“War should never be entered upon until every agency of peace has failed.”

First Inaugural Address (March 4, 1897).
1890s

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "War should never be entered upon until every agency of peace has failed." by William McKinley?

William McKinley22

American politician, 25th president of the United States (i… 1843–1901

Related quotes

“The United States has never entered a serious war, and has never been victorious.”

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (1956) 6th President of the Islamic Republic of Iran

September 21, 2010 interview http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2010/09/ahmadinejad-when-a-war-starts-it-knows-no-limits/63312/ <br class="br">2010

“My friends, as we enter a new decade, it should be clear to all of us that there is an unfinished agenda, that we have miles to go before we reach the promised land.
The men who rule this country today never learned the lessons of Dr. King, they never learned that non-violence is the only way to peace and justice.
Our nation continues to wage war upon its neighbors, and upon itself.”

Cesar Chavez (1927–1993) American farm worker, labor leader, and civil rights activist

Lessons of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1990)

“Unfortunately, the opinion has gone forth that no politician dares to be the advocate of peace when the question of war is mooted. That will be an evil hour — the sand of our republic will be nearly run — when it shall be in the power of any demagogue, or fanatic, to raise a war-clamor, and control the legislation of the country. The evils of war must fall upon the people, and with them the war-feeling should originate. We, their representatives, are but a mirror to reflect the light, and never should become a torch to fire the pile.”

Jefferson Davis (1808–1889) President of the Confederate States of America

Speech in Congress, 1846.
1840s

“The friends of humanity will deprecate War, wheresoever it may appear; and we have experience enough of its evils, in this country, to know, that it should not be wantonly or unnecessarily entered upon.”

George Washington (1732–1799) first President of the United States

Address to the merchants of Philadelphia (16 May 1793), published in The Writings Of George Washington (1835) by Jared Sparks, p. 202
1790s
Context: The friends of humanity will deprecate War, wheresoever it may appear; and we have experience enough of its evils, in this country, to know, that it should not be wantonly or unnecessarily entered upon. I trust, that the good citizens of the United States will show to the world, that they have as much wisdom in preserving peace at this critical juncture, as they have hitherto displayed valor in defending their just rights.