Hull, Cordell (redirected from Cordell Hull)

Hull, Cordell (kôrdĕl`), 1871–1955, American statesman, b. Overton co. (now Pickett co.), Tenn. Admitted to the bar in 1891, he sat (1893–97) in the Tennessee legislature and, after service in the Spanish-American War, was appointed (1903) circuit court judge. He served (1907–21, 1923–31) in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he was the author of important tax legislation. He was elected (1930) to the U.S. Senate, but resigned (1933) when Franklin Delano Roosevelt named him Secretary of State. Hull placed great emphasis on international economic relations. Through his efforts, pacts were signed with several nations under the Reciprocal Agreements Act (1934), and he fostered the "good neighbor" policy toward Latin American countries. After World War II broke out in Europe he pushed for aid to the Allies and recommended revision of the Neutrality Act. After U.S. entry into the war, he worked to improve cooperation among the Allies, visiting Moscow in 1943, and backed the establishment of a world organization to maintain peace. Ill health caused his resignation as Secretary of State in 1944. He was awarded the 1945 Nobel Peace Prize.

Bibliography

See his autobiography (1948); biography by J. W. Pratt (2 vol., 1964).

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Hull, Cordell

(born Oct. 2, 1871, Overton county, Tenn., U.S.—died July 23, 1955, Bethesda, Md.) U.S. politician and diplomat. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives (1907–21, 1923–31), where he wrote the first income-tax bill (1913) and the inheritance-tax law (1916). He served briefly in the U.S. Senate (1931–33). As secretary of state under Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933–44), he worked for international agreements to reduce high tariff barriers. He helped to improve U.S. relations with Latin America through what came to be known as the Good Neighbor Policy. In East Asia he rejected a proposed “Japanese Monroe Doctrine” that would have given that country a free hand in China (1934). When the U.S. entered World War II, Hull began to plan an international postwar peacekeeping body. For this work, Roosevelt described him as the “father of the United Nations.” He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1945.

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Hull, Cordell (1871–1955) political leader, statesman; born in Overton County, Tenn. A Tennessee legislator and judge, Democratic national committee chairman, U.S. representative (1907–31) and senator (1931–33), he became the longest-termed secretary of state ever under President Franklin Roosevelt (1933–44). A strong advocate of free trade and of the "Good Neighbor" policy with South America during the 1930s, he early advocated strong support for the Allies, attended most of the great wartime conferences, and promoted international cooperation and the UN, for which he received the Nobel Peace Prize (1944).