American Nobel Peace Prize Winners

Barack Obama is no less than the 22nd American Nobel Peace Prize winner. Although America is known as one of the World's greatest military powers, it's also a country that has frequently stood up for peace, as well as for freedom and equality, which is reflected in the number of American Nobel Peace Prize laureates - more than any other nation in the world. But who were the American Nobel Peace Prize winners and what did they do to deserve this prestigious award?

So here is a list of all American Nobel Peace Prize laureates, in chronological order, and what the official Nobel Prize Committee had to say about each of them.

"The United States of America was among the first to infuse the ideal of peace into practical politics. Peace and arbitration treaties have now been concluded between the United States and the governments of several countries. But what has especially directed the attention of the friends of peace and of the whole civilized world to the United States is President Roosevelt's happy role in bringing to an end the bloody war recently waged between two of the world's great powers, Japan and Russia."

"He had to settle a number of particularly difficult problems, some of an international character. (...) he did a great deal to strengthen the Pan-American movement, and in 1908 he founded the Pan-American Bureau in New York. His strenuous efforts to improve relations between the small Central American countries have borne splendid fruit. (...) After he had left the government, Root gave himself heart and soul to the cause of peace, and he is now president of the great Carnegie Peace Foundation."

"The President of the United States has succeeded in bringing a design for a fundamental law of humanity into present-day international politics. The basic concept of justice on which it is founded will never die, but will steadily grow in strength, keeping the name of President Wilson fresh in the minds of future generations."

"The [Dawes] plan was important not only for Germany, France, and the Allies, but; both economically and politically, for the whole of Europe and consequently for America as well. It restored confidence in the economy and future of Europe. It brought her safely through an acute crisis which could have resulted in the most serious danger to peace. But its greatest significance lies in the fact that it was a symptom of a psychological change in European mentality and at the same time a powerful impetus for continued change. It marked the beginning of the policy of reconciliation and peace which led to theLocarno agreements. This was the first dawning of the day after the long darkness."

"Archbishop Söderblom has said, «The Kellogg Pact is a solemn declaration, invaluable if life is brought into conformity with its words,delusory if actions contradict its great and noble sentiments.» And that is the crux of the matter: the need to animate this pact - as it has been the need for so many other attempts to safeguard peace - with the light of the Word, the truth of the spirit, the courage of the will."

"In honoring Jane Addams, we also pay tribute to the work which women can do for peace and fraternity among nations. (...) Whenever women have organized, they have always included the cause of peace in their program. And Jane Addams combines all the best feminine qualities which will help us to develop peace on earth."

"He is one of those men who give themselves completely to anything they undertake, always ready, always willing. Nothing can discourage him or sap his strength. Nothing can disturb the serene smile in his eyes. And his personality is infectious, for he communicates courage, vigor, and confidence to all who work with him. He has a great talent for putting others to work and for finding the right job for the right man. If there be a man who can truly be called American, then Butler is that man: a greathearted worker and a splendid organizer. I have watched him at work at his university and I have seen him preside over a peace conference - wherever he goes, an aura of vitality seems to follow him."

"«Father of the United Nations» Roosevelt called him. Hull will assuredly not claim that the organization was his work. For him it was of very little importance whether the credit went to him or to someone else, provided the ideas triumphed. For, despite his great idealism, he has always lived in the world of reality, never doubting that it could be molded to fit the principles of justice. Principles of justice, which in the United States, perhaps more than anywhere else, become the heritage of every individual from his schooldays on, have been the guiding star of his work, the locus where life and creed become one."

"She took part in most of the nine congresses of the Women's League which were held in the period between the wars, her influence being felt particularly in the drafting of the resolutions. She organized several of the conferences called by the Women's League to study particular questions such as modern methods of war, opium, the Austrian problems, and minority questions. She took part in conferences concerning stateless persons and the world economic crisis. Her influence extended not only to these but also to numerous other conferences not arranged by the Women's League. She was in continuous contact with the League of Nations throughout her stay in Geneva, not only in connection with major political problems but also in relation to everything which could serve international cooperation. With her practical outlook, she understood that improvement in political relations between nations could be achieved by encouraging them to collaborate regularly in specific fields."

"But the venerable John Mott is among us today because he has been faithful to the call which he answered as a young student, and because he has created worldwide organizations which have united millions of young people in work for the Christian ideals of peace and tolerance between nations. He has never been a politician, he has never taken an active part in organized peace work. But he has always been a living force, a tireless fighter in the service of Christ, opening young minds to the light which he thinks can lead the world to peace and bring men together in understanding and goodwill."

"The Quakers have shown us that it is possible to translate into action what lies deep in the hearts of many: compassion for others and the desire to help them - that rich expression of the sympathy between all men, regardless of nationality or race, which, transformed into deeds, must form the basis for lasting peace. For this reason alone the Quakers deserve to receive the Nobel Peace Prize today. But they have given us something more: they have shown us the strength to be derived from faith in the victory of the spirit over force."

"The childhood heritage, the knowledge and experience acquired later in life - both factors going to make up the personality, the man who succeeded in getting both parties to lay down their arms. The outcome was a victory for the ideas of the United Nations, it is true, but as is nearly always the case, it was oneindividual's efforts that made victory possible."

"Young George Marshall may have seen himself as a future general; but he had a long way to travel before he arrived at the clear and passionate understanding that the final object to be obtained by war, the only justifiable goal, is to make another war impossible. It was a way that would take him over larger areas of the earth and the oceans and under the skies than any commander has traveled before him, and let him see more battlefields and a greater devastation than any general has seen before him, and let him plan and direct larger armies and fleets and air forces than history has ever known."

"It is Linus Pauling's highly ethical attitude toward life - the deepest driving force within him - that drew him into the fight against nuclear weapons. Through his campaign, Linus Pauling has manifested the ethical responsibility which he believes science should bear for the fate of mankind, today and in the future. (...) Should Linus Pauling, through his tireless efforts, have contributed - if only a little - to restoring to science its ideals, then his campaign will in itself have been of such value that we living today can scarcely appreciate the full extent of the debt we owe him."

"Today we pay tribute to Martin Luther King, the man who has never abandoned his faith in the unarmed struggle he is waging, who has suffered for his faith, who has been imprisoned on many occasions, whose home has been subject to bomb attacks, whose life and the lives of his family have been threatened, and who nevertheless has never faltered."

"During the twenty-five years that have elapsed since the end of the war, those of us who live in the affluent industrialized societies have debated in almost panic-stricken terms the race between the world's population explosion and the world's available food resources. Most experts who have expressed an opinion on the issue of this race have been pessimistic. (...) In this intolerable situation, with the menace of doomsday hanging over us, Dr. Borlaug comes onto the stage and cuts the Gordian knot. He has given us a well-founded hope, an alternative of peace and of life - the green revolution."

"This year's Nobel Prize winner has been called a realist. He cautions against the markedly ideological and emotionally conditioned approach in foreign policy, in his own country as well. This realism of his is deeply rooted in a considered conviction, a fundamental ethical attitude which has remained unshaken through changing times and situations. His preoccupation has been the responsibility of the statesman in an imperfect and multifarious world, full of danger. Now he himself bears the burden of such responsibility."

"The Norwegian Nobel Committee believes that Elie Wiesel, with his message and through his practical work in the cause of peace, is a convincing spokesman for the view of mankind and for the unlimited humanitarianism which are at all times necessary for a lasting and just peace."

"The ICBL [International Campaign to Ban Landmines] and Jody Williams started a process which in the space of a few years changed a ban on anti-personnel mines from a vision to a feasible reality. The Convention which will be signed in Ottawa in December this year is to a considerable extent a result of their important work."

"The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2002 to Jimmy Carter, for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development."

"Al Gore has for a long time been one of the world's leading environmentalist politicians. He became aware at an early stage of the climatic challenges the world is facing. His strong commitment, reflected in political activity, lectures, films and books, has strengthened the struggle against climate change. He is probably the single individual who has done most to create greater worldwide understanding of the measures that need to be adopted."

"The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009 is to be awarded to President Barack Obama for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples. The Committee has attached special importance toObama's vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons."

Visit the official Nobel Prize website for more information on the American Nobel Peace Prize winners.