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1932 › Franklin D. Roosevelt (Democratic) › Adherence to the World Court
Adhere to the World Court; arbitration of disputes; consultation to enforce the Kellogg-Briand Pact
pledge_forwardspecific_pledgeparty_platformevidence A Diplomacy & International InstitutionsForeign Policy similar solutions · similar reasoning
Solution
Adherence to the World Court with the pending Senate reservations; settlement of international disputes by arbitration; make the Pact of Paris effective by consultation and conference when treaty violations are threatened; sanctity of treaties; no interference in other nations' internal affairs.
Rationale
Wilsonian internationalism minus the League, which Roosevelt had disavowed in February 1932.
Statements (2)
adherence to the World Court with appending reservations; the Pact of Paris abolishing war as an instrument of national policy, to be made effective by provisions for consultation and conference in case of threatened violations of treaties.
That admirable document, the platform which you have adopted, is clear. I accept it 100 percent.
Blanket endorsement of every plank.
Follow-through
blocked
Roosevelt asked the Senate to ratify World Court adherence on January 16, 1935; on January 29 the resolution fell seven votes short of two-thirds after a Hearst–Coughlin campaign. The consultation machinery for the Kellogg Pact was never enacted; the Neutrality Acts (1935–37) moved the other way.
Mechanisms
| Date | Type | Name | Effect | Consistent? | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1935-01-16 | message | Message to the Senate recommending adherence to the World Court | I hope that at an early date the Senate will advise and consent to the adherence by the United States to the Protocol of Signature of the Statute of the Permanent Court of International Justice | yes | Message to the Senate Recommending Adherence to the World Court. |
Obstruction
congress Senate vote of 52–36, short of two-thirds, January 29, 1935. source
Assessments
The Senate defeated adherence in 1935.
Another indication of FDR's commitment to international cooperation came with his unsuccessful fight in 1935 for U.S. membership in the World Court.
Other positions on this issue
- Join the World Court with reservations; make the Kellogg-Briand Pact an instrument for consultation — but no commitments to use force — Herbert Hoover, 1932 specific_pledge
1932-fdr-world-court-arbitration-kellogg-pact · created by claude-fable-5-1 · review: unreviewed