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Essay On The Treaty Of Versailles Dbq

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World War I, at its time, was the most violent and destructive war in human history. Afterwards, the Allies convened at the Paris Peace Conference to ensure that such total and utter demolition and loss of human life would never happen again. At this conference, they created the Treaty of Versailles, a peace treaty which dictated the terms of Germany’s surrender. America’s greatest concern with this treaty was Article X, a clause which stated the terms of the League of Nations. This was incredibly controversial, as it dictated that the nations who ratified the treaty would be required to involve themselves in conflicts which may not necessarily pertain to them. Understanding the potential infringement upon Congress’ right to declare war, thereby …show more content…

Wilson believed Article X was the “inevitable logical center of the whole system of . . . the League of Nations (Document B).” Wilson was taught from a young age not to “compromise with wrong (Bailey).” He saw the senators not only as being wrong, but as being “lesser intellects” and “pygmy-minded (Bailey).” This sense of superiority caused Wilson to underestimate the strength of the opposition and the legitimacy of their argument against Article X. He steadfastly refused to compromise on any aspect of the League of Nations, despite the Senate having concerns about Article X being unconstitutional (Document D). Senator William Borah made a speech in 1918 in which he described the League of Nations as using “force to destroy force, conflict to prevent conflict, militarism to destroy militarism, war to prevent war (Document A).” The senator’s qualms were not assuaged by Wilson’s continued persistence in enacting his exact version of the League of Nations, nor were those of other senators who feared the hypocrisy that Borah noticed would cripple the league to a point of uselessness. Wilson was already on poor terms with the Senate as he made a “brutally direct appeal for a Democratic Congress in October, 1918 (Bailey).” He also had previously announced he was sailing to France which made the Senate think he had a “Messiah complex (Bailey).” Wilson’s stubbornness led the senators to dislike him both as a person and a politician. Many senators, such as Henry Cabot Lodge, were “in favor of a league of nations (Bailey).” These senators only wanted to modify the treaty, and Herbert Hoover himself implored Wilson to accept the reservations passed by the Senate (Document C). However, Wilson would not ratify anything that was not exactly as he and the other international delegates had composed it. Wilson’s lack of

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Whilst examining the documents Woodrow Wilson, an Address to the Joint Session of Congress, 1917 and George Norris, 'A Speech in the Senate,' 1917, I have arrived at the conjecture that Woodrow Wilson’s supplication was immeasurably more superior than that of George Norris’s. I have reached this conclusion for several reasons. The main reason being that Woodrow Wilson’s speech proved to be the better case because it eventually led to the United States to World War I while George Norris’s opinions stayed his opinion and ultimately did not affect the outcome of the American history.

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He believed in the high role of the chief executive, but he was arrogant and lacked a common touch. His idealism made him difficult to compromise and stubborn, and he was convinced in his own right. Wilson Tackles the Tariff

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According to the Sources, you can see that American involvement in WWI had been unpopular in the USA. Democratic President Wilson, a liberal idealist, believed that the League of Nations offered the best way to secure future world peace, and had made it a fundamental part of his Fourteen Points regarding the post-war peace treaties. Republican Senator Borah, a devout nationalist, believe that the League of Nations would encourage states to 'meddle ' in each other 's affairs, making future wares more

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As a member of the Pennsylvanian Provincial Congress James Wilson spoke of an unconstitutional act made by legislature. The system for watching governmental acts with the constitution now well on its way. James Wilson was a very influential person with ideas that really helped to bring forth some of the most important

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The first point, freedom of seas was created to ensure the safety of all nations ships, it allowed ships to freely navigate oceans without restrictions, it prevented blockades, and of course things like unrestricted submarine warfare. The second point that was adopted was the reduction of all armies. Without large armies countries would not be as deadly toward one another, also if there were smaller armies people wouldn 't feel as though another nation were more powerful or threatened which would lead to less conflict and need for power. The last point that was maintained was the League of Nations. Wilson believed that the biggest part of creating peace within nations was by creating a congregation of leaders from different countries that would solve nations issues to prevent wars in the future.

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With the UNs principles being the same as the Leagues with a few changes shows that President Wilson was on to something, he just needed to allow members from the Senate to review and submit changes that would be best for all nations not just

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This is the effect that World War I had on America. This is the war in which we stated we were neutral and then entered the war looking for a peaceful outcome. Wilson wanted to have democracy for the world, but he didn’t want to do what was necessary to achieve his goal. He thought that international law and organization would do the hard work of convincing all countries to convert to democracy. If he would have done this then it would have been national interest in which we was running the country for instead of moral and legal ideas.

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Based on Henry Cabot Lodge’s statement about the League of Nations, one can say that he is willing to join with compromises to certain articles. However, William Borah wants the opposite and no compromises will change his stance. Lodge’s statement suggests that he is for the League of Nations when he speaks about the United States being of great service to world peace. However, Lodge states beforehand that he does not want the Unites State’s actions to be determined by other countries.

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However, meeting those requirements may not have been logical on the sides of the countries that the United States was working with. Another quote from the History Alive! Textbook proves Wilson’s push for his goals and wishes, which states, “President Wilson had not been able to preserve all of his goals. He did, however, get the other leaders to include a charter for the League of Nations in the final agreement.” This quote describes Wilson’s wish for collective security, which not only keeps Wilson active in his goals, but keeps America protected as well.

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If nation chooses not to be a part of either group, they have no chance in being defended against the violator because they are not a part of the council and the council as whole makes all the decisions. To conclude, the only way the League of Nations would prove to be successful if everyone were to cooperate and have the same idea of peace in mind. While the League of Nations prevents some of the problems that Roosevelt brought to congress in his speech, it does not do so in an effective way. If America were to be a member in this conference, the country would have to participate in every battle or fight, even if it did not pertain to us. The same would go for other nations.

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They were on his side and accepted his efforts. Soon after the Allied Powers accepted the idea, President Woodrow Wilson began on founding the League of Nations. The purposes of the League of Nations that President Woodrow Wilson was pushing were regulating international relations, limiting armaments, and settling disagreements between nations in a peaceful way. He believed that these regulations would help keep the peace forever between the countries.

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This statement caused the uprise of the opinions from diplomats and intellectuals alike from all over the world and across the Atlantic. These diplomats and intellectuals voiced that there was a need for an international organization that would be the stronghold for nurturing cooperation and enduring peace. Widely, Woodrow Wilson's idea of the League of Nations was accepted, however, since it was difficult to create Wilson was unable to encourage the United States to join in the participation (U.S. Department of State, 2015). On January 25, 1919, The Paris Peace Conference accepted Woodrow Wilson's proposal to create the League of Nations.

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French interests demanded a League with teeth. They made several attempts to create a military force at the League’s disposal, but failed to persuade the British. When Wilson failed to push American membership of the League through Congress, much of theLeague’s deterrent value slipped away. The League was certainly not unimportant; it provided an international forum for discussion, it was a source of influence, and helped tackle the kinds of problems – like the refugee crisis – where a coordinated international response was desirable. Even though it had very limited powers to intervene in the internal affairs of member states, it could help publicise abuses of minority groups and expose governments to the pressure of world opinion.

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Secondly, Woodrow Wilson and the United States of America denied wanting any part in the League of Nations. The final reason why it had been doomed from the start and continued to weaken was because the League of Nations had no armed forces. In other words, without armed forces, the League of Nations was defenseless and appeared very

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The League of Nations was an international organization created 1919 by the American president, Woodrow Wilson, as a part of his Fourteen Points. The League was meant to maintain universal peace and resolve international disputes between nations to avoid a repeat of the First World War. The League of Nations had some successes in maintaining universal peace, however, there numerous failures as well. Some of the successes include the Åland Islands crisis and the Upper Silesia incident. Some of the failures of the League include the events that took place in Manchuria and Abyssinia.

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