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US Participation In Treaty Of Versailles
by Gabriel Rise |
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President George W. Bush, despite continuing opposition from his
own people, has placed his country at the unenviable point of
no-return. Interestingly, what is happening in America today seems
to be an echo of the events of 1918 when another president had to
face resistance to the forceful stance he wanted his country to
adopt in the aftermath of World War 1.
America chose to take a neutral stand when European nations got
enmeshed in a world conflict, and President Woodrow Wilson
endorsed this stand. He wanted overseas trade over the Atlantic to
remain uninterrupted and this did not allow for a partisan stance
in European affairs. However, British naval strategies wrecked all
trade with Germany, and the latter reacted by torpedoing all ships
steaming through the Atlantic, including U.S. merchant vessels.
When the Lusitania went down in 1915, taking with it among others,
128 Americans, and Germany continued to target American ships,
public opinion in America swung around, in favor of a proactive
stance. The Zimmerman telegram in 1917 gave the President the
final reason to enter the war. An overwhelmingly strong troop of
American soldiers started on the Meuse-Argonne offensive in the
September of that year and forced Germany to yield by November
1917. Having been instrumental in halting the destruction wrought
upon the European world, America had to take on the responsibility
to ensure that such a war would never repeat itself. Or, so
President Wilson felt. Hence, when negotiations started for a
peace treaty in Versailles, early in 1919, America played a
leading role.
Woodrow Wilson led the negotiations, for he strongly believed that
peace must be sought out to make the world safe for democracy.
His was the moderating voice amidst a Babel of conflicting
opinions, although focused on wreaking vengeance on Germany. He
supported strongly the idea of a League of Nations that would make
each nation morally and ethically responsible to bring about world
accord. It is ironic that the man who persuaded other nations to
accept an arrangement for a peaceful settlement would face
resistance to it at home.
Right at the outset, Wilson made a tactical error when he included
just one Republican in his team to Versailles. This immediately
set the Republicans against any arrangement that Wilson advocated.
Moreover, the worsening state of his health prevented him from
doing all that he could to persuade the Senate. In addition to
this, he had strong detractors and critics to contend with.
One of his harshest critics was Henry Cabot Lodge, the chairman of
the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He purposely delayed the
process of ratifying the treaty because of the deep personal
antagonism he had towards the President. But the strongest force
that resisted the ratification and joining the League was made up
of the American people. Having lost innumerable lives in the war
and its aftermath, with survivors suffering the after--effects of
the war, Americans did not want to become involved anymore. They
wanted to retreat, to resume their detached status. As Senator
William E. Borah from Idaho stated, We are told that this treaty
means peace. Even so, I would not pay the price. Would you
purchase peace at the cost of your independence? This expression
summed up the attitude of the American people in general. No one
paid any attention when Wilson lamented, If the treaty is not
ratified by the Senate, the war will have been fought in vain, and
the world will be thrown into chaos. I promised our soldiers, when
I asked them to take up arms, that it was a war to end wars...
The question today is not if it is an idealistic notion that is
being enforced by the President of the United States. The question
is whether history will repeat itself whether America will take
the same road that it did over the Treaty of Versailles.
Gabriel Rise has been working at essays writing service for
several years. You can ask her about customer service concerning
the term papers or college essays that you have.
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