U.S.–Hungarian Peace Treaty
| Treaty of Peace between the United States of America and Hungary | |
|---|---|
| Signed | 29 August 1921 |
| Location | Budapest, Hungary |
| Effective | 17 December 1921 |
| Condition | Ratification by Hungary and the United States. |
| Signatories |
 Miklós Bánffy |
| Parties | |
| Citations | 42 Stat. 1951, TS 660, 8 Bevans 982, 48 LNTS 191 |
| Languages | Hungarian, English, French[1] |
| Full text | |
 US - Hungary Peace Treaty at Wikisource | |
The U.S.–Hungarian Peace Treaty is a peace treaty between the United States and the Kingdom of Hungary, signed in Budapest on August 29, 1921, in the aftermath of the First World War. This separate peace treaty was required because the United States Senate refused to ratify the multilateral Treaty of Trianon.
Ratifications were exchanged in Budapest on December 17, 1921, and the treaty became effective on the same day. The treaty was registered in the League of Nations Treaty Series on May 8, 1926.[2]
Background[edit]
During the First World War, Hungary—which formed part of the nucleus of the Austro-Hungarian Empire—was defeated by the Allied Powers, one of which was the United States of America. The U.S. government declared war on Austria-Hungary on December 7, 1917, after holding off from joining the war for 3 years. At the end of the war in 1918, Austria-Hungary was deformed and Hungary was established as a democratic republic, to be replaced by a regency in search of a king in early 1920.
In 1919, the victorious Allied Powers held a peace conference in Paris to formulate peace treaties with the defeated Central Powers. At the conference, a peace treaty with the Hungarian government was concluded. Although the US government was among the signatories of that treaty, the Senate refused to ratify the treaty due to opposition to joining the League of Nations.
As a result, the two governments started negotiations for a bilateral peace treaty not connected to the League of Nations. Such a treaty was concluded on August 29, 1921.
Terms of the treaty[edit]
Article 1 obliged the Hungarian government to grant to the US government all rights and privileges enjoyed by the other Allied Powers who ratified the peace treaty signed in Paris.
Article 2 specified which articles of the Trianon treaty shall apply to the United States.
Article 3 provided for the exchange of ratifications in Budapest.
"SEC. 4. That in making this declaration, and as a part of it, there are expressiy reserved so the United States of America and its nationals any and all rights, privileges, indemnities, reparations or advantages, together with the right to enforce the same, to which it or they have become entitled under the terms of the armistice signed November 3, 1918, or any extensions or modifications thereof; or which were acquired by or are in the possession of the United States of America by reason of its participation in the war or to which its nationals have thereby become rightfully entitled- or which, under the Treaty of Saint Germain-en-Laye or the Treaty of Trianon, have been stipulated for its or their benefit; or to which it is entitled as one of the principal Allied and Associated powers; or to which it is entitled by virtue of any Act or Acts or Congress; or otherwise." [3]
"SEC. 5. All property of the Imperial German Government or its successor or suecessors, and of all German nationals which was, on April 6, 1917, in or has since that date come into the possession or under control of, or has been the subject of a demand by the United States of America or any of its officers, agents, or employees, from any source or by any agency whatsoever, and all property of the Imperial and Royal Austro-Hungarian Government, or its successor or successors, and of all Austro-Hungarian nationals which was on December 7, 1917, in or has since that date come into the possession or under control of, or has been the subject of a demand by the United States of America or any of its officers, agents, or employees, from any source or by any agency whatsoever, shall be retained by the United States of America and no disposition thereof made, except as shall have been heretofore or specifically hereafter shall be provided by law until such time as the Imperial German Government and the Imperial and Royal Austro-Hungarian Government, or their successor or successors, shall have respectively made suitable provision for the satisfaction of all claims against said Governments respectively, of all persons, wheresoever domiciled, who owe permanent allegiance to the United States of America and who have suffered, through the acts of the Imperial German Government, or its agents, or the Imperial and Royal Austro-Hungarian Government, or its agents, since July 31, 1914 loss, damage, or injury to their persons or property, directly or indirectly, whether through the ownership of shares of stock in German, Austro-Hungarian, American, or other corporations, or in consequence of hostilities or of any operations of war, or otherwise, and also shall have granted to persons owing permanent allegiance to the United States of America most-favored-nation treatment, whether the same be national or otherwise, in all matters affecting residence, business, profession, trade, navigation commerce and industrial property rights, and until the Imperial German Government and the Imperial and Royal Austro-Hungarian Government, or their successor or successors, shall have respectively confirmed to the United States of America all fines forreitures, penalties, and seizures imposed or made by the United States of America during the war, whether in respect to the property of the Imperial German Government or German nationals or the Imperial and Royal Austro-Hungarian Government or Austro-Hungarian nationals, and shall have waived any and all pecuniary claims against the United States of America." [3]
Aftermath[edit]
The treaty laid the foundations for a U.S.–Hungarian cooperation not under the strict supervision of the League of Nations. As a result, the U.S. government embarked on a path of partially assisting the government of Hungary to ease the burden of war reparations imposed in the Treaty of Trianon.
The treaty was supplemented by a treaty signed in Washington on November 26, 1924, which provided for the establishment of a mixed U.S.–Austrian–Hungarian commission to decide amount of reparations to be paid by the Austrian and Hungarian governments to the U.S.[4]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Translated version in the League of Nations Treaty Series
- ^ League of Nations Treaty Series, vol. 48, pp. 192-197.
- ^ a b "US Peace Treaty with Hungary - World War I Document Archive". wwi.lib.byu.edu. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
- ^ Text in League of Nations Treaty Series, vol. 48, pp. 70-75.