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. There was much opposition to the Treaty in the United States, as well as the rest of the world. In the excerpt from "The New Republic," it proves the public's general disdain for the Treaty. Whether they had hoped for the treaty to be more lenient on Germany, or more severe, …show more content…
In the political cartoon, with Wilson jumping out of the window is just another example of how Wilson had to have his way, which is why he didn't succeed; he couldn't make enough people agree. One example of this is in Wilson's speech on September 5, 1919, where he says "If it should every in anyway important respect be impaired I would feel like asking the Secretary of War to get the boys who went across the water to fight And I would stand up and say you are betrayed." This is just another of example of how Wilson will not accept anyway, but his, but he was not the one with the most power. It is true that Henry Cabot Lodge and the Republican majority in the Senate were a force in the defeat of the treaty. By holding off the vote and making his own changes to the treaty, Lodge knew that he was using Wilson's hatred to his advantage. Wilson would have accepted the changes if they had been proposed by one of his fellow Democrats, but the fact that they had been written by Lodge made Wilson see red. He immediately ordered Democrats to vote entirely against the treaty with the added Lodge votes. The only possible path to ratification would be to accept the treaty with the new changes. Wilson chose to block the passing of the treaty by persuading Democrats to vote against it. Unfortunately, Wilson had a stroke, and his last efforts in getting the vote to go his way
was a slap in the face. Hitler soon became bitter over the treaty and over the loss of German The
The president proceeded with regard to his stance on neutrality. Aware of pacifists like Henry Cabot Lodge in the audience, Wilson appealed to those who had not forgotten his promises of keeping America out of war. He admitted that his assumption that armed neutrality would be adequate in “safeguarding his people from unlawful violence” was in fact impossible and he had failed to “assert our neutral rights with arms, our right to use the seas against unlawful interference, our right to keep our people safe against unlawful violence”
There are several ways in which the Treaty of Versailles was a success but there are also some which show it was a failure.
Now that world war had once again begun, US involvement seemed inevitable. The United States didn't want to be involved in foreign, political wars. We wanted to be left alone. As a result, the Senate was strongly against the Versailles Treaty and refused to ratify it(4). We made a separate peace with Germany. This would come back to haunt us after we were forced into war by the attack of Pearl Harbor.
In the aftermath of World War I, during the years 1917-1921, President Wilson advocated the Treaty of Versailles, which called for the principle of self-determination, the formation of a League of Nations, and general amnesty towards Germany, as the solution for peace. However, his unwillingness to compromise led to widespread disagreement. The opposition forces in the U.S. senate consisted of the reservationists, who were willing to ratify the Treaty of Versailles with amendments, and the irreconcilables, who refused to join the League of Nations under any circumstances. If President Wilson was only willing to modify the language of the treaty, ratification may have occurred.
Wilson’s fourteen points summarise the quest for international cooperation in achieving and maintaining peace. However, this can be questioned as the first paragraph also suggests a self-centred approach taken by Wilson. The speech suggests that the USA is the only ones with the capacity to achieve such peace, the programme of the world's peace, therefore, is our programme; and that programme, the only possible programme. It reflects a world view and hierarchy, suggesting one big American alliance rather than an idea of international cooperation. This is also further illustrated on in Wilson’s speech, his concern for the safety of the USA is key in the way he treats countries such as Russia and Germany, and his disagreement with some of the terms in the Treaty of Versailles. In point six of the speech when dealing with Russia it talks of securing the best and freest cooperation of the other nations of the world. Wilson was careful in how he achieved peace, as he wanted to maintain relationships with countries within Europe, whilst keeping USA dominance ad not upsetting France and Clemenceau who wanted harsh treatment of Germany. This is illustrated in point eight of Wilson’s fourteen points.
The treaty of the Versailles was an agreement between France, England and the United states. Its intentions were to prevent a second world war however, it was a total fail. An obvious reason for not being effective could be because not everyone was included in the conference such as Russia, and Central Powers. Instead, Prime minister George Clemenceau had thought he would speak for all of europe and wanted to be the strongest of europe. Clemenceau seeked revenge towards Germany, in fact he desired most dismantle the best of Germany 's military and their nationalist pride. As for the United States, Wilson implemented the fourteen points which focused on self determination of people. Only few of his points were included in the treaty but these points had been the reason for conflicts happening in europe. Participation from everyone is important and not allowing everyone 's input could lead to negative outcomes such as, The league of nations which most likely failed because the United States wasn’t allowed to participate.
The end of World War I left much of America confused on the country’s role in world affairs. Many people believed that the United States should primarily worry about its own issues and problems, and let the world handle their own problems. But President Woodrow Wilson was not one of those people. He believed that the United States should be directly involved in the issues affecting all of the countries of the world. He also wanted the United States to be the country to make a push for a League of Nations. “The people of the United States could act upon no other principle; and to the vindication of this principle they are ready to devote their lives, their honor, and everything that they possess. The normal climax of this the culminating and final war for human liberty has come, and they are ready to put their own strength, their own highest purpose, their own integrity and devotion to the test.” Wilson believed that if the United States needed to be a part of a League of Nations in charge of keeping peace around the world, this would keep America
The statement is invalid because although the strength of the opposition forces, both liberal and conservative, were a factor in the Senate defeat of the Treaty of Versailles, it was ultimately President Wilson's ineptitude and stubbornness that led to its defeat. This is because the Senate was split on the decision, and one group of Senators were willing to agree if some amendments were made to the Treaty. However, President Wilson was not willing to compromise on the League of Nations, the most controversial point of the Treaty. The debate in congress was President Wilson against the Reservationists in the Senate more than one group in the Senate against another. President Wilson was a liberal, meaning he favored progressive change,
Wilson abandoned the imperialist policy and brought to the White House a new way of looking at America’s relations with the outside world. Wilson believed that the United States was the most politically enlightened in a sense under god, he felt that people throughout the world had their right to choose their own governments. Wilson was only protecting people rights to democracy.
President Wilson was a person who believed that there was a peaceful solution for any conflict. When World War I broke out in Europe President Wilson spent several years trying to keep America from entering the war. President Wilson even went as far to offer to be a mediator between the two conflicting sides to help bring the war to an end. In addition President Wilson was heavily criticized by other great American leaders when he declined to build up the U.S. Army to prepare for War. As much as President Wilson tried to fight against the war events such as the Zimmerman Telegraph, Unrestricted Submarine Warfare, and the decisive shift in American pro-war sentiment made American entering the war inevitable.
Two great men, two great presidents, led our nations to excellency and great success. Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson were hard working, intelligent men who were very familiar, but were also different in many aspects. Through their dedication to our country and their passion of politics they have made our country better.
wrote the play Fences about his life: the heartbreaking reality of racism in his own life and the
In literature, slavery and the African American race are often analyzed and interpreted by numerous authors. Mark Twain reveals numerous hitches and aspects of society’s view towards different races throughout many of his novels. In Pudd’nhead Wilson Twain describes the status of African Americans in society, as well as how they are portrayed or believed to act in the eyes of other townsfolk. The portrayal of Roxy and the status of Tom and Chambers both help Twain show the wrongs of the
To better understand the successes and failures of the 28th president of the United States, Woodrow Wilson, it is essential to define the image he portrayed to the American population during his presidency. Many Americans and historians will claim he was a man of impartiality and the one who led America into WWI. He had a very solid influence on Congress for the many domestic and foreign affair policies he endorsed. The goal is to illustrate how President Woodrow Wilson ran his presidency in the eyes of the American citizens. This will be done by examining the many facades that President Woodrow Wilson exhibited during his term as president. Upon researching the events of President Woodrow Wilson, it is clear that he was significant in moving our nation onward and supporting the American people in every which way possible.