In order to understand the situation that led to the defeat of the treaty, it is necessary to identify what the sticking point was. In this case it was Article X of the Treaty which would commit US troops to involvement in foreign affairs if another member of the league was threatened. While President Wilson called this a war of keeping the world safe for democracy so he could justify having sent troops over to Europe in the Great War (Document C) many viewed it was a marriage of America to Foreign entanglements (Document E). However Document E shows a figure labeled "US Senate" bursting through the window trying to stop this marriage. The main issue in the senate was the commitment of US troops to foreign conflicts. This issue caused Henry Cabot Lodge to lead the Republicans in the house to demand that Wilson edit this provision of the treaty. In response to this demand Wilson urged Democrats in the Senate to accept no compromises and to only offer to ratify…
After the Senate rejected the Treaty twice, the Treaty of Versailles was defeated. The Lodge-Wilson personal feud, traditionalism, isolationism, disillusionment, and partisanship all contributed to the defeat of the…
* President Wilson saw the problems that arose with the treaty and placed hopes in the League of Nations…
The United States had entered World War I against many wishes of the American public, which made the ratification for the peace agreement an even more difficult task. Woodrow Wilson justified American involvement by claiming that an Ally victory would ensure a new world order. The war would be used as an instrument to "make the world safe for democracy". However, many Americans, government officials, and even the Allies did not agree with the progressive ideals that would be enforced to attain the peace that Wilson had desired and promised. This was made evident when Wilson's negotiations for the peace treaty were criticized and rejected by the leaders of the other Allied nations and isolationists. Even when Wilson acknowledged objections against his proposals, he refused to accept any compromises or different versions of the treaty. Therefore, both the inflexibility of Wilson and strength of the opposition forces led to the defeat of the Treaty of Versailles.…
During the years when the World War I took place Wilson entered his second presidency term. At the beginning he planned to keep United States out of the war but after Germany killed thousands of people and started to attack U.S. merchant ships he changed his view. At that time, President Wilson saw Germany as the enemy. Therefore, he build an army of four million troops and sent half of them to France and that’s when for the first time Wilson reached out to Germany with the message to end the war peacefully without the need of someone to win. He had a vision of self-determination for all nations. Later, he publicized the Fourteen Points to be used as a peace maker. Not only did he come up with peace terms, but he also stated ways to make the…
1. The Treaty as you can imagine received enormous opposition. Henry Cabot Lodge and Alfred Beveridge strongly denounced the treaty, especially Article Ten which called upon the US to support League actions. Wilson campaigned vigorously and gave 37 speeches in 29 cities in a span of only three weeks. He declared that US soldiers should not have died in vain. After a dramatic speech in Colorado, Wilson collapsed. His health had been poor for six months and the strain of the trip was too much. He was rushed back to Washington and a few days later had a massive stroke. For the next year and a half he was incapable of running the government but was protected by his wife and closest advisors.…
In 1919, President Wilson joined delegates of Italy, France, England, and Japan in the Palace of Versailles to negotiate peace. When the conference was adjourned, the Treaty of Versailles had been created. However, the treaty was killed by Congress. It was not the strength of the opposing forces' argument, but rather the incompetence, rigidity, and obstinacy of President Wilson that lead to the Senate defeat of the Treaty of Versailles.…
President Wilson's own ineptitude and stubbornness is what led to the Senate's defeat of the Treaty of Versailles, rather than the strength of the opposing forces. Even Wilson's closest and most trusted advisors could not sway his stance. Wilson was strong in his stance and incorporated the idea of the 14 points. While it is true that opposing forces contributed to defeat the treaty, it was Wilson's unmovable position that led to its ultimate defeat in the Senate.…
President Woodrow Wilson, went up against Senator Henry Cabot Lodge who was the Republican majority leader and chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. The Treaty of Versailles, and with it the League of Nations, was rejected by the US Senate. As a result, the United States refused to play a role in preventing the overthrow of Europe by Adolf Hitler during the World War.…
As World War I came to a close, nations needed a way to keep the peace and prevent another world war from occurring. The Big Four - United Kingdom, France, the United States and Italy - attended the Peace Conference to determine what is known as the Treaty of Versailles. When taken back to the United States Senate, the ratification of the treaty was denied. Senator Harry Cabot Lodge and his committee offered some suggestions and were willing to compromise, but President Woodrow Wilson was sticking to his realistic ideal, therefore President Wilson is to blame for the defeat of the ratification of the Treaty of Versailles due to the feud between Senate and President Wilson, Wilson’s headstrong idea of his Fourteen Points, and Wilson’s health…
After reading Thomas A. Bailey’s article on “Woodrow Wilson Wouldn’t Yield”, I feel this quote best represents exactly what Woodrow Wilson stood for. He was a man who wanted peace and would not yield for anyone or any country unless it was best for him and our country. In Tomas A. Bailey’s article, his argument that Wilson’s fourteen points and most notably the League of Nations wasn’t passed not just because of the points themselves. But because of Wilson’s failure to see little changes and revisions to his plans, the League would have fallen through, instead of pitfall in the Senate like it did. “On March 4, 1919 - 39 Senators or Senators-Elect, more than enough to defeat the treaty-published a round robin to the effect that they would not approve the League of Nations in its existing form. Bailey also argues that Wilson’s character, in that his huge desire for morality and idealism, we also much to blame for his stubbornness in keeping the League of Nations unrevised or compromised upon.…
Carleton argues Wilson was not responsible for the failure of joining the League because Carleton felt that even if Wilson had agreed to the Lodge Reservation, how sure are we that by Wilson joining in, it would have been enough for America to get in the League? Carleton points out, “Under the Lodge Reservation, every signatory nation had to accept them before the United States could become a member” (194). He uses this proof to support his claim that if Wilson had agreed with the Lodge, but the U.S. still didn’t make it into the League because not all fifteen nations agreed to let us in, would we still be blaming Wilson? Carleton also states that if Wilson was as stubborn as he was made out to be, then he would have been a joke for a president. He was accused of not understanding world politics but in that day, what American statesman understood world politics more than Wilson? Carleton also dismissed the fact that Wilson was accused of not being able to compromise. He stated “If the truth of this accusation must rest on Wilson’s attitude during the Treaty fight, and I think it must, for he showed remarkable adaptability in other phases of his Presidency” (194-195). Given the situations Wilson was in as a president, from the stroke to dealing with the League, Wilson has had no choice but to adapt and compromise with certain situations. Carleton ends his claim with the focus more on Lodge because he procrastinated votes on the treaty for two weeks and made it…
It was the strength of the opposition forces, both liberal and conservative, rather than the ineptitude and stubbornness of President Wilson that led to the Senate defeat of the Treaty of Versailles.…
Many historians view the Treaty of Versailles as a flawed peace and even as one of the causes of World War II. “We arrived determined that a Peace of justice and wisdom should be negotiated; we left the conference conscious that the treaties imposed upon our enemies were neither just nor wise.” admits Harold Nicolson, a member of the British delegation.…
The Treaty of Versailles was defeated because of the opposition of both the conservatives and the liberals and Woodrow Wilson’s political ignorance. There are two types of Conservatives, the Ultra conservatives and the moderate conservatives. Both disapprove of the treaty in one way or another. The Ultra conservatives also known as the irreconcilables oppose to the treaty and are not willing to compromise. The Moderate conservatives also known as the reservationists had doubts about the certain aspects of the treaty, mainly the League of Nations, but they are willing to compromise. The Liberals opposed to the treaty and refused to accept it because the liberals think that the treaty is one of revenge and retribution, which will only lead to another war. Wilson’s political ignorance and unwillingness to compromise led to the ultimate failure of the treaty of Versailles. The conservatives, both ultra and moderate, the liberals, and Wilson’s political ignorance and inflexibility all led to the failure of the treaty of Versailles.…