Chapter 7, Speaking Loudly and Looking for a Stick Summary

In the United States, Senator Proxmire continued to give a speech a day to the Senate on genocide, hoping to convince others that the United States should ratify the UN genocide convention. Human rights advocates hoped that the election of President Jimmy Carter would bring about the ratification. Although he did support the issue, he used his leverage to ratify several other treaties, including the Panama Canal Treaty, instead.

By the early 1980s, though, the tide seemed to be changing and more people seemed to be open to the idea of ratifying the treaty. The Holocaust was being discussed and debated more openly. Policymakers in favor of ratification argued not only for the moral imperatives but also that non-ratification was damaging American interests and status. They argued that by not signing the treaty, the United States...