Work in progress — cycles are added one at a time. Every quote is machine-verified against an archived source; follow the links to read it.
Issues › Diplomacy & International Institutions
European war debts and reparations
| Cycle | Candidate | Position | Solution | Strength | Attribution | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1932 | Alfred E. Smith (Democratic) | A twenty-year moratorium on the war debts, writing them off in proportion to each nation's purchases of American goods | Suspend intergovernmental debt payments for twenty years and cancel debt in proportion to the debtor's trade with the United States — converting the debts into an instrument for reviving exports. | specific_pledge | reported | not_applicable |
| 1932 | Franklin D. Roosevelt (Democratic) | No cancellation of the war debts — make payment possible by restoring trade | Oppose cancellation of the debts owed by foreign governments; instead lower tariffs and revive trade so the debtors can pay from trade profits. | specific_pledge | candidate_direct | superseded |
| 1932 | Herbert Hoover (Republican) | The 1931 German moratorium and standstill agreements stemmed European collapse and will be built upon | Defend the one-year intergovernmental debt moratorium of June 1931 and the standstill on German private debts as having 'stemmed the tide of collapse in Germany'; continue cooperation for foreign stability. | specific_pledge | candidate_direct | superseded |
| 1932 | Herbert Hoover (Republican) | No cancellation of war debts; apply any annual payment to opening foreign markets for American farm products | Maintain the policy of Hoover's predecessors against cancellation; consider reducing a given annual payment only for 'tangible compensation' such as expanded markets; recommend that debt receipts be used specifically to … | specific_pledge | candidate_direct | not_applicable |
| 1932 | Newton D. Baker (Democratic) | Entry into the World Court and cancellation of the war debts (the record that made him 'politically unpopular') | American adherence to the League Court and cancellation of the European war debts, positions Baker had advocated publicly before 1932. | directional_stance | reported | not_applicable |
| 1932 | Norman Thomas (Socialist) | Cancel the war debts (against cancellation of reparations) and raze the tariff wall | Cancel all war debts of foreign governments conditional on cancellation of reparations; 'the razing of the dangerous and preposterous tariff wall.' | specific_pledge | party_platform | not_applicable |
| 1936 | Alf Landon (Republican) | Use every effort to collect the war debts due from foreign countries | Reopen negotiations on the roughly $12 billion of defaulted war debts. | directional_stance | party_platform | not_applicable |