The "Lansdowne Letter" called for Britain to negotiate a peace with Germany during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. It was published by a London newspaper and written by

Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne, (14 January 18453 June 1927), was a British statesman who served successively as Governor General of Canada, Viceroy of India, Secretary of State for War and Secretary of State f ...

, a former foreign secretary and war minister. Lansdowne came under withering criticism, with few supporters, and the government rejected the proposal.

Background

On 13 November 1916, Lansdowne circulated a paper to the Cabinet in which he argued that the war would destroy

civilisation A civilization (or civilisation) is any complex society characterized by the development of a state, social stratification, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyond natural spoken language (namely, a writing system). Civ ...

and that therefore peace should be negotiated on the basis of the ''

status quo ante bellum The term ''status quo ante bellum'' is a Latin phrase meaning "the situation as it existed before the war". The term was originally used in treaties to refer to the withdrawal of enemy troops and the restoration of prewar leadership. When use ...

''. Lansdowne's proposal received a hostile response from other Unionists in the Cabinet such as

Arthur Balfour Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour, (, ; 25 July 184819 March 1930), also known as Lord Balfour, was a British Conservative statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1902 to 1905. As foreign secretary in the ...

and Lord Robert Cecil.Taylor, p. 65. Lansdowne invited the editor of ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...

'',

Geoffrey Dawson George Geoffrey Dawson (25 October 1874 – 7 November 1944) was editor of ''The Times'' from 1912 to 1919 and again from 1923 until 1941. His original last name was Robinson, but he changed it in 1917. He married Hon. Margaret Cecilia Lawley, ...

, to his house and showed him the letter he wanted to publish. Dawson was "appalled" and decided that publication would not be in the national interest. Lansdowne also showed the text to the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...

, which did not veto it. He then offered the letter to ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'', which accepted it.

Publication

On 29 November 1917, Lansdowne's letter was published in ''The Daily Telegraph''. It called for a negotiated peace with Germany:

''We are not going to lose this war, but its prolongation will spell ruin for the civilised world, and an infinite addition to the load of human suffering which already weighs upon it...We do not desire the annihilation of Germany as a great power ... We do not seek to impose upon her people any form of government other than that of their own choice... We have no desire to deny Germany her place among the great commercial communities of the world''.

The letter also called for a guarantee of the '

freedom of the seas Freedom of the seas ( la, mare liberum, lit. "free sea") is a principle in the law of the sea. It stresses freedom to navigate the oceans. It also disapproves of war fought in water. The freedom is to be breached only in a necessary inter ...

Reaction

Lansdowne became a pariah and his letter "a deed of shame".

Bonar Law Andrew Bonar Law ( ; 16 September 1858 – 30 October 1923) was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from October 1922 to May 1923. Law was born in the British colony of New Brunswick (now ...

publicly criticised Lansdowne's letter, although U.S. President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

was said to be "impressed" by the letter's arguments. H. G. Wells said Lansdowne's letter "was the letter of a

Peer Peer may refer to: Sociology * Peer, an equal in age, education or social class; see Peer group * Peer, a member of the peerage; related to the term "peer of the realm" Computing * Peer, one of several functional units in the same layer of a ne ...

who fears

revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

more than national dishonour". Military leaders dismissed Lansdowne's proposals. Douglas Haig said that the prospects for 1918 were "excellent". Sir William Robertson, when asked whether the war could be won, replied:

Quite frankly, and at the same time quite respectfully, I can only say I am surprised that the question should be asked. The idea had not before entered my head that any member of His Majesty's Government had a doubt on the matter.

Most of the British press was critical of Lansdowne's proposals. ''The Times'' attacked it, as did ''

The Morning Post ''The Morning Post'' was a conservative daily newspaper published in London from 1772 to 1937, when it was acquired by ''The Daily Telegraph''. History The paper was founded by John Bell. According to historian Robert Darnton, ''The Morning Po ...

'' and the ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...

''. The ''

Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the G ...

'' and the '' Daily News'' welcomed the letter, as did the German press. In the United States, former American president

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

, a vocal proponent of the war effort, denounced the letter: "Such a peace would leave the liberty loving nations of mankind at the ultimate mercy of the triumphant militarism and capitalism of the German autocracy." The historian A. J. P. Taylor asserted that

Fritz Fischer Fritz Fischer (5 March 1908 – 1 December 1999) was a German historian best known for his analysis of the causes of World War I. In the early 1960s Fischer advanced the controversial thesis at the time that responsibility for the outbreak of the ...

's work on German war aims revealed that the German government's minimum peace terms were incompatible with Lansdowne's proposals, and that the Germans would have "rudely rejected" them.Taylor, p. 65 and note. The German equivalent of the Lansdowne Letter was penned in 1916 by Karl Max, Prince Lichnowsky, the former ambassador in London, who was also criticised in Berlin for his well-intended efforts. In February 1918, Lansdowne attempted to further advance bringing the war to a non-military conclusion by founding the

Lansdowne Committee Lansdowne or Lansdown may refer to: People * Lansdown Guilding (1797–1831), Saint Vincent and the Grenadines naturalist and engraver * Fenwick Lansdowne (1937–2008), Canadian wildlife artist * George Granville, 1st Baron Lansdowne (1666–1735 ...

, and advocated his proposals on the floor of the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminst ...

Notes

External links

Peace Initiatives
at the ''International Encyclopedia of the First World War''

1917 in the United Kingdom Political history of the United Kingdom World War I documents 1917 in international relations 1917 documents

Background

Publication

Reaction

Notes

Further reading

External links