French Minister of Foreign Affairs Aristide Briand (1862-1932), and American Secretary
of State Frank Kellogg (1856-1937) negotiated a treaty. Briand first proposed it to the U.S. as a
bilateral agreement but then they decided to make it an international treaty.
In its final form it has two articles. (1) Signing nations agreed to abandon war as an
element of national policy and (2) that they would settle disagreements and disputes peacefully.
On August 27, 1928, fifteen nations signed the treaty. They included the U.S., Britain, France,
and also Germany, Italy and Japan.
The U.S. Senate passed the treaty 85 to 1. That’s a remarkable vote, and shows that the
idea of peace was widespread, even in the isolationist U.S. There was world-wide rejection of
the idea of war.
There was no enforcement mechanism, so this was a toothless treaty, despite the
obvious sincerity of the participants.
{Link below id U.S. State Department on the treaty]
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1921-1936/kellogg
