Wilson, the U.S Senate and the Treaty of Versailles

|6 pages |10-06-2009 | | Not evaluated |
Price : €5.40

Presentation

Was America's traditional reluctance to get involved in European affairs the main reason why the Senate rejected the treaty of Versailles? Certainly not. In fact, many political factors account for Wilson's failure to obtain ratification of the treaty in the aftermath of World War I. Why did the U.S. Senate twice – in late 1919 and early 1920 – reject the treaty of Versailles?
This essay considers both factors that were internal and external to U.S. politics and history as well as the Paris Peace Conference negotiations, the global international context, the treaty's inherent weaknesses and Wilson's personal views.

Extract

Several factors that are external to the United States’ politics and history can account for the Senate’s refusal to ratify the treaty of Versailles. At the end of World War I, when a truce was declared on November 11, 1918, the common goal between all victorious nations was to build a solid peace. But the means to achieve this peace differed considerably according to the political actors involved and each of the victors had their own views on what should happen next. The statesmen of France, Great-Britain, the United States and Italy (i.e. Clemenceau, Lloyd George, Wilson and Orlando), the “Big Four” met in Paris to draw up a peace treaty.

Wilson, the U.S Senate and the Treaty of Versailles Wilson, the U.S Senate and the Treaty of Versailles
Price : €5.40

Table of Contents

Introduction

1. The factors that were external to U.S. politics and history

A. The tensions between the victors at the Paris Peace Conference
B. The global international context and the weaknesses of the treaty itself

2. The factors that were internal to the United States

A. Former traditional foreign policy principles: Exceptionalism and Unilateralism
B. U.S. political life and Wilson's personal views

Conclusion