Woodrow
Wilson
And
The
League of Nations
Matthew Van Gelder
December
22, 2005
AP U.S.
History
Block E
Mr. Houston
The President
of the United States during World
War I, Woodrow Wilson, believed that he could influence the world. He believed that he could implement
international law and unity in the interest of peace and cooperation. Wilson’s most
pivotal tool in the acquisition of this goal was the League of
Nations. In the aftermath of
World War I, there was a need for a peace plan.
Wilson fulfilled
that need with his Fourteen Points, which most importantly, included the League of
Nations. He saw this League
as a diplomatic body that would prevent future world wars similar in magnitude
to that of WWI, in addition to mediating small quarrels
between nations. While Wilson’s peace plan
and views were ideal, the ravaged nations of Europe wanted
revenge upon aggressor nation Germany. They expected too much of Germany and therefore
the Versailles Treaty contained conditions that Wilson found
unacceptable. He agreed to the treaty in
the interest of the League of Nations. Unfortunately, the major hurdle of
ratification on the part of the U.S. was never
cleared. Therefore, due to the irony of
not having U.S. backing, the League of Nations was an
inadequate body that was incapable of preventing wars or enforcing
decisions.
In the months before World War I,
there was much tension in Europe and there
were several incidents that sparked the start of the war. “In 1914, the center of the world was Europe, and Europe was dominated
by a small tribe of monarchs bound by blood, entangled in a system of secret
alliances and determined to put as many men under arms as they could.” (Jennings 2) Of all the
European nations, Germany, led by Kaiser
Wilhelm, had created the largest army and had great amounts of armaments. The royal bloodlines were greatly
intertwined, especially at this time, and the German Kaiser, the Russian Czar,
and the British ruler were all closely related.
King George of Britain and the
Russian Czar formed an alliance against the volatile German State. Woodrow
Wilson sent his advisor, Colonel Edward M. House to attempt to obtain peace in Europe between Germany, England and, most
specifically, the United States. “In the summer of 1914, Europe was a tinder
box waiting for a spark.” (Jennings 2) The final
straw was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the
Austrian Empire, by a Serbian nationalist known as Gavrilo Princep. Following the assassination, Edward M. House,
an advisor sent by Wilson, sought
diplomatic reconciliation rather than war, but his efforts were futile. Austria then declared
war on Serbia, which also
meant that Austria and Germany were at war
with Serbia and its ally Russia, along with Russia’s allies. (Jennings 2) (Beck 4)
President Wilson was determined that
the role of the United States in World War
I would be predominantly as a mediator.
The men and women of Europe viewed Wilson mainly as a
“starry eyed idealist.” Most of Europe thought that Wilson’s methods of
peace and diplomacy were no longer valid under the circumstances, and that “the
road to glory was the road to war.” The people of Europe saw no other
options and had no way out, thus they “had built themselves into a box they
couldn’t escape.” (Jennings 3) Although
the United States was neutral during the early stages of the war, the nation
benefited greatly in economic terms, through supporting European countries with
supplies for the war effort. Americans
did not think that the U.S. would become
involved in the war. They did not think
it would affect them and they assumed the U.S. would stay
neutral. (Jennings 3)
Eventually,
the U.S. became
indirectly involved in the war. American ships were being attacked and staying
neutral no longer seemed like a viable option. Although the U.S. was able to
maintain neutrality during the first three years of the war, mounting support
for the fight against Germany, combined
with attacks on U.S. shipping
vessels, carried the United States into
WWI. “President Wilson agonized at his
typewriter for three days. On the third day, he finally typed out not a
declaration of war, but a strongly worded note of protest to Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany.” (Jennings 5)
Eventually, the attacks became too much to endure. When Wilson addressed
Congress to seek a declaration of war, he said, “the
present German submarine warfare against commerce is warfare against
mankind.” (Horne 1) The attacks had gone
on too long, and had caused the deaths of innocent, non-involved persons, which
was unacceptable in the views of the U.S. Wilson saw war as
being a part of the depravity of human nature and believed that America was fighting
for the “universal dominion of right.” (Jennings 8) (Jennings 5) (Horne 1)
While the war
was still being fought, Wilson submitted a
peace plan to the Senate, deemed the Fourteen Points. The last of the Fourteen Points was Wilson’s fondest
wish, the formation of a diplomatic body capable of preventing war before it
began. He thought that the diplomatic
body should not only prevent war, but also exist for the “liberty of the
working men of the world.” Wilson also believed
in a natural right that the land of a country belongs to the people of that
country, and that they should at the very least have a say in its fate. In one of his appeals for the support of the League of
Nations, he defined the role that the U.S. was to play
in the League. He said, “I say every great nation because America is
going to be included among them, and the only choice now my fellow citizens is
whether we will go in as founders of the covenant of freedom or go in as those
who are admitted after they have made a mistake and repented.” (Appeal 2) (Jennings 3)
“Finally at eleven
o’clock on November the eleventh, the eleventh hour of the eleventh
day of the eleventh month, the shooting stopped.” (Jennings 10) On October
6, 1918, Germany had lost the
war and had surrendered. Germany was in favor
of the peace as it was proposed in Woodrow Wilson’s speeches and the Fourteen
Points. Wilson believed that
the League
of Nations and its constitution must be conceived in peace, as a part
of the peace treaty, or else it would only represent the allied forces and
their interests. “The USS George
Washington neared the French coast by mid December 1918. World War I was over--at least the shooting
part.” (McCollum 1) The peace that Wilson offered a
shattered Europe brought out millions of people upon
his arrival in France. (Jennings 10) (McCollum
1)
The nations of Europe had suffered
greatly during WWI, and they demanded reparation and humiliation on the part of
Germany. Since Wilson’s Fourteen
Points did not offer many concessions for such repayment, France and Britain especially
disagreed with much of Wilson’s plan. Although
Wilson did not want Germany, a greatly
damaged country following WWI, forced to pay outrageous reparations, he did
accept the Versailles Treaty because he was determined to have his League of
Nations. Wilson knew that if
the Treaty of Versailles contained flaws, which he believed it did, then the
League could exist to take care of those flaws.
John Maynard Keyes successfully predicted that the excessive
expectations of Germany would lead to
future war, despite the League of Nations. “Woodrow Wilson salvaged only one point from
the wreckage of his fourteen, the League of Nations. To him, it was the last great hope for world
peace.” (Jennings 11) (Beck 10) (Scraff 80) (DeWeerd
404)
Wilson thought that
the League should be formed in the interest of all nations, regardless of
size. “A general association of nations
must be formed under specific covenants for the purpose of affording mutual
guarantees of political independence and territorial integrity to great and
small nations alike.” (DeWeerd 404) When Wilson read the
agreement to congress, he asserted that “The nations that have learned the
discipline of freedom and that have settled with self possession to its ordered
practice are now about to make conquest of the world by the sheer power of example
of friendly helpfulness.” (Beck 11) (DeWeerd 404)
Germany was to make
reparation payments, reduce its army and navy, and totally surrender under the
Versailles Treaty.
Wilson believed that
the goal of the Versailles Treaty should be the organization of nations in the
interest of “rights, justice and liberty, given a vital organization to which
the people of the world will gladly respond.”
(Beck 10) Through Wilson’s concerted
efforts, the League of Nations was made part of the treaty, and
thirty two of the states present adopted it unanimously. (Beck 10)
Wilson became the
chairman of the subcommittee charged with drafting the League of Nations
Covenant. The committee created a draft
that was mainly reconciled with a British draft, despite the fact that France and Italy had also
submitted drafts. President Wilson created a final draft and presented it on February 14, 1918. He had designed a body mainly for the
promotion of peace, but also for all international issues, including labor.
(Beck 11)
The League was
comprised of three parts which included an Assembly, a Council, and a
Secretariat. The Assembly had special
procedures that it followed and was comprised of members from each country that
was a part of the League. They had procedures and functions that paralleled the
U.S. House and Senate, and included special committees. The Council was comprised of several great
nations, but did not include the United
States.
The greater nations of the Council had permanent seats, while all others
had to be elected by the Assembly. The
third part, the Secretariat, coordinated and facilitated the League’s meetings
and other activities. All supporting
documents for League meetings were produced and managed by the Secretariat.
(Chamberlin 111-113)
There were
five particulars to the formation of the League. One was “Impartial justice
means no discrimination between peoples.” The second was “No special interest
of a single nation should infringe upon the common interest of all.” The last
three essentially stated that no “Leagues within the League” could be formed,
no selfish policies accepted, and public accountability was to be policy. (Beck
9)
Wilson was
determined to create “a world without conquest and colonies,” and a world with
a “League of democratic nations to keep peace.” (Jennings 10) While the
peace conference accepted Wilson’s draft and
proposal, the United States was another
issue. Wilson believed that
America would become
a part of the League once it was formed. Upon Wilson’s completion
of work on the Versailles Treaty, he returned to the United
States on July
10, 1919. The U.S. Senators were
reluctant to ratify the Versailles Treaty, as they thought being part of the
League would unnecessarily drag the U.S. into
war. On the whole, the Senate wanted to
ultimately ratify the treaty, but they would not because they had reservations
that Wilson refused to
entertain, as he thought any changes would be an insult to the nations that had
already signed. If the U.S. could ask for
changes, then Germany would
undoubtedly want changes also. (Jennings 10) (Beck 11)
The
isolationists of the United
States did not want to be a part of a League
that they feared would pull the U.S. into other
foreign affairs. Many Americans did not
like the Treaty of Versailles because it was so unfair to Germany. Those who were German-Americans especially
saw the provisions of the treaty as unfair.
While the opinions of the American people were significant, the Senate
had the final say. Wilson essentially
pleaded with them for their support, but it did not seem as though he would
receive it. In a speech to the Senate, Wilson said, “America shall in
truth show the way. The light streams
upon the path ahead and nowhere else.
Dare we reject it and break the heart of the world?” (Scraff 82) While Wilson did win much
of the crowd despite his weakened health, he did not win the Republicans,
especially those on the Senate Foreign Relations committee. Senator Henry Cabot
Lodge had several problems with the concessions of the Versailles Treaty. Among them was Article Ten, which dealt with
the aide to threatened nations that were a member of the League. Article ten was the most important to
Woodrow, as he thought it was the essential ingredient to the prevention of
war. For the first time in U.S. history, the
Senate voted to invoke cloture, which cut off debate on the treaty, only after
fifty-five days of debate on the issue.
This was a sure sign that the Treaty was doomed to failure in terms of U.S.
ratification. Senator Robinson summed up
the issues with ratification in that “… the result of our labors may be
failure. The Senate is about to vote on
an alleged resolution of ratification, a resolution which, it seems to me, does
not ratify but which, in fact and in legal effect, constitutes a rejection of
this treaty.” (Robinson 1) Woodrow
Wilson perceived any form of resolution an essential rejection to the treaty as
well, thus his refusal in accepting compromises or changes to the treaty. (Scraff
82) (Robinson 1)
Due
to lack of support from the Senate, Wilson decided to
rally for the support of the public, despite his medical condition. He said in a speech that “This can be done.
It must be done, and it will be done.
The great thing that these men left us… [The dead soldiers], is the
great instrument of the League of Nations.” (Smith 81) Wilson never wavered
in his efforts to gain support for the League. He once said at a graveyard
following the war, “So it is our duty to take and maintain the safeguards which
will see to it that the mothers of France and England and Belgium and Italy and all other
suffering nations should never be called upon for this sacrifice again.” (Smith 81) Once Wilson’s health
completely failed him, it became an even worse situation. He could no longer
fight for the ratification of the treaty or the League. Ironically, the U.S. Senate never ratified
the Treaty of Versailles, and the United
States never joined the League of
Nations. Future presidents
of the United States attempted to
get the U.S. involved in
the League with little success. “On January
16, 1920 President Wilson formally convened the Council in
accordance with the League provision for the summoning of the First Council and
Assembly by the president of the United
States. It was to be the last official
participation by the United
States in the entire history of the League of
Nations.” (Beck 13) (Smith 81)
Although the U.S. never joined
the League, it did become a reality and a League of European Nations. The main objective of the covenant of the League of
Nations was the promotion of peace. The League did help Europe, but was not
strong enough to prevent the Great War to come.
Although the League had many powers to make recommendations, it fell
short when it came to enforcing its decisions.
There was no legal recourse for not following the recommendations of the
League. Each nation was responsible for
its own actions, which was a major weakness of the League. (Beck 14-81)
(Chamberlin 111-113)
The body was
able to reduce the amount of military might the members had through the
reduction of armaments, but this was dependant on the cooperation of the
members. The diplomacy and structure
that the League provided was its major strongpoint. The League was on the whole successful in the
early nineteen hundreds, but when the Great Depression and the start of World
War II came around, the League began to fail.
The League was unable to do anything effectual while France occupied the Ruhr Valley in 1923. In addition, the League did nothing to stop
the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931 or
the Japanese withdrawal from the League in 1933. The league had become too weak to be the
prestigious and effectual body it once was.
Eventually, in 1946, the League of Nations was
eradicated. It was inadequate leading up
to and into WWII, and the United Nations took control in April of that
year. “Perhaps the League had helped to
prevent small wars and through cooperation brought more collective
consciousness into international affairs, but its failure had become
overwhelmingly obvious when the aggressions of Japan, Italy, and Germany brought on a
Second World War that many had feared.” (Beck 21)
The League of
Nations was Woodrow Wilson’s ultimate dream of peace and democracy,
where a diplomatic body could create unity and prevent war. He ensured the United
States role in WWI would remain neutral for
as long as it was bearable, while at the same time providing mediation for the
European nations. When involvement in the War became inevitable, Wilson sought
diplomacy wherever possible. His chief
concerns were rooted in the rights and peace of all mankind,
not only Americans. While his ultimate
dream became a reality, it was not true for his own nation. The United
States ironically never became a part of the
League, and without backing from one of the greatest powers in the world, the
League was doomed to inadequacy and failure.
Wilson’s own stubborn perspective is best understood through a statement
where he said, “If the peace presently to be made is to endure, it must be a
peace made secure by the organized major force of mankind,” which essentially
stated his belief that the United States must become a member. (Wilson 1) His
idealistic views conflicted with the spirit of America, thus
ensuring the failure of ever having U.S. involvement
in Wilson’s League.
Works Cited
Beck, Sanderson. “Wilson
and the League of Nations.”
http://www.san.beck.org/GPJ21-LeagueofNations.html
Chamberlin, Waldo. “League of Nations.” The Encyclopedia Americana
International Edition. XVII 111-113. Connecticut.
Horne, Charles
F. Records of the Great War, Vol. V, ed., National Alumni 1923. Wilson, Woodrow. Speech to
Congress. April 2 1917
http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/usawardeclaration.htm
Jennings,
Peter. The Century; ABC Special Report. 04-03-99.
Proquest. http://elibrary.bigchalk.com/libwev/elib/do/documnet
11/28/05
McCollum,
Sean. “The First United Nations.” New
York Times Upfront. 9-May-03
Scholastic
Inc. 2003.
http://find.galegroup.com/ips/infomark.do
28-Nov-05
Robinson,
Joseph Taylor. Record,
66 Cong., I Sess., pp. 8777-8778; 8768-8769,
8781-8784.
http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/doc41.htm
Scraff, Anne. Woodrow
Wilson. New Jersey: Enslow Publishers. 1998
Smith, Gene. When the Cheering Stopped. New York. William
Morrow and Company. 1964
The Columbia
Electronic Encyclopedia. 6th
Edition. Columbia UP
http://www.factmonster.com/ce6/history/A0859217.html
Woodrow
Wilson. Appeal for the Support of the League of
Nations. From: “The Public Papers of Woodrow Wilson.” Baker, R.
Dodd W., eds. Authorized Edition Vol. 1. New York. 1924. 30-44
http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel
/ww40.htm
Woodrow
Wilson, speech (22nd January,
1917)
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FWWwilsonW.htm
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