace, or ensure it of victory in time of war." Coolidge, Kellogg, along with Briand, wrote the Kellogg-Briand Pact, which condemned war and made it a criminal act of aggression.
Unfortunately, less than a decade after it was signed, Germany invaded neighboring nations, leading to the conflict that would become the second world war. The treaty wasn't completely useless however. It did provide many of the key principles for international law which would apply after the war.
Coolidge continued to advocate for peaceful solutions to international conflicts. He represented the U.S. at the Pan American Conference in Havana, Cuba, making him the first sitting President to ever visit the country. (Barack Obama recently became the second. Theodore Roosevelt went there as a soldier in the Spanish-American War, and Jimmy Carter visited as a former President). Coolidge withdrew American troops from the Dominican Republic in 1924. Though best remembered for his domestic issues such as budget controls and spending cuts, Coolidge's foreign policy was one that looked for peaceful solutions to world problems.