On this date in 1928, the United States signed the Kellogg-Briand Pact, an agreement among eleven countries (eventually sixty-two countries) to outlaw war.
The pact was the result of a French proposal to establish a treaty between France and the United States that would outlaw war between the two countries, and eventually cause the United States to take the side of the French in any European conflict. The United Staes in turn proposed the broader multi-lateral treaty, robbing it of any real meaning. The US Senate ratified the treaty 85-1 after they made clear that the United States was under no obligation to take action against treaty violators.
It was the perfect compromise. "Outlaw" war but don't do anything about it.
Today such naivete and intellectual dishonesty falls under the rubric, "We're opposed to the war, but we support the troops."
