A Brief History
On August 27, 1928, countries that were bitter enemies in World War I signed the Kellogg-Briand Pact to renounce war as a means to resolve disputes and conflicts between nations. Within a year’s time, a total of 62 countries had signed.
Digging Deeper
To put 62 countries in perspective for the times, the 1928 Winter Olympics had 25 countries participating and the Summer Olympics 46.
This particular treaty was named after Frank Kellogg, U.S. Secretary of State, and Aristide Briand, the French Foreign Minster. Kellogg received the 1929 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in establishing the pact. (History and Headlines Note: The name “Kellogg” originated in medieval times in Britain and means pig killer or butcher. In other words, the actual name of one of your favorite cereal brands is “kill hog.”)
Oddly enough, the solemn signing of such a humanitarian treaty has failed to prevent the bucket full of wars since then. Among the signatories of the pact were countries that would end up playing important roles in the upcoming Second World War: the United States; the United Kingdom; Germany; France; the Soviet Union; Japan; Italy; Poland; and China.
On August 25, 2014 History and Headlines presented an article concerning the 1939 mutual defense treaty between the UK and Poland in which the absurdity of that treaty and the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact (German-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact) was discussed.
It seems that countries simply do not take treaties seriously.
The way that the signing countries got around the conditions of the Kellogg-Briand Pact without violating it was to simply wage war without declaring war. Unfortunately, people die in undeclared wars the same as in declared wars.
The pact is still theoretically in effect, and the Charter of the United Nations of course condemns the waging of war, but neither seems to hinder any country that wants to use force.
Question for students (and subscribers): If treaties are violated so readily and so often, how else can people take effective measures to stop war? We do not have the answer. Do you? If yes, please share your ideas in the comments section below this article.
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For another interesting event that happened on August 27, please see the History and Headlines article: “Aviation Firsts That You Might Not Know About.”
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see:
Ferrell, Robert H. Peace in Their Time the Origins of the Kellogg Briand Pact. Franklin Classics, 2018.
You can also watch a video version of this article on YouTube.
