History

Why did Americans (i.e. Congress) disagree over ratifying the Versailles Treaty which President Wilson helped create?

The Treaty of Versailles negotiated during the Paris Peace Conference between the big four of United States, France, Great Britain, and Italy was meant to end World War I peacefully. After the negotiations, President Woodrow Wilson presented it to the Senate for ratification. However, article X if the treaty didn’t go well with the Republican senators led by Henry Cabot Lodge (Keene, Cornell & O'Donnell, 2012). That article according to Republicans would limit the United States powers of determining its own affairs. As such, Lodge and the Republicans opposed it unless reservations with regards article X were formulated. The democrats, on the other hand, supported the Treaty with the formation of the League of Nations. However, when the reservations were allowed, Wilson urged the Democrats in the Senate to reject it and the United States, therefore, failed to ratify the treaty.

Part of the reason the rejection of the treaty has been attributed to personal enmity between Republican head of the Senate Henry Lodge and President Woodrow Wilson. The president had failed to include him as part of the negotiations in France (Keene, Cornell & O'Donnell, 2012). The ratification was equally hampered by the bedridden Wilson due to stroke and as such couldn’t make an appeal for the treaty. Additionally, the Senate felt that the provisions of the treaty that imposed obligations on the United States to impose economic sanctions or sever diplomatic relations were against the interest of the country. In a way, it was diminishing the U.S’s sovereign power. The worry about global involvement that seemed permanent and prolonged was equally seen as something the country wouldn’t consider. However, the primary reason for rejection of the treat was adamancy of President Woodrow Wilson who managed to convince Democratic Senators to shoot down the ratification of treaty based on the reservations presented by Henry Cabot Lodge.

Why was neutrality difficult for the United States to define and maintain?

When World War I initially broke out in Europe, President Wilson did not see the point of getting involved immediately. The war between the countries was viewed by many as a sort of family squabble, between the German Kaiser, the Russian Tsar, and the English King; not necessarily worthy of American intervention in the beginning. Wilson, however, did worry about the United States trade agreements with both the Allied and Central forces, as well as travel rights for American citizens and immigrants. Wilson declared the country neutral, but many American immigrants from either side of the warring nations began taking sides, or expressing support for their home countries. To address this, Wilson asked Americans to "avoid taking sides" and "remain impartial in thought, as well as action". The trouble of remaining neutral began to way heavily on the United States though, as Wilson pondered the true meaning of what being neutral would mean. He was unsure if he should continue trade with both sides, or stop trading with the warring countries all together. He opted to continue the trade, which became increasingly difficult as the war progressed. For example, when the British used a naval blockade to suppress American trade with Germany. Even as trade with Germany had dropped significantly since the onset of the war, this impeded the United States from trade with the country all together. Despite his efforts, Wilson also faced calls to enter the war after attacks were reported, such as the torpedoing of the Lusitania, a British passenger liner, in 1915. In August 1915, another passenger liner was sunk, the Arabic; this second attack killed two American citizens. Wilson was still not completely convinced to enter the war though, and insisted on the United States remaining neutral. After the Zimmermann Telegram encouraged Mexico to start a boarder war with the United States to occupy them, Wilson finally relented to the pressure of declaring war with Germany.