Wilson, Treaty of Versailles

The strength and effort of opposition forces as well as the ineptitude and stubbornness of President Wilson led to the Senate defeat of the Treaty of Versailles. The opposing senators wanted to add reservations onto the treaty, but Wilson’s would not have it. This caused Wilson to kill his own treaty with some help from opposing senators.

Opposing forces killed the Treaty of Versailles in many different ways. They believed the treaty did not satisfy pre-war hopes for peace (Doc B). One political group even opposed the treaty. The group that hurt the treaty was the Reservationists, led by H.C, Lodge. This political group though the only way to get this treaty passed was to add their own rules onto the treaty. These reservations were thought of as negative by President Wilson and led to the treaty’s ultimate defeat. Another party, the Irreconcilables, believed in isolationism, and did not support the treaty because it contradicted their beliefs. As you can see, more and more senators are turning against the treaty and killing it. A majority of the Senate opposed the treaty because they believed involvement in the League of Nations would lead to foreign entanglements (Doc E). Some people in Europe even criticized the treaty because they believed it would be degrading for Europe (Doc F). The main question of this era was would the American people allow total control by one international organization (Doc A).

President Wilson killed his own treaty, not because he wanted to, but because he was forced to by the reservations put on his treaty. Some of his fourteen points were used in the actual treaty like the League of Nations. Wilson believed the war was the war to end