American Politicians Who Have Won The Nobel Peace Prize

  

( Update–10/09/09—This post has been updated for Mr. Obama’s award of the Peace Prize.)

Al Gore and Jimmy Carter are not the only two American politicians to have won the Nobel Peace Prize.

In 1906, President Teddy Roosevelt won the Nobel for his role in ending the war between Japan and Russia.

One-term New York Senator Elihu Root won the prize in 1912. As Secretary of State under Teddy Roosevelt, and as Senator, Root help negotiate and arbitrate a number of international disputes.  

This does not seem like something the current administration would support. They have a different approach to resolving disputes. 

President Woodrow Wilson won the Peace prize in 1919 for his part in creating the League of Nations.   

It was bit more rocky, though with some successes, for the League after the Nobel.   

Another one-term Senator, Frank Kellogg of Minnesota, was the 1929 winner. (The photo above is of Mr. Kellogg.)

As Secretary of State under Calvin Coolidge, Kellogg was a force behind the Kellogg-Briand pact. Kellogg-Briand was signed by 64 countries and was about the renunciation of war as an instrument of policy by these nations. It did not have much effect at the time, but why not try?  

1931 co-winner Nicholas Butler, was Teddy Roosevelt’s running mate on the 1912 Bull Moose ticket. Butler won the prize for his international work on behalf of Kellogg-Briand.

Former Tennessee Senator Cordell Hull was the 1945 winner.  Secretary of State under F.D.R, Hull had a part in creating the United Nations.

And finally, much more recently, Jimmy Carter in 2002 and Al Gore for the current year.

A Response To State Representative Ellen Cohen

I got a newsletter in the mail last week from State Representative Ellen Cohen.  Ms. Cohen represents me in Austin. Ms. Cohen did Houston and the world a favor last year by defeating Republican incumbent Martha Wong.

Ms. Cohen’s newsletter has a kind of poll. She wants my views.

Ms. Cohen makes a statement on the newsletter and you decide the extent to which you agree or disagree.

First is ” With the highest uninsured population in the country, Texas should invest more to expand health care coverage through fully funding the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).”

Here I’ll choose “Strongly Agree.” Good for Ms. Cohen for making this the first question.

Next is “The ” Top 10 Percent Rule” has made admission to some state universities too burdensome for students from highly competitive high schools and should be amended”   

This is pandering by Ms. Cohen. I support pandering. I pander to the blog reading world quite often.    

However as to the actual statement I must reply—Isn’t Texas unfair enough to the poor and to working and middle class folks? The 10% rule is about the only fair thing going on in Texas.

I say “Strongly Disagree” on criticizing the excellent 10% rule.

Then we have ” More environmental regulations are needed to address Houston’s air quality problems”   

 I “Strongly Agree.” As a general principle, I always favor more regulation in Texas. I’m glad to have a State Representative who will openly call for more regulation.  

Also—The Texas Legislature should not involve itself in pushing religious agendas in our schools.

I’m not sure how I feel about this matter. 

In his sermon On Being A Good Neighbor Martin Luther King says—True altruism is more than the capacity to pity; it is the capacity to sympathize. Pity may represent little more than the impersonal concern which prompts the mailing of a check, but true sympathy is the personal concern which demands the giving of one’s soul. Pity may rise from interest in an abstraction called humanity, but sympathy grows out of a concern for a particular human being who lies at life’s roadside.

I favor any agenda that matches what I believe and I oppose any agenda against what I believe. If I were in charge of the schools I would have Martin Luther King sermons taught to all the kids.

There were some other questions that did not interest me.

Ms. Cohen also provides a comment space. Here is my comment—

Representative Cohen–

Thank you for defeating Martha Wong. I would like to see reform of how the Texas House is organized. The Speaker and Committee Chairs should be elected by straight party-line vote instead of the sneaky behind-the-scenes deal cutting that now defines the process. I believe the majority party in the legislature, regardless of what party is in the majority, has won the mandate of the people. Party-line organization of the House keeps parties accountable and is most consistent with our Democracy as normally practiced in the United States.

Thank you.

Neil Aquino

Supporter, Constituent, Voter & Citizen