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'''Elihu Root''' (February 15, 1845 – February 7, 1937) served as United States Secretary of War from 1899-1905, and United States Secretary of State from 1905-1909, both for his close friend President [[Theodore Roosevelt]].   

'''Elihu Root''' (February 15, 1845 – February 7, 1937) served as United States Secretary of War from 1899-1905, and United States Secretary of State from 1905-1909, both for his close friend President [[Theodore Roosevelt]].  Root was a thoughtful and brilliant lawyer, the very epitome of the New York establishment.  He was a leading conservative during the [[Progressive Era]], best known for modernizing the Army.

Root served as Republican Senator from New York from 1909-1915.   

 

Root served as Republican Senator from New York from 1909-1915.  He was awarded the [[Nobel Peace Prize]] in 1912.

Root was awarded the [[Nobel Peace Prize]] in 1912 for his leadership of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. It had been established and funded by philanthropist [[Andrew Carnegie]] in 1910 to promote world peace. It became not only an educational center but also a catalyst for political activities, and provided much of the early initiative in internationalist opposition to the coercive league of nations supported by the League to Enforce Peace. The dominant personalities in the Endowment were Root, Nicholas Murray Butler (President of Columbia University), and James Brown Scott. They were eager to develop public opinion in support of US participation in a postwar international organization, but one founded on the voluntarism of the prewar Hague system. In varying ways the three men took on President Wilson and the League to Enforce Peace, headed by [[William Howard Taft]] and A. Lawrence Lowell. The Endowment's three leaders were able to guide its Endowment's client internationalists into voluntarism. They maintained that the Endowment was above the fray, but actually used it to stiffen opposition in the United States to sanctionism and to mobilize discreetly the conservative internationalists.  

==Root Mission==

==Root Mission==

With the fall of Russia's tsarist regime in 1917, President [[Woodrow Wilson]] wanted to support to the fragile democratic government in Russia that filled the resulting power vacuum. American had several goals. Wilson believed that a democratic Russia would be a vital partner in the eventual creation of a league of democracies (the [[League of Nations]], founded 1919) following the defeat of imperial Germany. A strengthened liberal democratic regime would also serve as an effective counterweight to the growing influence of [[Lenin]] and the Bolsheviks. Wilson sent money but realized troops might be needed. In 1917 Wilson sent a commission composed of senior statesmen, headed by Root, in order to better gauge the unfolding political situation. The mission's conclusions ultimately proved to be unrealistic and misinformed; no one fully appreciated the political dynamic, especially as it applied to the rise of the Bolshevik Party. Lacking other alternatives, Wilson continued to aid the provisional government until it too was swept away by revolutionary change.  

With the fall of Russia's tsarist regime in 1917, President [[Woodrow Wilson]] wanted to support to the fragile democratic government in Russia that filled the resulting power vacuum. American had several goals. Wilson believed that a democratic Russia would be a vital partner in the eventual creation of a league of democracies (the [[League of Nations]], founded 1919) following the defeat of imperial Germany. A strengthened liberal democratic regime would also serve as an effective counterweight to the growing influence of [[Lenin]] and the Bolsheviks. Wilson sent money but realized troops might be needed. In 1917 Wilson sent a commission composed of senior statesmen, headed by Root, in order to better gauge the unfolding political situation. The mission's conclusions ultimately proved to be unrealistic and misinformed; no one fully appreciated the political dynamic, especially as it applied to the Bolshevik Party which took power later in 1917. Lacking other alternatives, Wilson continued to aid the provisional government until it too was swept away by Lenin.  

==Further reading==

==Further reading==

 

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[[Category:Progressive Era]]

[[Category:Progressive Era]]

[[Category:Nobel laureates in Peace]]

[[Category:Nobel laureates in Peace]]