Cordell Hull
Cordell Hull was U.S. secretary of state from 1933 to 1944, a principal architect of the United Nations, and the 1945 Nobel Peace Prize recipient.
Franklin D. Roosevelt: The 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. As president, Roosevelt set the foreign-policy direction Hull carried out as secretary of state.
United Nations: An international organization founded in 1945 to maintain peace, promote cooperation, and address global problems. Hull helped advance the plans and negotiations that produced the organization.
Overton County, Tennessee: A county in northeastern Tennessee, established in 1806. Hull was born in Overton County in 1871.
Reciprocal trade: Trade in which countries exchange market access or other concessions on mutually agreed terms. Hull’s trade program used reciprocal bargains to reduce tariffs between the United States and its partners.
Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act: A 1930 U.S. law that sharply raised tariffs on many imported goods. Hull’s reciprocal tariff reductions opposed the protectionist approach associated with this law.
Sumner Welles: An American diplomat who served as under secretary of state from 1937 to 1943. Welles was Hull’s influential deputy and a frequent participant in wartime diplomacy.
Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act: A 1934 U.S. law authorizing negotiated tariff reductions with other countries. Hull championed the law as a foundation for reciprocal trade and lower trade barriers.
University of Cumberland: A private university in Lebanon, Tennessee, founded in 1842 as Cumberland University. Hull studied law at Cumberland University before beginning his legal and political career.
Most-favored-nation clause: A treaty provision requiring a country to extend specified trade advantages to another partner when it grants them to others. Hull’s trade agreements used this principle to spread tariff concessions beyond the countries that negotiated them.
Neutrality Acts of the 1930s: A series of U.S. laws restricting arms sales, loans, and other dealings with countries at war. These congressional restrictions constrained the international engagement Hull favored.