Appendix D: 1931 Nobel Peace Prize Award Ceremony Speech

In awarding the Peace Prize to two Americans [Jane Addams and Nicholas Murray Butler], the Nobel Committee today brings the United States into first place among those nations whose representatives have received the prize during the past thirty years. Previously, France had the highest number of prizewinners, a total of six, while other nations had no more than two or three. As of today, seven Peace Prizes will have gone to America, four of them during the last five years….

The United States of America is a world in itself, as large as the whole of Europe; and this world is a great land of peace where war between states, either economic or military, is unthinkable. But the United States is, at the same time, one of the great world powers and economically is now the greatest of them all. By virtue of this position, she influences decisions on war and peace in all corners of the globe. We can say, in fact, that because of this vast economic strength, she wields greater power over war and peace than any other country on earth. All who yearn for a lasting peace must therefore look to America for help….