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Treaty Of Versailles Dbq Essay

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The Treaty of Versailles was a formal peace treaty between the Word War I Allies and Germany. The leaders of Britain, France, Italy and the United States met in Paris in early 1919 to draft the treaty. President Woodrow Wilson presented his Fourteen Points, a series of measures intended to ensure future peace. The points included the formation of an international organization known as the League of Nation, which was adopted in the treaty. Representatives of each country signed the treaty in June 1919. For the United States to accept its conditions, however, it had to be ratified by Congress. Although President Wilson, fought hard to win the Senate's acceptance of the treaty, it was the strength of the opposition forces, both liberal and …show more content…

He took no Republican Senators with him to the peace conference; therefore, there was no Republican input. Wilson was unwilling to compromise on the League of Nations. He was determined to have it his way or not have it at all. In a speech on September 5,1919, regarding the League of Nations, Wilson said “I stand by it absolutely.”(Document C) This just confirmed his unwillingness to compromise. President Wilson also advised his supporters in Senate to vote against the treaty simply because some amendments had been added. His stubbornness was even criticized by liberals such as W.E.B. Du Bois. In March, 1921 Du bois stated “Because of the idiotic way in which the stubbornness of Woodrow Wilson and the political fortunes of the Republicans, became involved, the United States was not represented.” (Document …show more content…

With Woodrow Wilson being a democrat, ratification of the Treaty would be difficult in a Republican led senate. The Senate rejected the Treaty of Versailles based primarily on objections to the League of Nations. One of the main objections to the League of Nations was that it would eventually lead to a loss of American Sovereignty. William Borah said during a speech in United States Senate “Will anyone advocate that those matters which are of vital importance to our people shall be submitted to a tribunal created other than by our own people and give it an international army subject to its direction and control to enforce its decrees?” (Document A) William Borah was concerned about the loss of American Sovereignty.

Another issue with the League of Nations was the fear of starting another war. William Borah also had a fear of entangling alliances and starting another war. The fear among the American people was that the US would be dragged into another war. This concern is expressed by the political cartoon showing the U.S. “Marrying” foreign entanglements (with the League of Nations performing the ceremony). (Document E). In the minds of many Americans, the senate did indeed

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