The Knox–Porter Resolution () was a joint resolution of the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

signed by President

Warren G. Harding Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he was one of the most ...

on July 2, 1921, officially ending

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

involvement in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The documents were signed on the estate of Joseph Sherman Frelinghuysen, Sr. in

Raritan, New Jersey Raritan is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, Somerset County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 7,835, its highest decennial census count ever and an ...

History

On November 19, 1919, and again on March 19, 1920, the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

voted against ratifying the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed on 28 June 1919. As the most important treaty of World War I, it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allies of World War I, Allied Powers. It was signed in the Palace ...

, forestalling American participation in the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

. In a speech on April 12, 1921, before a special congressional session, President Harding reconfirmed American opposition to the League of Nations, calling on Congress to pass a peace resolution independent of the League. Senator Philander C. Knox of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

introduced a resolution the following day, and it passed the Senate in late April.. The

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

had its own slightly different resolution introduced by Representative Stephen G. Porter, Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. Passage of the House resolution was delayed in deference to negotiations between the Allies and Germany over a reparations settlement. In late June the House and Senate reconciled their differences, and the Knox–Porter joint resolution passed Congress on July 1. The next day, Harding signed the resolution at the Frelinghuysen estate in Raritan, New Jersey. Harding and Senator Frehlinghuysen were playing golf at the Raritan Valley Country Club across the street when word arrived that a courier was on his way from the Raritan train station, having traveled from Washington with the signing copy of the resolution. Harding walked back to the estate, signed the document, and then returned to complete his round of golf. The Frelinghuysen estate was destroyed by fire in the 1950s, and the site is now occupied by a shopping center and parking lot, with a small plaque marking the place where the home once stood. The article in the next day's New York Times concerning the signing started with the words, "War with Germany ended as it began, by Congressional declaration and Executive signature on American soil."

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External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Knox-Porter Resolution United States in World War I Aftermath of World War I in the United States Raritan, New Jersey

History

See also

References

External links