From 1925 until 1929, he served as the United States Secretary of State in the Cabinet of President Coolidge. In 1928, he was awarded the Freedom of the City in Dublin, Ireland and in 1929 the government of France made him a member of the Legion of Honour. As Secretary of State, he was responsible for improving U.S.–Mexican relations and helping to resolve the long-standing Tacna–Arica controversy between Peru and Chile. His most significant accomplishment, however, was the Kellogg–Briand Pact, signed in 1928. Proposed by its other namesake, French foreign ministerAristide Briand, the treaty intended to provide for "the renunciation of war as an instrument of national policy." He was awarded the 1929 Nobel Peace Prize in recognition. He was associate judge of the Permanent Court of International Justice from 1930 to 1935. Kellogg was self-conscious about his lack of academic credentials he attended a one-room country school and dropped out at age 14. He never attended high school, college or law school. His only advanced training came from clerking in a private lawyer's office. Kellogg grew up in a poor farm in Minnesota, and lacked a commanding presence or the sophistication to deal with the aristocrats who dominated European diplomacy. As Secretary of State, his main focus was Latin America, where he dealt with brutal but unsophisticated strongmen. His staff provided the ideas, and they appreciated that he was always open, candid, and easy to communicate with. He helped end the battle between the Mexican government and the Catholic Church, but failed to resolve the dispute over ownership of the oil reserves. In the Far East, he favored China and it from threats from Japan. He successfully negotiated tariff reform with China. As for Europe he was primarily interested with expanding the limitations on naval armaments that been established by the Washington Treaty; he made little progress. Kellogg gained international fame, and the Nobel Peace Prize, with the Kellogg-Briand Pact. It was endorsed by nearly every nation and made starting a war a punishable criminal action. It formed the legal basis for the trial and execution of German and Japanese war leaders after 1945.
Personal life
In 1886, Kellogg was married to Clara May Cook, the daughter of George Clinton Cook and Elizabeth Cook. In 1880, he became a member of the masonic lodge Rochester No. 21 where he received the degrees of freemasonry on April 1, April 19, and May 3. He died from pneumonia, following a stroke, on the eve of his 81st birthday in St. Paul. He was buried at the Chapel of St. Joseph of Arimathea in Washington National Cathedral, Washington, D.C.
Frank B. Kellogg's papers are available for research use at the Minnesota Historical Society. They include correspondence and miscellaneous papers, State Department duplicates, news clippings scrapbooks, awards, floor plans, honorary degrees, maps, memorials and memoranda.
