
Frank B. Kellogg
Frank Billings Kellogg was an American lawyer, politician and statesman who served in the U.S. Senate and as U.S. Secretary of State. He co-authored the Kellogg–Briand Pact, for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1929.
What was the purpose of the Kellogg-Briand Pact?
The Kellogg–Briand Pact or Pact of Paris – officially the General Treaty for Renunciation of War as an Instrument of National Policy – is a 1928 international agreement on peace in which signatory states promised not to use war to resolve "disputes or conflicts of whatever nature or of whatever origin they may be, which may arise among them".
When did the Kellogg Briand Pact end war?
It was not until the Kellogg–Briand Pact of 1928 that 63 states party to it renounced war as an instrument of national policy. This treaty was relied upon by the Nürnberg tribunal in establishing not only that there was an international crime of waging aggressive war but that international law…. war: International law.
What countries signed the Kellogg-Briand Pact?
The pact was signed by Germany, France, and the United States on 27 August 1928, and by most other states soon after. Sponsored by France and the U.S., the Pact is named after its authors, United States Secretary of State Frank B. Kellogg and French foreign minister Aristide Briand.
How did Coolidge feel about the Kellogg-Briand Pact?
Coolidge and Kellogg saw the proposal as a binding and unfavorable agreement for the United States. Such a treaty would imply that the United States would be required to intervene if France had any sort of military threat again. President Coolidge signing the Kellogg-Briand Pact into law on January 17, 1929, after Senate ratification.

What was the main reason why the Kellogg-Briand Pact?
The overall aim of the agreement was for countries to agree not to use war as a method of ending international disputes. Crucially the agreement included the United States (who were not members of the League of Nations) who still wanted to help secure peace. For Germany the Kellogg-Briand Pact was significant.
What did the Kellogg-Briand peace Pact pledge What were its limitations however?
The Kellogg–Briand Pact (or Pact of Paris, officially General Treaty for Renunciation of War as an Instrument of National Policy) is a 1928 international agreement in which signatory states promised not to use war to resolve “disputes or conflicts of whatever nature or of whatever origin they may be, which may arise ...
What did Coolidge's Kellogg-Briand Pact do?
Kellogg and French Foreign Minister Aristide Briand crafted the Kellogg-Briand Peace Pact. This international peace proposal committed 15 nations to outlawing aggression and war in settling disputes. President Coolidge signed the Pact on January 17, 1929.
How did Americans react to the Kellogg-Briand Pact?
President Coolidge and Secretary of State Kellogg were unhappy with this direct appeal to the American people. They were also concerned that the pact would result in tying the United States into some sort of indirect alliance with the French.
What was the essence of the 1928 Kellogg-Briand Pact quizlet?
What was the Kellogg-Briand Pact? -1928 international agreement in which states promised not to use war to resolve "disputes or conflicts of whatever nature or of whatever origin they may be, which may arise among them".
Was the Kellogg-Briand Pact successful?
The treaty was put to the test and failed in 1931 when Japan invaded Manchuria, China. It became clear that the Kellogg-Briand Pact proved ineffective in preventing war without enforcement and with undefined legal terms. World War II began just 11 years after its signing.
Why was the Kellogg Briand peace pact ineffective quizlet?
Why was the Kellogg-Briand Pact ineffective? The treaty could not be enforced. How did Harding's tax policy on imports affect Britain and France and the war debt issue?
What was the Kellogg-Briand Pact?
The pact was not completely unsuccessful, however. It promoted and popularized the idea that aggressive and preemptive military intervention and territory accession were unfavorable, soon becoming the global standard. The ideas outlined in the League of Nations and the Kellogg-Briand Pact cemented in the creation of the United Nations in 1945. Established to maintain international peace and security and promote goodwill between nations, the UN was on stable ground as an intergovernmental organization with an initial 51 member states, including the United States.
When did the Kellogg-Briand Pact become law?
President Coolidge signing the Kellogg-Briand Pact into law on January 17, 1929, after Senate ratification. Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress.
What was the purpose of the Paris Peace Conference?
In 1919, the victorious Allies organized the Paris Peace Conference, which was called to establish the terms of peace. The Paris Peace Conference culminated in five major treaties in addition to the creation of the League of Nations. One treaty, The Treaty of Versailles, took aim at Germany as the key belligerent during the war. Against the United States’ warnings of caution, France and Great Britain spearheaded the terms of the treaty, aiming to punish Germany for its role in the war. The Treaty of Versailles demanded Germany disarm its army and navy, concede pre-war territory, and pay extensive reparations.
What was the effect of the new peace treaties and different land and military concessions after the war?
The new spread of communist ideologies frightened many Western nations, who saw it as a threat to democratic ideals. Global and national economies were depleted by the costly war. The League of Nations offered little stability, as it had no internal leadership, therefore no international authority.
What are some examples of decreased international acceptance of war for territory accession?
The first example of decreased international acceptance of war for territory accession was seen at the Tokyo Tribunal and Nuremberg Trials, where Japan and Germany were found guilty of waging aggressive wars and obstructing peace . A more modern example is Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait. Saddam Hussein, then Iraq’s president, invaded his smaller, oil-rich neighbor. The action drew condemnation from the UN, NATO, and all major world powers, as it was deemed a breach of international peace and security.
Who proposed the peace pact?
In light of the chaos and sheer loss of life during the war, French Minister of Foreign Affairs Aristide Briand publicly proposed a peace pact to the United States. In a letter to the Associated Press, Briand thanked the United States for its assistance during the war and requested the U.S. government to join France in “outlawing war.”
Who prepares the official documentary history of U.S. foreign policy?
To explore more about the Kellogg-Briand Pact, Paris Peace Conference, and the world after World War I, consult the Office of the Historian, which prepares and publishes the official documentary history of U.S. foreign policy.
What was the Kellogg-Briand Pact?
The Kellogg-Briand Pact was an agreement to outlaw war signed on August 27, 1928. Sometimes called the Pact of Paris for the city in which it was signed, the pact was one of many international efforts to prevent another World War, but it had little effect in stopping the rising militarism of the 1930s or preventing World War II.
What was the first test of the Kellogg-Briand Pact?
The first major test of the pact came just a few years later in 1931, when the Mukden Incident led to the Japanese invasion of Manchuria. Though Japan had signed the pact, the combination of the worldwide depression and a limited desire to go to war to preserve China prevented the League of Nations or the United States from taking any action to enforce it. Further threats to the Peace Agreement also came from fellow signatories Germany, Austria and Italy. It soon became clear that there was no way to enforce the pact or sanction those who broke it; it also never fully defined what constituted "self-defense," so there were many ways around its terms. In the end, the Kellogg-Briand Pact did little to prevent World War II or any of the conflicts that followed. Its legacy remains as a statement of the idealism expressed by advocates for peace in the interwar period. Frank Kellogg earned the Nobel Peace Prize in 1929 for his work on the Peace Pact.
What was the purpose of the Peace Pact between the United States and France?
With the influence and assistance of Shotwell and Butler, French Minister of Foreign Affairs Aristide Briand proposed a peace pact as a bilateral agreement between the United States and France to outlaw war between them. Particularly hard hit by World War I, France faced continuing insecurity from its German neighbor and sought alliances to shore up its defenses. Briand published an open letter in April of 1927 containing the proposal. Though the suggestion had the enthusiastic support of some members of the American peace movement, U.S. President Calvin Coolidge and Secretary of State Frank B. Kellogg were less eager than Briand to enter into a bilateral arrangement. They worried that the agreement against war could be interpreted as a bilateral alliance and require the United States to intervene if France was ever threatened. To avoid this, they suggested that the two nations take the lead in inviting all nations to join them in outlawing war.
How many nations signed the Kellogg-Briand Pact?
On August 27, 1928, fifteen nations signed the pact at Paris. Later, an additional forty-seven nations followed suit, so the pact was eventually signed by most of the established nations in the world. The U.S. Senate ratified the agreement by a vote of 85–1. The lone dissenter refused to sign only because he felt the pact did not go far enough to assure the end of war. This law, the Kellogg-Briand Pact, is still in effect today both nationally and internationally and U.S. law today, yet extraordinarily few people are aware of it.
When is the national holiday for the Kellogg-Briand Pact?
Thus we decided to begin a petition drive to declare a national holiday on August 27 to honor the Kellogg-Briand Pact.
Who proposed that all nations join them in signing a pact outlawing war as an instrument of national policy?
In 1928 U.S. Secretary of State Frank Kellogg and French Minister of Foreign Affairs Aristide Briand proposed that all nations join them in signing a pact outlawing war as an instrument of national policy and called upon all signatories to settle their disputes by peaceful means.
Who was the only Minnesotan to win the Nobel Peace Prize?
The name Kellogg should be familiar to most Minnesotans as Kellogg Boulevard in downtown St. Paul is named after him. Frank Kellogg was the only Minnesotan to ever win the Nobel Peace prize. Abolishing war as an instrument of national policy is incorporated into the statement of purpose of Veterans for Peace. Adding to this that the co-author of this unique treaty renouncing war was Secretary of State Frank B. Kellogg, from Minnesota, who had also won the Nobel Peace Prize for his role getting the treaty enacted, it only seems fitting that our Twin Cities VFP chapter take a leading role in this project

World War I Causes Global Devastation
France Proposes A Peace Pact to The United States
- New peace treaties and different land and military concessions after the war created an uncertain world. In Russia, Bolshevism and communism had taken root. The new spread of communist ideologies frightened many Western nations, who saw it as a threat to democratic ideals. Global and national economies were depleted by the costly war. The League of Nations offered little st…
Secretary Kellogg and A Treaty to Outlaw War
- Unwilling to put the United States in a position where it may have to go to war to defend an ally, Kellogg responded with an equally appealing counteroffer. He suggested an open invitation to all countries to join the United States and France in a pact to outlaw war. Coolidge and Kellogg knew it was impossible that all nations would agree and comply. However, by opening the discussion t…
Putting The Kellogg-Briand Pact to The Test
- The treaty was put to the test and failed in 1931 when Japan invaded Manchuria, China. It became clear that the Kellogg-Briand Pact proved ineffective in preventing war without enforcement and with undefined legal terms. World War II began just 11 years after its signing. The pact was not completely unsuccessful, however. It promoted and popularize...
Overview
The Kellogg–Briand Pact or Pact of Paris – officially the General Treaty for Renunciation of War as an Instrument of National Policy – is a 1928 international agreement on peace in which signatory states promised not to use war to resolve "disputes or conflicts of whatever nature or of whatever origin they may be, which may arise among them". The pact was signed by Germany, France, a…
Text
The main text is very short:
Article I
The High Contracting Parties solemnly declare in the names of their respective peoples that they condemn recourse to war for the solution of international controversies and renounce it as an instrument of national policy in their relations with one another.
Parties
After negotiations, the pact was signed in Paris at the French Foreign Ministry by the representatives from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, Great Britain, India, the Irish Free State, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Poland, South Africa, and the United States. It took effect on 24 July 1929.
By that date, the following nations had deposited instruments of ratification of …
Effect and legacy
The 1928 Kellogg–Briand Pact was concluded outside the League of Nations and remains in effect. One month following its conclusion, a similar agreement, General Act for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes, was concluded in Geneva, which obliged its signatory parties to establish conciliation commissions in any case of dispute. The pact's central provisions renouncing t…
See also
• Washington Naval Treaty
External links
• Works related to Kellogg-Briand Treaty at Wikisource
Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928): Background and Context
What Was The Goal of The Kellogg-Briand Pact?
- The goal of the Kellogg-Briand Pact was to prevent wars. The pact was proposed by the French Minister of Foreign Affairs Aristide Briand as an agreement between France and the United States. France had been the country that suffered the worst of the damage from World War I, and it hoped to protect itself from future wars. US Secretary of State Fran...
What Did The Kellogg-Briand Pact do?
- The text of the Kellogg-Briand Pact was very short. It contained only two clauses: 1. It condemned and rejected war as a tool of national policy. 2. The signing countries agreed to solve disputes between them peacefully.
Problems with The Kellogg-Briand Pact
- While the Kellogg-Briand Pact was seen as a positive development and lauded around the world, the pact was largely symbolic and lacked real power to prevent war if a dispute did arise. In essence, it consisted of countries currently at peace with each other stating they wanted to stay at peace.