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DOCUMENTARY
FILM
Life of Cordell Hull and His
Blueprint for the United Nations
 Tall
and lean in figure, almost shy in manner, earnest and sincere in thought
and deed, Hull had the power that comes to
one who is thoroughly convinced of the rightness of his political and
economic policies for peace and justice, is capable of defending them against all comers, and
unwearying in his efforts to give them practical form.
—Nobel
Peace Prize Committee, 1945
The United Nations is still the best instrument now in existence
to achieve a world of justice and law. If we want the United Nations to
succeed, we have to give it the resources to succeed. If we
renege, we may not be able to retrieve our leading role in the UN
in the future.
—Gilliam Martin Sorensen, Undersecretary of the UN
prior to the tragedy of September Eleventh
 Credited by Franklin Roosevelt as “Father of the United Nations,” Cordell
Hull was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1945.
The Cordell Hull Foundation is
currently conducting research in order to produce a
distinctive work telling the story of how his dream of the United Nations
blossomed in the mind of this great American statesman.
The overriding goal in the
back of Hull's mind was to prevent World War III. On Sunday, January
9, 2005, the United Nations negotiated the end of the Civil War of two
decades in the Sudan. There has not been a World War III since the
formation of the UN sixty years ago. At this point in history, Cordell Hull's goals, major and minor,
have been achieved.
The planned feature-length
documentary film will be based in part on Hull’s 1500-page, two-volume set
of memoirs, material from the Tennessee state capitol, Vanderbilt Library,
private papers of the Chancellor, Library of Congress and other sources and
interviews pertaining to the history of the inception of the United Nations.
The Foundation has assembled expert volunteer help in telling the story
of Secretary Hull, including an Emmy award-winning former ABC/CBS network
journalist.
Following suitable broadcast exposure, the film
would be made available to international education outlets for use by
teachers and students via satellite and Internet dissemination, videotapes
and DVD.
Cordell Hull is, due to his
long service in so many capacities, deserving of his correct place in the
history of this great nation. Aside from his willing participation in the
Spanish American War as a serving officer, Secretary Hull provided vital
support/ tutelage/ management skill and moral support to Franklin Delano
Roosevelt and his stewardship of our country through the perils of the Great
Depression and WWII as longest-serving Secretary of State.
That Secretary Hull was credited by FDR as
"Father of the United Nations," for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize for
Peace, should never have been elided, regardless of what one may think of
the United Nations as presently configured. Some think the original mission
as engineered by Mr. Hull has veered, but the international body that his
mind helped create is still the international forum for discussion as an
alternative to war that it was originally intended to be.
We at the Foundation believe that had Adlai
Stevenson had no place to tell the Soviet ambassador where he was "prepared
to wait for an answer until hell freezes over" regarding Soviet missiles in
Cuba, he would not have avoided global incineration. The UN earned a place
in history—had it done nothing before and nothing since—on the brink of
destruction during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Such a global body/forum, we believe—after a
full, annotated reading of the Hull memoirs—was the joint vision of
Secretary Hull and President Roosevelt. The two men believed that WWII might
have been avoided had the United States joined the League of Nations which
Woodrow Wilson went to his grave trying to promote. Judge Hull studied at
the elbow of President Wilson and kept alive the Democratic Party when it
was down to one room and two employees.
Our
aim is to reeducate Americans as to the relevance of the UN and to
underscore that the
UN has, at its core, uniquely American principles, standards for ethicality
and democratic underpinnings. The story of Secretary Hull
as "Father of the United Nations" and the birth of the organization itself
are inseparable … he worked tirelessly toward
a vision of peace and comity among nations employing American-inspired
notions of democratic process to heal global political divisions. The
United Nations as we know it today took root as a shared vision of Secretary
Hull and Franklin Delano Roosevelt during the dark days of World War II.
Credited by Franklin
Roosevelt as “Father of the United Nations,” Cordell Hull was awarded the
Nobel Peace Prize in 1945. As a shared vision of Secretary Hull and
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the United Nations as we know it took root in the
minds of these two great Americans during the dark days of World War II.
Secretary Hull worked tirelessly toward a vision of peace and comity among
nations and American-inspired notions of democratic process to heal global
political divisions.
The Foundation is currently
seeking funds to complete our documentary project. Fund-raising efforts thus
far have come up short. We call upon all individuals or organizations
who know of or now recall Secretary Hull's extraordinary contributions and
are willing to contribute to our production of this documentary in order to
restore Secretary Hull to his rightful place in history.
For a more comprehensive
look at the life and accomplishments of Cordell Hull, visit the following
websites:
Cordell Hull
Foundation-Cordell Hull biography
Nobel Prize
website
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