League to Enforce Peace
Encyclopedia
The League to Enforce Peace (LEP) was an American organization established in 1915 to promote the formation of an international body for world peace. It was formed in New York City
by American citizens concerned by the outbreak of World War I
in Europe.
Early efforts to support the formation of an international organization to contain and respond to violence once the current hostilities ended began in 1914 with speaking tours to arouse support. Advocates worked to distinguish their efforts from contemporary anti-war efforts that aimed at preventing American participation in the war and to counter misimpression that they were trying to end the war in Europe. Hamilton Holt
published an editorial in his New York City weekly magazine the Independent called "The Way to Disarm: A Practical Proposal" on September 28, 1914. It called for an international organization to agree upon the arbitration of disputes and to guarantee the territorial integrity of its members by maintaining military forces sufficient to defeat those of any non-member. The ensuing debate among prominent internationalists modified Holt's plan to align it more closely with proposals offered in Great Britain by Viscount James Bryce
, a former ambassador from the U.K. to the U.S.
At a convention in Philadelphia's Independence Hall on June 17, 1915, with the LEP's first president, former U.S. President William Howard Taft
, presiding, one hundred noteworthy Americans formally announced the formation of the League to Enforce Peace. They proposed an international agreement in which participating nations would agree to "jointly use their economic and military force against any one of their number that goes to war or commits acts of hostility against another." The founders included Alexander Graham Bell
, Rabbi Stephen S. Wise
, James Cardinal Gibbons of Baltimore, and Edward Filene
on behalf of the recently founded U.S. Chamber of Commerce
. Elected to the Executive Committee were Harvard President Abbott Lawrence Lowell
, former Cabinet member and diplomat Oscar S. Straus, magazine editor Hamilton Holt, Taft, and a dozen others
Pacifists rejected the LEP's notion of collective security and nationalists rejected the idea of America submitting to arbitration. The LEP's founders, on the other hand, though varied in their outlooks, expressed a long established ideal of the civilizing influence of the British Empire and American democracy.
The initial efforts of the League to Enforce Peace aimed at creating public awareness through magazine articles and speeches.
The LEP combined enthusiastic support for the American war effort with its proposals for a new international order to follow the defeat of Germany. It presented its plans for an international organization to respond to any nation that would follow a course like that of German militarism.
President Wilson's specific proposal for the League of Nations met resistance from the Republican-controlled Senate and the opposition led by Senator Henry Cabot Lodge
of Massachusetts. The high-minded debate deteriorated until the ideal of international cooperation was, writes one historian, "sacrificed to party intrigue, personal antipathy, and pride of authorship." The League to Enforce Peace believed American participation was more important than the exact nature of the organization, but found itself defending Wilson's plan against attempts to restrict American participation in it. When the U.S. Senate debated the treaty with Germany, the LEP specifically opposed attempts in the Senate to restrict American participation in international arbitration.
In February 1919, the League held a series of public meetings in more than half a dozen American cities in support of Wilson's League proposal. President Wilson thanked the League for its support.
In the summer of 1919, the LEP published a book of essays modeled on the Federalist Papers
called The Covenanter: An American Exposition of the Covenant of the League of Nations. It delivered a copy to every member of Congress. Lowell, Taft, and former Attorney-General George W. Wickersham were the authors. The New York Times called it a "masterly analysis" and thought it perfectly suited for a broad public: "This—thank Heaven—is a brochure for the lazy-minded!"
With the formation of the League of Nations
in 1919 the LEP changed focus slightly to raise grass roots American support for the League of Nations. For example, in November 1920 it analyzed the annual budgets of the League of Nations to demonstrate that participation in the League of Nations in the coming year would cost the United States "exactly one-tenth of one percent of what we spent on armaments during a single year before the war, while it would amount to something like two-thousandth of one per cent of what the direct cost of our belligerency reached in 1918."
Support for the LEP dissolved and it ceased operations by 1923.
Some of the League's records are held by the Harvard University
Library.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
by American citizens concerned by the outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
in Europe.
Early efforts to support the formation of an international organization to contain and respond to violence once the current hostilities ended began in 1914 with speaking tours to arouse support. Advocates worked to distinguish their efforts from contemporary anti-war efforts that aimed at preventing American participation in the war and to counter misimpression that they were trying to end the war in Europe. Hamilton Holt
Hamilton Holt
Hamilton Holt was an American educator, editor, author and politician.-Editor:...
published an editorial in his New York City weekly magazine the Independent called "The Way to Disarm: A Practical Proposal" on September 28, 1914. It called for an international organization to agree upon the arbitration of disputes and to guarantee the territorial integrity of its members by maintaining military forces sufficient to defeat those of any non-member. The ensuing debate among prominent internationalists modified Holt's plan to align it more closely with proposals offered in Great Britain by Viscount James Bryce
James Bryce, 1st Viscount Bryce
James Bryce, 1st Viscount Bryce OM, GCVO, PC, FRS, FBA was a British academic, jurist, historian and Liberal politician.-Background and education:...
, a former ambassador from the U.K. to the U.S.
At a convention in Philadelphia's Independence Hall on June 17, 1915, with the LEP's first president, former U.S. President William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States...
, presiding, one hundred noteworthy Americans formally announced the formation of the League to Enforce Peace. They proposed an international agreement in which participating nations would agree to "jointly use their economic and military force against any one of their number that goes to war or commits acts of hostility against another." The founders included Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Graham Bell was an eminent scientist, inventor, engineer and innovator who is credited with inventing the first practical telephone....
, Rabbi Stephen S. Wise
Stephen Samuel Wise
Stephen Samuel Wise was an Austro-Hungarian-born American Reform rabbi and Zionist leader.-Early life:...
, James Cardinal Gibbons of Baltimore, and Edward Filene
Edward Filene
Edward Albert Filene was an American businessman, social entrepreneur and philanthropist...
on behalf of the recently founded U.S. Chamber of Commerce
United States Chamber of Commerce
The United States Chamber of Commerce is an American lobbying group representing the interests of many businesses and trade associations. It is not an agency of the United States government....
. Elected to the Executive Committee were Harvard President Abbott Lawrence Lowell
Abbott Lawrence Lowell
Abbott Lawrence Lowell was a U.S. educator and legal scholar. He served as President of Harvard University from 1909 to 1933....
, former Cabinet member and diplomat Oscar S. Straus, magazine editor Hamilton Holt, Taft, and a dozen others
Pacifists rejected the LEP's notion of collective security and nationalists rejected the idea of America submitting to arbitration. The LEP's founders, on the other hand, though varied in their outlooks, expressed a long established ideal of the civilizing influence of the British Empire and American democracy.
The initial efforts of the League to Enforce Peace aimed at creating public awareness through magazine articles and speeches.
The LEP combined enthusiastic support for the American war effort with its proposals for a new international order to follow the defeat of Germany. It presented its plans for an international organization to respond to any nation that would follow a course like that of German militarism.
President Wilson's specific proposal for the League of Nations met resistance from the Republican-controlled Senate and the opposition led by Senator Henry Cabot Lodge
Henry Cabot Lodge
Henry Cabot "Slim" Lodge was an American Republican Senator and historian from Massachusetts. He had the role of Senate Majority leader. He is best known for his positions on Meek policy, especially his battle with President Woodrow Wilson in 1919 over the Treaty of Versailles...
of Massachusetts. The high-minded debate deteriorated until the ideal of international cooperation was, writes one historian, "sacrificed to party intrigue, personal antipathy, and pride of authorship." The League to Enforce Peace believed American participation was more important than the exact nature of the organization, but found itself defending Wilson's plan against attempts to restrict American participation in it. When the U.S. Senate debated the treaty with Germany, the LEP specifically opposed attempts in the Senate to restrict American participation in international arbitration.
In February 1919, the League held a series of public meetings in more than half a dozen American cities in support of Wilson's League proposal. President Wilson thanked the League for its support.
In the summer of 1919, the LEP published a book of essays modeled on the Federalist Papers
Federalist Papers
The Federalist Papers are a series of 85 articles or essays promoting the ratification of the United States Constitution. Seventy-seven of the essays were published serially in The Independent Journal and The New York Packet between October 1787 and August 1788...
called The Covenanter: An American Exposition of the Covenant of the League of Nations. It delivered a copy to every member of Congress. Lowell, Taft, and former Attorney-General George W. Wickersham were the authors. The New York Times called it a "masterly analysis" and thought it perfectly suited for a broad public: "This—thank Heaven—is a brochure for the lazy-minded!"
With the formation of the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
in 1919 the LEP changed focus slightly to raise grass roots American support for the League of Nations. For example, in November 1920 it analyzed the annual budgets of the League of Nations to demonstrate that participation in the League of Nations in the coming year would cost the United States "exactly one-tenth of one percent of what we spent on armaments during a single year before the war, while it would amount to something like two-thousandth of one per cent of what the direct cost of our belligerency reached in 1918."
Support for the LEP dissolved and it ceased operations by 1923.
Some of the League's records are held by the Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
Library.
Sources
- Ruhl Jacob Bartlett, The League to Enforce Peace (University of North Carolina Press, 1944)
- Sondra R. Herman, Eleven Against War: Studies in American Internationalist Thought, 1898-1921 (Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution Press, 1969), ch. III: "The League to Enforce Peace: The Polity as Posse Comitatus"
- Henry Aaron Yeomans, Abbott Lawrence Lowell, 1856-1943 (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1948)
- League to Enforce Peace: Enforced peace - Proceedings of the First National Assembly of the League to Enforce Peace, Washington, May 26–27, 1916