The American Peace Award was created in 1923 by
Edward Bok, who believed that the United States government was not taking initiative to promote peace in the world. $100,000 was to be awarded to the person submitting "the best practicable plan by which the United States may co-operate with other nations for the achievement and preservation of world peace." The first half of the prize was awarded upon the selection of the plan by a jury, and the remainder upon acceptance by the United States Senate or showing "sufficient popular support". The 1924 American Peace Award received plans from thousands of applicants, and caught the interest of the Senate.
Franklin D. Roosevelt drafted a plan for the contest but did not submit it because his wife
Eleanor Roosevelt was selected as a judge for the prize. His plan called for a new world organization that would replace the League of Nations. Although Roosevelt had been the vice presidential candidate on the Democratic ticket of 1920 that supported the League of Nations, by 1924 he was ready to scrap it. His draft of a "Society of Nations" accepted the reservations proposed by
Henry Cabot Lodge in the 1919 Senate debate. The new Society would not become involved in the Western Hemisphere, where the
Monroe Doctrine held sway. It would not have any control over any military forces. Although Roosevelt's plan was never made public, he thought about the problem a great deal, and incorporated some of his 1924 ideas into his design for the United Nations in 1944–1945. The prize was awarded in February 1924 to Dr.
Charles Herbert Levermore, who was secretary of the
World's Court League, the
League of Nations Union, and the
New York Peace Society, and former president of
Adelphi College. Levermore's plan suggested the United States adhere to the
Permanent Court of International Justice and should extend its cooperation with the
League of Nations. == The contemporary American Peace Award ==