Knox–Porter Resolution

The Knox–Porter Resolution (42 Stat. 105) was a joint resolution of the United States Congress signed by President Warren G. Harding on July 2, 1921, officially ending United States involvement in World War I. The documents were signed on the estate of Joseph Sherman Frelinghuysen, Sr. in Raritan, New Jersey.

History

Memorial plaque marking Frelinghuysen estate site and signing of the Knox–Porter resolution on July 2, 1921.

On November 19, 1919, and again on March 19, 1920, the United States Senate voted against ratifying the Treaty of Versailles, forestalling American participation in the League of Nations. 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 introduced a resolution the following day, and it passed the Senate in late April.

The United States House of Representatives 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. Harding signed the resolution at the Frelinghuysen estate the next day. "War with Germany ended as it began, by Congressional declaration and Executive signature on American soil."

See also

• Treaty of Versailles
• 1921 U.S.–German Peace Treaty
• 1921 U.S.–Austrian Peace Treaty
• 1921 U.S.–Hungarian Peace Treaty