The United States Senate consistently voted against the Treaty of Versailles because many senators believed the document undermined the core values of democracy and would have negative repercussions in the United States and throughout the world. Some senators sought minor changes, but others demanded that the United States reject the Treaty completely. When twice taken to a vote, the Treaty was twice rejected. (1)
At the conclusion of World War I, leaders of bitter and war torn European powers gathered to compose a treaty for lasting peace, the Treaty of Versailles. France, their lands and population decimated by trench warfare, wanted harsh war reparations. Great Britain, a strong Allied contributor and the world’s strongest naval power, sought reparation in the form of German ships and U-boats added to the British fleets. The United States attended the negotiations to ensure fairness and future peace. (2) The resulting document, however, required a two-thirds superlative vote of the United States Senate to be ratified in the United States – votes which this Treaty never received. Perhaps the most controversial and troubling subject to senators was entry into the League of Nations – President Woodrow Wilson’s plan for world leaders to discuss peace diplomatically instead of waging intercontinental war.
Henry Cabot Lodge led the “reservationists,” a group of senators in favor of amendments to the Treaty of Versailles to ensure United States security. (3) The reservationists met privately to discuss amendments to the Treaty, in hopes of protecting both peace throughout the world and United States interests alike. While some amendments, known as “The Lodge Reservations,” were agreed upon by the senate, some were left without compromise. (4) The approved amendments were never reviewed by other parties involved, and was therefore left unchanged. Reservationist efforts were generally ineffective.
Another Senator, William E. Borah, led the “irreconcilables,” a group of senators staunchly opposed to the Treaty of Versailles, with or without amendments, and dismissed United States membership in the League of Nations in any form. (5) He refused to allow the United States to attend a meeting of peace representatives of every major government in the world, because it would exist on the pretense that our nation should either cooperate with all conditions of other nations, or lose our polished reputation in the eyes of the world. (6)
Many opposing senators feared that the Treaty surrendered all United States military authority to the League of Nations. (7) Article One of the Treaty states:
At the conclusion of World War I, leaders of bitter and war torn European powers gathered to compose a treaty for lasting peace, the Treaty of Versailles. France, their lands and population decimated by trench warfare, wanted harsh war reparations. Great Britain, a strong Allied contributor and the world’s strongest naval power, sought reparation in the form of German ships and U-boats added to the British fleets. The United States attended the negotiations to ensure fairness and future peace. (2) The resulting document, however, required a two-thirds superlative vote of the United States Senate to be ratified in the United States – votes which this Treaty never received. Perhaps the most controversial and troubling subject to senators was entry into the League of Nations – President Woodrow Wilson’s plan for world leaders to discuss peace diplomatically instead of waging intercontinental war.
Henry Cabot Lodge led the “reservationists,” a group of senators in favor of amendments to the Treaty of Versailles to ensure United States security. (3) The reservationists met privately to discuss amendments to the Treaty, in hopes of protecting both peace throughout the world and United States interests alike. While some amendments, known as “The Lodge Reservations,” were agreed upon by the senate, some were left without compromise. (4) The approved amendments were never reviewed by other parties involved, and was therefore left unchanged. Reservationist efforts were generally ineffective.
Another Senator, William E. Borah, led the “irreconcilables,” a group of senators staunchly opposed to the Treaty of Versailles, with or without amendments, and dismissed United States membership in the League of Nations in any form. (5) He refused to allow the United States to attend a meeting of peace representatives of every major government in the world, because it would exist on the pretense that our nation should either cooperate with all conditions of other nations, or lose our polished reputation in the eyes of the world. (6)
Many opposing senators feared that the Treaty surrendered all United States military authority to the League of Nations. (7) Article One of the Treaty states:
In several other places, the Treaty requires guidelines and a committee of advisers available to each country on military forces and strategies. (8)
While reservationists proposed an amendment to protect independence of the United States government, irreconcilables found the article reason in part to reject the Treaty entirely. He also feared that the influence of the League would undermine the power and representation of Congress, (9) that a world executive power such as the League of Nations would remove the power from the United States people and cripple our democratic values. (10)
Borah goes on to state that disagreements in the League will lead to elevated violence instead of the slow toil of peaceful negotiation. One nation could extort another under threat of leaving the League. Wilson’s dissatisfaction with the terms of the Treaty was evidence enough to Borah that the League would not accomplish its lofty intentions. (11) An uncompromising isolationist, Senator Borah did not want the United States “a part of the European turmoils and conflicts from the time we enter this league.” (12) Borah goes so far as to rebut reservationists who defend the Monroe Doctrine, stating that European affairs and our own are either intertwined fully or completely separate – there is no compromise. (13)
In Senator Philander Knox’s speech in opposition to the Treaty, he states:
While reservationists proposed an amendment to protect independence of the United States government, irreconcilables found the article reason in part to reject the Treaty entirely. He also feared that the influence of the League would undermine the power and representation of Congress, (9) that a world executive power such as the League of Nations would remove the power from the United States people and cripple our democratic values. (10)
Borah goes on to state that disagreements in the League will lead to elevated violence instead of the slow toil of peaceful negotiation. One nation could extort another under threat of leaving the League. Wilson’s dissatisfaction with the terms of the Treaty was evidence enough to Borah that the League would not accomplish its lofty intentions. (11) An uncompromising isolationist, Senator Borah did not want the United States “a part of the European turmoils and conflicts from the time we enter this league.” (12) Borah goes so far as to rebut reservationists who defend the Monroe Doctrine, stating that European affairs and our own are either intertwined fully or completely separate – there is no compromise. (13)
In Senator Philander Knox’s speech in opposition to the Treaty, he states:
Senator Knox foresaw the Second World War, with a bitter Germany at the center of the conflict – all because of the harsh treatment of Germany in the Treaty of Versailles. (14) Staggering reparations, complete disarmament, and acceptance of full responsibility for the war was placed on Germany’s shoulders, and Senator Knox knew the dangers the Treaty would create for the post-war world.
Knox held other reservations with the Treaty as well – They didn’t feel fully informed enough, as it was a huge international matter, and Knox states there’s been too much secrecy for him to feel comfortable making a decision. (15)
The United States Senators who reviewed the Treaty of Versailles saw and understood the flaws in the agreement that would inevitably cause a Second World War. The shockwave of the suffering of Germany under the painstaking load of the Treaty would throw the world into new and more devastating problems to overshadow the bloodshed of the First World War. Understanding these repercussions, the United States Senate rejected the Treaty of Versailles.
End Notes
- United States Department of State: Office of the Historian, "The Paris Peace Conference and the Treaty of Versailles," Accessed January 27, 2016.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Cabot Lodge, Henry, and Gilbert M. Hitchcock, "Reservations to the Treaty of Peace with Germany: Statements Made to the Press," United States Senate, Accessed January 27, 2016.
- United States Department of State: Office of the Historian, "The Paris Peace Conference and the Treaty of Versailles," Accessed January 27, 2016.
- Borah, William E, "The League of Nations," United States Senate, Accessed January 27, 2016.
- Cabot Lodge, Henry, and Gilbert M. Hitchcock, "Reservations to the Treaty of Peace with Germany: Statements Made to the Press," United States Senate, Accessed January 27, 2016.
- "Treaty of Peace with Germany (Treaty of Versailles)," Library of Congress. Accessed January 27, 2016.
- Borah, William E, "The League of Nations," United States Senate, Accessed January 27, 2016.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Borah, William E, "The League of Nations," United States Senate, Accessed January 27, 2016, pg. 4.
- Ibid.
- Knox, Philander C, "Treaty of Versailles," United States Senate, Accessed January 27, 2016, pg. 5.
- Ibid.
Bibliography
Borah, William E. "The League of Nations." United States Senate. Accessed January 27, 2016. http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/BorahLeague.pdf.
Cabot Lodge, Henry, and Gilbert M. Hitchcock. "Reservations to the Treaty of Peace with Germany: Statements Made to the Press." United States Senate. Accessed January 27, 2016. https://ia601406.us.archive.org/23/items/reservationstotr00lodg/reservationstotr00lodg.pdf.
Knox, Philander C. "Treaty of Versailles." United States Senate. Accessed January 27, 2016. https://ia600302.us.archive.org/25/items/treatyofversaill00knox/treatyofversaill00knox.pdf.
"Treaty of Peace with Germany (Treaty of Versailles)." Library of Congress. Accessed January 27, 2016. http://www.loc.gov/law/help/us-treaties/bevans/m-ust000002-0043.pdf.
United States Department of State: Office of the Historian. "The Paris Peace Conference and the Treaty of Versailles." Accessed January 27, 2016. https://history.state.gov/milestones/1914-1920/paris-peace.
United States Senate. "Classic Senate Speeches: William E. Borah." Accessed January 27, 2016. http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/Speeches_Borah_League.htm.
United States Senate. "The Irreconcilables." Accessed January 27, 2016. http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/People_Irreconcilables.htm.
*****
Header Image Credit: senate.gov.