Should The United States Join The League Of Nations?

Finally, the irreconcilables were completely closed to the possibility of a League of Nations, as seen in William Borah’s speech in 1918, which harshly criticizes and mocks the league with hypocritical antitheses like “force to destroy force, conflict to prevent conflict, militarism to destroy militarism, war to prevent war” (Doc. A). The irreconcilable’s point of view is also illustrated by an image from the Tribune Media Services, which shows the U.S. Senate suddenly objecting to the marriage of the U.S. to foreign entanglement by the League of Nations on the basis of constitutional rights (Doc. E). According to the senate, the U.S. would be losing the right to go to war along with collective security if they joined the League of Nations. The position of European nations, specifically France and Britain, was of hostility towards Germany for the mass casualties, causing an unwillingness to pardon them from the guilt-clause.

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

They agreed with most of the treaty that was presented to them, after the negotiations with Britain and France; however, they had an issue with the League of Nations. They did not want the United States to have to answer to the League or be tied to other countries. They believed that by joining the League, the United States would no longer be in control of its own foreign policy, jeopardizing its independence (Document A). They further believed that the American people, who up to this point had historically been isolationists (not wanting to be involved in foreign affairs), were not ready to support American participation in the League of Nations. Furthermore, they believed that collective security was unlikely to work - it would help with large scale issues like World War, but it would be counterproductive when it came to minute disputes, and they did not want the United States to be tied down by foreign entanglements and alliances (Document E). Wilson, however, was uncompromising, he realized that if the League was created without the United States in the it, Britain and France would take control and punish Germany economically for the war, which they did, and it led to another world

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)

This fostered a strong desire to return to isolationism, as demonstrated by President Harding’s “return to normalcy.” One of the first steps was to reject involvement in the League of Nations, a post-World War I body meant to ensure collective peace and security. Many Americans did not want to become involved in European affairs and risk being pulled into another global war, which they feared would be inevitable if the United States joined the League of Nations. In a speech, Presidential Candidate Warren G. Harding stated, “My position at present is that the League strikes a deadly blow at our constitutional integrity and surrenders to a dangerous extent of our independence as a nation,” (Doc A). Nevertheless, the United States did participate in multiple international events at the beginning of the 1920s, including the

Many factors contribute to a group of people failing to accomplish a goal, but the stubbornness of participants often is a leading cause. The Senate’s failure to ratify the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 shows this idea, due to the feud between President Woodrow Wilson and the Internationalists, and Henry Cabot Lodge and the Reservationists. The Internationalists fully supported the passing of the Treaty of Versailles, whereas the Reservationists believed it was necessary to change the Treaty, specifically Article Ten. Similarly, Borah and the Irreconcilables believed that the League of Nations was in conflict with one of the ideals the nation was founded on; to not engage in foreign entanglements. As Senator William Borah, put it, the League

The United states should not have joined the league of nations in 1919. The United States shouldn’t have joined the league of nations because we would be supplying the troops and food a lot and not getting anything out of it, and we were in no danger of an attack.

World War II happened because of a multitude of things because of the way they dealt with Germany. The start of the war had many things contributing to it. Because of the faulty League of Nations as well as appeasement in European countries, World War II took a turn for the worst, making it the biggest, most deadly, and most impactful war in history. The League of Nations was one thing that contributed to the start of World War II.

To get the two-thirds vote needed for ratification, supporters of the treaty needed to make an alliance with those in favor. But Wilson refused to make any compromises. Instead, he took his case directly to the people, confident that public opinion would force the Senate to accept the treaty and the League of Nations. In September 1919 Wilson embarked on a nationwide speaking tour to rally support. On November 19, Democrats in the Senate voted down the treaty with the Lodge reservations. Lodge's republican coalition voted down Wilson's version of the treaty. Although more than two thirds of the Senate favored some sort of league, they were caught between Wilson and Lodge, and no treaty was passed. For the first time, the Senate rejected a peace treaty negotiated by the President. The United States never became a member of the League of Nations. Instead, Congress passed a joint resolution in 1921 officially recognizing an end to hostilities with Germany and other Central

Wilson's peace plan, known as the Fourteen Points, introduced the idea of the League of Nations. The League of Nations would bind together all of the countries involved in order to resolve conflicts peacefully and protect independence. Wilson very much wanted the United States to be a part of the League, which would prevent a return to isolationism (Document G). Article Ten of the Treaty of Versailles outlines some of the obligations attached to being a member of the League. This article states that if any nation who is a part of the League is under attack or in danger, all other countries are mandated to come to their aid (Document E). The League of Nations, and this article in particular, caused a great deal of controversy in the U.S. Henry Cabot Lodge, a Reservationist senator, gave a speech to show his objection to the League. Lodge believed the United States should focus its efforts on self-betterment, rather than being forced to "play the part of umpire" in European affairs of no direct interest (Document D). Lodge's discontent with the circumstances that would be created by the League were also shared by the majority of senators, leading to the rejection of the Treaty of Versailles. This decision allowed the U.S. to return to its former isolated

While it seems as if Japan was planning it for many years, the attack on Pearl Harbor still managed to take many Americans by surprise. No one expected that they would be fighting for their life on December 7th, 1941. Within a few hours, our nation was dragged into World War II, fighting against Japan in the Pacific and in Europe against their ally, Nazi Germany. However, the question that remains unanswered is “Why did Japan attack Pearl Harbor?”. At the time, the United States was recovering from WW1 so, it continued to remain neutral, avoiding world conflicts.

Henry Cabot Lodge’s speech (Document B) expresses a more similar message to the political cartoon (Document C) because both sources oppose the League of Nations. The League of Nations was introduced in the Treaty of Versailles. This League provided a place for countries to meet, settle disputes peacefully, and punish any nation that broke the peace. At the time the league was introduced, there started to be a heated debate to weather the United States should be involved. Henry Cabot Lodge’s speech (Document B) has a similar message to the political cartoon because both of these sources prove that the League of NAtions is harmful or has a negative effect to the United States.

The U.S. Secretary of War Newton Baker in 1919 argues that it is best for American to join the League of the nation. He argued that a new order is needed in American diplomatic and international relations. He argued that in chaos in 1914 was because of this league not founded at that point. He said that the policy of middle age has to change because the world moves differently now.

Together with the Treaty of Versailles, the League of Nations was established, with the aims of “disarmament,; preventing war through collective security,; settling disputes

"The League of Nations was doomed To failure from the start" Adam Jenner Many may believe that the League of Nations was doomed to failure as soon as the doors of their Geneva headquarters were opened; many may say that it was built on unstable foundations; that the very idea of it was a grave misjudgment by the powers that were. Indeed it is true that the League of Nations, when it was set up was marred with many fundamental flaws. The League of Nations was formed after the end of the First World War. It was an idea that President Wilson introduced as an international police force to maintain peace and to ensure the devastating atrocities like the First World War ever happening again. The principle mission of the League of Nations was to maintain World Peace. Their failure as the international peacekeeping organization to maintain world peace brought the outbreak of Second World War. Their failure in policing and preventing peace in settling disputes throughout Europe, erupted into the most devastating war ever. Through my analysis of the failures of the League of Nations to maintain world peace, my arguments will demonstrate the understandings of the reasons and events that created the most devastating environment for the Second World War.