Peace Ship

In early 1915, Ford began to express pacifist sentiments publicly and to denounce the ongoing war in Europe. Ford made an announcement to the press that he would fund an effective peace initiative that would assist in mediating and ending World War I. He principally offered one million and later increased it to ten million dollars. Rosika Schwimmer, Hungarian activist, heard the news through a colleague, Louis P. Lochner, fellow feminist, pacifist, and acting secretary of the International Federation of Students, who soon set up a meeting. By November, Lochner and Schwimmer approached Ford, now commonly recognized as a pacifist, with a proposal to launch an amateur diplomatic mission to Europe to broker an end to World War I. and the International Criminal Court as well as participating in various international conferences. This project aligned with her her known projections and ambitions. Schwimmer claimed to possess diplomatic correspondence that proved that the European powers were willing to negotiate, which was an outright fabrication. Ford was undeterred by Wilson's refusal to endorse the expedition and planned it as a private delegation to Europe. == Mission to Europe ==

The Oscar II set sail from Hoboken, New Jersey, on 4 December 1915, amid an atmosphere that the press later derided as circus-like. A crowd of about 15,000 watched the Oscar II depart from the harbor while a band played "I Didn't Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier." Just before the ship's departure, a prankster placed a cage containing two squirrels and a sign reading "To the Good Ship Nutty" on the ship's gangplank. After the pro-Wilson minority threatened to abandon the mission upon landing in Europe, the two factions denounced each other. On 23 December. Ford and Marquis slipped out of their hotel, took the train to Bergen and sailed on the steamer Bergensfjord back to the United States on 24 December, arriving in New York 2 January 1916. Envoys were sent to England, Germany, and Russia, all ultimately unsuccessful. In autumn of 1916 Schwimmer traveled back to the United States to gather support. Ford continued to pay for the ship's expenses and the Conference until early 1917, when it became clear the US was edging closer to entering the war. In total, the Peace Ship expedition ultimately cost Ford approximately half a million dollars (US$ in ). ==Response==

, Punch 15 Dec. 1915 Initially, the press response to the Peace Ship was respectful. After all of Ford's most prominent invitees declined his offer of sailing to Europe, the press reaction turned negative. Other papers openly mocked Ford's amateur peace campaign. The Philadelphia Record claimed that "Henry Ford's millions have gone to his head". The Louisville Courier was even more severe, suggesting that Henry Ford carried "cold cream in his head". Also critical of Ford's endeavor were former United States Senator Chauncey M. Depew and one- time presidential candidate Alton B. Parker. Depew famously commented of the Peace Ship, "In uselessness and absurdity it will stand without an equal". and ridiculed the delegates for the infighting. Her identification as a feminist and Jewish woman led the American public to distrust her campaigns and characters, as the 1920s became more and more defiant to the subversive. ==Legacy==

The Peace Ship's mission was ultimately a failure, producing only inconsequential meetings with "quasi-official representatives" from several European governments. Even papers that derided the Peace Ship, such as the New York American, often voiced support for Ford's calls for peace. In the following years, Ford continued his antiwar activism and paid for anti-preparedness advertisements to appear in newspapers across the United States. ==References==