Charles Evans Hughes Quotes


Contrary to an impression which is somewhat widespread in this country, this government, while it has always exerted its influence in a humanitarian way, has not assumed political obligations with respect to the Armenians or other Christian minorities in the Near East.


Context

The United States, and the European powers did not intervene to prevent the Armenian genocide by the Turks. Many Americans however thought that we had treaty as well as moral obligations to intervene when Christian minorities on other countries were under great stress and/or attack. See {620639} and {612638} for more about the Armenian genocide or use the advanced search and search for “Armenian genocide” as “Concepts” to see much about that tragic event.


Citations

Charles Evans Hughes, 1862-1948, Chief Justice, U. S. Supreme Court, U. S. Secretary of State, Governor of New York (Republican), Republican Presidential Candidate, Address before the Council on Foreign Relations, New York, January 23, 1924

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Linked Quotes

Mehmet Talaat Pasha. Americans in Turkey were witnessing the attacks on the Armenian minority and many reported and had photographed various incidents, though few had any conception of the scale of the massacres. To avoid “bad publicity”, the Turks banned Americans from the nation. This quotation documents this and shows how after getting rid of the American eye witnesses, the government ordered that even Armenian babies by murdered.

The Christian Armenians, a minority in Turkey and its lands, were discriminated against like other non Muslim minorities in the Ottoman Empire. But during the Turkish War with Russia and WWI, some Armenians defected and served on the Russian side. Many Turkish citizens took revenge on Armenians by means of murder and torture. Soon, the extermination of the Armenians became the official “Young Turk” government policy. Hundreds of thousands of Armenians were killed outright, and about an equal number were “deported” to special areas. Many died of malnutrition along the forced march of Ethnic Cleansing. Others were murdered as they were deported. No one knows exactly how many Armenians were killed with estimates ranging from ½ million to 4 million. This was the first genocide of the 20th century. Modern Turkish leaders however, are in denial about the Armenian deaths. They claim that there was a war and food was scarce; the only Armenians killed, the claimed were proven Russian agents. They further claim that the Armenian behavior was in large part responsible for the forced deportations because of their lack of patriotism and unwillingness to help the Turkish authorities identify the Russian agents. Most Turks today are unaware of the Armenian Genocide as nothing is taught about the massacres in schools or other institutions. It is against the law in Turkey to even have an intellectual study of the Turkish behavior towards the Armenians, much less publish anything about it.


The Christian Armenians, a minority in Turkey and its lands, were discriminated against like other non Muslim minorities in the Ottoman Empire. But during the Turkish War with Russia, some Armenians defected and served on the Russian side. Many Turkish citizens took revenge on Armenians by means of murder and torture. Soon, the extermination of the Armenians became the official “Young Turk” government policy. Hundreds of thousands of Armenians were killed outright, and about an equal number were “deported” to special areas. Many died of malnutrition along the forced march of Ethnic Cleansing. Others were murdered as they were deported. No one knows exactly how many Armenians were killed with estimates ranging from ½ million to 4 million. This was the first genocide of the 20th century. Modern Turkish leaders however, are in denial about the Armenian deaths. They claim that there was a war and food was scarce; the only Armenians killed, the claimed were proven Russian agents. They further claim that the Armenian behavior was in large part responsible for the forced deportations because of their lack of patriotism and unwillingness to help the Turkish authorities identify the Russian agents. Most Turks today are unaware of the Armenian Genocide as nothing is taught about the massacres in schools or other institutions. It is against the law in Turkey to even have an intellectual study of the Turkish behavior towards the Armenians, much less publish anything about it.


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Charles Evans Hughes
Charles Evans Hughes
  • Born: April 11, 1862
  • Died: August 27, 1948
  • Nationality: American
  • Profession: Judge

Charles Evans Hughes Sr. was an American statesman and politician who served as the 11th Chief Justice of the United States from 1930 to 1941. A member of the Republican Party, he was also the 36th Governor of New York, the Republican nominee in the 1916 presidential election, and the 44th United States Secretary of State.