DBQ Wilson vs conservative and Liberals
1. It was the strength of the opposition forces, both liberal and conservative, rather than the ineptitude and stubbornness of President Wilson that led to the Senate defeat of the Treaty of Versailles.
Using the documents and your knowledge of the period 1917-1921, assess the validity of this statement.
The statement "It was the strength of the opposition forces, both liberal and conservative, rather than the ineptitude and stubbornness of President Wilson that led to the Senate defeat of the Treaty of Versailles." is only somewhat valid. While the strength of the opposition forces played a large part in the defeat of the Treaty of Versailles, but the fact that Wilson was the leader of one side of the opposition and he told his side not to compromise could serve as testament that his stubbornness was what cause the defeat for the treaty. It was Wilson's stubbornness that led to the formation of such strong opposition forces, which ultimately led to the defeat of the the treaty of Versailles. In order to understand the situation that led to the defeat of the treaty, it is necessary to identify what the sticking point was. In this case it was Article X of the Treaty which would commit US troops to involvement in foreign affairs if another member of the league was threatened. While President Wilson called this a war of keeping the world safe for democracy so he could justify having sent troops over to Europe in the Great War (Document C) many viewed it was a marriage of America to Foreign entanglements (Document E). However Document E shows a figure labeled "US Senate" bursting through the window trying to stop this marriage. The main issue in the senate was the commitment of US troops to foreign conflicts. This issue caused Henry Cabot Lodge to lead the Republicans in the house to demand that Wilson edit this provision of the treaty. In response to this demand Wilson urged Democrats in the Senate to accept no compromises and to only offer to ratify
Using the documents and your knowledge of the period 1917-1921, assess the validity of this statement.
The statement "It was the strength of the opposition forces, both liberal and conservative, rather than the ineptitude and stubbornness of President Wilson that led to the Senate defeat of the Treaty of Versailles." is only somewhat valid. While the strength of the opposition forces played a large part in the defeat of the Treaty of Versailles, but the fact that Wilson was the leader of one side of the opposition and he told his side not to compromise could serve as testament that his stubbornness was what cause the defeat for the treaty. It was Wilson's stubbornness that led to the formation of such strong opposition forces, which ultimately led to the defeat of the the treaty of Versailles. In order to understand the situation that led to the defeat of the treaty, it is necessary to identify what the sticking point was. In this case it was Article X of the Treaty which would commit US troops to involvement in foreign affairs if another member of the league was threatened. While President Wilson called this a war of keeping the world safe for democracy so he could justify having sent troops over to Europe in the Great War (Document C) many viewed it was a marriage of America to Foreign entanglements (Document E). However Document E shows a figure labeled "US Senate" bursting through the window trying to stop this marriage. The main issue in the senate was the commitment of US troops to foreign conflicts. This issue caused Henry Cabot Lodge to lead the Republicans in the house to demand that Wilson edit this provision of the treaty. In response to this demand Wilson urged Democrats in the Senate to accept no compromises and to only offer to ratify