UC Remembers Cordell Hull & UN Charter Creation, 80 Years Later

80 years ago, the framework for the United Nations came into focus, led by Upper Cumberland native Cordell Hull

UCDD Public Historian Mark Dudney said that Hull is considered the architect of the United Nations. As World War II ended, Hull and President Franklin D. Roosevelt worked toward creating a world organization that could prevent a third world war. Dudney said that lessons learned during Hull’s Upper Cumberland upbringing contributed to his historical contributions.

“Hull came out of a war culture and was raised in the Upper Cumberland after the Civil War which was rough,” Dudney said. “His father was involved in a blood feud so peace and violence–these were not abstract concerns for him. I think that’s why he gravitated toward the rule of law and peace.”

Hull was an internationalist and a believer in free trade. Dudney said that Hull’s work was the time’s greatest hope for international peace. Dudney said the Charter was written in hopes of avoiding the flaws of the League of Nations that had been set up after World War I and creating an organization that could help avoid such a cataclysm as World War II.

Hull helped draft the charter of the United Nations, a work for which Roosevelt nominated him for his Nobel Prize. The charter consists of a preamble and 111 articles grouped into 19 chapters. It was ratified in 1945.

“We need to study these agreements, Hull’s role, and how the world looked after World War II,” Dudney said. “We are entering some unstable territory right now and we need to remind ourselves of the benefit of the alliances. In my opinion, that’s his contribution and the United Nations in general.”

Hull is a Nobel Peace Prize winner and remains the longest-serving Secretary of state ever. The log cabin where Hull was born is now part of Pickett County but was on Overton County land when Hull was born. Dudney said that Hull’s works are still deeply significant today.

“Hull was a country politician from the hills, but Hull was such a workhorse,” Dudney said.

Agreements that we use today like NATO, came out of the United Nations Charter and Hull’s post-World War II era and have served us well for decades, Dudney said.