Peace Ship
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The Peace Ship was the common name for the ocean liner ''Oscar II'', on which American industrialist
Henry Ford Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist, business magnate, founder of the Ford Motor Company, and chief developer of the assembly line technique of mass production. By creating the first automobile that ...
organized and launched his 1915 amateur peace mission to Europe; Ford chartered the ''Oscar II'' and invited prominent
peace activists This list of peace activists includes people who have proactively advocated diplomatic, philosophical, and non-military resolution of major territorial or ideological disputes through nonviolent means and methods. Peace activists usually work wi ...
to join him. He hoped to create enough publicity to prompt the belligerent nations to convene a peace conference and mediate an end to
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, but the mission was widely mocked by the press, which referred to the ''Oscar II'' as the "Ship of Fools" as well as the "Peace Ship". Infighting between the activists, mockery by the press contingent aboard, and an outbreak of influenza marred the voyage. Five days after ''Oscar II'' arrived in Norway, a beleaguered and physically ill Ford abandoned the mission and returned to the United States. The peace mission was unsuccessful, which reinforced Ford's reputation as a supporter of unusual causes. The ship was named after the former Swedish Monarch H.M. King Oscar II of Sweden (until 1905 also
King of Norway The Norwegian monarch is the head of state of Norway, which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system. The Norwegian monarchy can trace its line back to the reign of Harald Fairhair and the previous petty kingd ...
) who, according to Ford, was a peaceloving monarch.


Background

In early 1915, Ford began to express pacifist sentiments publicly and to denounce the ongoing war in Europe. Later that year, American peace activist Louis P. Lochner and Hungarian journalist
Rosika Schwimmer Rosika Schwimmer ( hu, Schwimmer Rózsa; 11 September 1877 – 3 August 1948) was a Hungarian-born pacifist, feminist, world federalist, and women's suffragist. A co-founder of the Campaign for World Government with Lola Maverick Lloyd, her ...
approached Ford, now commonly recognized as a pacifist, with a proposal to launch an amateur diplomatic mission to Europe to broker an end to World War I. Schwimmer claimed to possess diplomatic correspondence that proved that the European powers were willing to negotiate, which was an outright fabrication. Nevertheless, Ford agreed to finance a peace campaign. Ford initially sought President
Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
's endorsement of his diplomatic undertaking. Ford and Lochner secured a meeting with Wilson at the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
and proposed for Wilson to commission Ford's mission to Europe officially. Although Wilson was sympathetic to Ford's aims, he declined the offer on the ground that the venture was most unlikely to succeed. Disappointed by Wilson's response, Ford told Lochner that Wilson was a "small man." Ford was undeterred by Wilson's refusal to endorse the expedition and planned it as a private delegation to Europe. On 24 November 1915, he announced to a New York City press conference that he had chartered the ocean liner ''Oscar II'' for a diplomatic mission to Europe, and he invited the most prominent pacifists of the age to join him. Among those invited were
Jane Addams Laura Jane Addams (September 6, 1860 May 21, 1935) was an American settlement activist, reformer, social worker, sociologist, public administrator, and author. She was an important leader in the history of social work and women's suffrage ...
,
William Jennings Bryan William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator and politician. Beginning in 1896, he emerged as a dominant force in the Democratic Party, running three times as the party's nominee for President ...
,
Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventi ...
, and John Wanamaker. Addams, Bryan, Edison, and Wanamaker all declined. However, a number of noted peace activists joined the voyage, such as suffragette Inez Milholland and publisher S. S. McClure. Also aboard the ship were more than 40 reporters and Ford's friend, Rev. Samuel Marquis.


Mission to Europe

The ''Oscar II'' set sail from
Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,690 i ...
, on 4 December 1915, amid an atmosphere that the press later derided as circus-like. A crowd of about 15,000 watched the ''Oscar II'' depart from the harbor while a band played "I Didn't Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier." Just before the ship's departure, a prankster placed a cage containing two squirrels and a sign reading " To the Good Ship Nutty" on the ship's gangplank. When the ship departed, a fully dressed man jumped off the pier and attempted to swim after it. The harbor police rescued the man, who identified himself as Mr. Zero, explaining that he was "swimming to reach public opinion." Infighting among the delegates plagued ''Oscar II'' for much of its journey across the Atlantic. In particular, they quarrelled over the proper response to send to the media after they received news of Wilson's 7 December address to Congress, which called for considerable increases to the US Army and Navy. The majority of delegates signed a resolution that denounced Wilson's policy of military preparedness, but a substantial minority refused to sign the resolution, on the ground that the resolution was unpatriotic. After the pro-Wilson minority threatened to abandon the mission upon landing in Europe, the two factions denounced each other. An outbreak of influenza spread through the ship about halfway across the Atlantic, resulting in one person dying of pneumonia and many others being afflicted. Ford himself fell ill and withdrew to his cabin, avoiding reporters. Nevertheless, a group of them barged into his cabin to check on a rumor that he had died. The Peace Ship arrived at its first destination,
Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...
,
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
, on 18 December, receiving a cool reception from the Norwegians, many of whom supported military preparedness and were skeptical towards the ship and its delegates. Ford, still sick with flu, retreated to his room at the Grand Hotel for four days. He met the press in his suite in the evening on 21 December, but he spoke little about the Peace Ship and its mission. His statement to the press was reported in ''Aftenposten'', an Oslo newspaper, and ''Dagens Nyheter'', a Stockholm morning newspaper, on 22 December. (''Aftenposten'' has a digital version and ''Dagens Nyheter'' is on record on microfilm at the Swedish National Library in Stockholm.) About then, Sanuel Marquis convinced Ford to abandon the Peace Ship, on account of Ford's illness and Schwimmer's failure to produce the documents that supposedly proved that the belligerent nations were ready to mediate. On 23 December. Ford and Marquis slipped out of their hotel, took the train to Bergen and sailed on the steamer ''Bergensfjord'' back to the United States on 24 December, arriving in New York 2 January 1916.


Neutral Conference for Continuous Mediation

Despite Ford's abandonment of the endeavor, the Peace Ship continued its journey around Europe. The Neutral Conference for Continuous Mediation began in Stockholm on February 10, 1916, gathering representatives from the United States, Denmark, Holland, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland. Lochner was the general secretary of the Conference. The two US delegates were Charles A. Aked and
Emily Greene Balch Emily Greene Balch (January 8, 1867 – January 9, 1961) was an American economist, sociologist and pacifist. Balch combined an academic career at Wellesley College with a long-standing interest in social issues such as poverty, child labor ...
. There was a "Committee of Seven" overseeing the resulting Neutral Conference for Continuous Mediation, including
Lola Maverick Lloyd Lola Maverick Lloyd (November 24, 1875 – July 25, 1944) was an American pacifist, suffragist, world federalist and feminist. Born in Texas to the wealthy Maverick family, Lola Maverick married William Bross Lloyd, the son of muckraking jour ...
. Envoys were sent to England, Germany, and Russia, all ultimately unsuccessful. In autumn of 1916 Schwimmer traveled back to the United States to gather support. Ford continued to pay for the ship's expenses and the Conference until early 1917, when it became clear the US was edging closer to entering the war.In total, the Peace Ship expedition ultimately cost Ford approximately half a million dollars (US$ in ).


Response

Initially, the press response to the Peace Ship was respectful. ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' warned that an immediate peace would entail German possession of
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
and part of
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
, but concluded that Ford's plan would do "as little harm as good". Some newspapers applauded Ford's efforts. ''
The New York Herald The ''New York Herald'' was a large-distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between 1835 and 1924. At that point it was acquired by its smaller rival the ''New-York Tribune'' to form the '' New York Herald Tribune''. His ...
'' asserted that, "We need more Fords, more peace talks, and less indifference to the greatest crime in the world's history". After all Ford's most prominent invitees declined his offer of sailing to Europe, the press reaction turned negative. ''
The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries. Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by T ...
'' noted that "All the amateur efforts of altruistic and notoriety-seeking millionaires only make matters worse" while the ''New York World'' stated that "Henry Ford says he would give all his fortune to end the war. So would many another man. But this is something that money will not do". Other papers openly mocked Ford's amateur peace campaign. The '' Philadelphia Record'' claimed that "Henry Ford's millions have gone to his head". The ''
Louisville Courier Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...
'' was even more severe, suggesting that Henry Ford carried "cold cream in his head". Also critical of Ford's endeavor were former United States Senator Chauncey M. Depew and one- time presidential candidate
Alton B. Parker Alton Brooks Parker (May 14, 1852 – May 10, 1926) was an American judge, best known as the Democrat who lost the presidential election of 1904 to Theodore Roosevelt. A native of upstate New York, Parker practiced law in Kingston, New York, ...
. Depew famously commented of the Peace Ship, "In uselessness and absurdity it will stand without an equal". Parker also publicly criticized the peace ship, stating "chances are that his antics will be taken seriously and they will tend to bring us into contempt if not hatred". Although the press mocked Ford's peace mission, it viewed Ford as a victim of manipulation by the other pacifists aboard the ship. The reporters on the ''Oscar II'' took a liking to Ford and decided that he should be afforded more respect than rest of his entourage. The correspondent for ''The New York Times'' stated that the reporters on the ship earned "an immense respect and liking for the character and abilities of Henry Ford". However, the press portrayed the majority of Ford's entourage aboard the ship as buffoons, and ridiculed the delegates for the infighting. The press was exceptionally critical of Rosika Schwimmer, who insisted she had diplomatic correspondence that proved the European powers were open to negotiation, but refused to show these documents to the press. Schwimmer responded to her negative treatment by the press by locking them out of the wireless room.


Legacy

The Peace Ship's mission was ultimately a failure, producing only inconsequential meetings with "quasi-official representatives" from several European governments. Nevertheless, Ford asserted that the Peace Ship's expedition was successful on the grounds that it stimulated discussions about peace. Ford told the press that the Peace Ship "got people thinking, and when you get them to think they will think right". Despite roundly criticizing the Peace Ship, the press generally treated Ford favorably upon his return from Europe. Even papers that derided the Peace Ship, such as the ''New York American'', often voiced support for Ford's calls for peace. In the following years, Ford continued his
antiwar An anti-war movement (also ''antiwar'') is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term anti-war can also refer to ...
activism and paid for anti-preparedness advertisements to appear in newspapers across the United States.


References


External links

*
"Ford peace expedition"
''Information: A digest of current events covering 1915''. January 1916. {{Authority control Opposition to World War I Henry Ford World War I passenger ships of the United States