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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’s defeat of the Treaty of Versailles. This statement is only partially true. Although the opposition forces against the treaty were very strong, if President Wilson had not been so stubborn about the League of Nations, the treaty would have been much more likely to succeed. One of the main reasons that the Treaty of Versailles was not passed was because President Wilson’s Senate was mainly republican and they did not share his democratic view of foreign affairs.
Wilson’s strong belief that the League of Nations was a necessity went against the former Monroe Doctrine, and this made it very difficult for the Treaty of Versailles to pass. This would lead one to believe that it was a combination of both Wilson’s stubbornness and the strength of the opposing forces. As document A states, many people felt the league to be unnecessary because it dealt with issues outside of the United States, issues that the people of America did not care about.
The opposing forces wanted to know what the league would really do for the people of America. If the league had been removed from the Treaty of Versailles it may have been passed, but Wilson’s views were much too strong. Wilson’s stubbornness is proven in Document C where he states his strong beliefs that the League of Nations is necessary. He believes World War I was fought against all other wars, and the only way to prevent upcoming wars was to have the League of Nations.
Wilson comes to believe that if the treaty is not passed, the war will have been fought for nothing. It was this stubbornness that played a major role in the treaty not being passed. Both the strength of the opposing forces and stubbornness of Wilson played a role in the Treaty of Versailles not being passed. If Wilson had not been so stubborn about the treaty including the League of Nations, the opposing forces would not have been so against it, and ultimately, the Senate would have been more likely to pass the Treaty of Versailles. www. historylearningsite. co. uk