The League of Nations and the Treaty of Versailles--

Q: The U.S. failed to join the League of Nations. Why?

A: The United States was extremely late in joining World War I. They only ended up participating in about six months of fighting. The U.S. troops were more for morale boosts and manpower than anything else, and Germany was left feeling somewhat overwhelmed. When the war finally came to an end, people all over the world praised Woodrow Wilson as their savior. Now that the war was over, it was time for Wilson to work more of his "magic" on the Treaty of Versailles. Yet the Treaty left everyone feeling greedy and hungry for more, and would eventually give way to the horrors of a new, devastating war.

Wilson did not make sense of his smartest political moves in getting what he wanted on the Treaty of Versailles. He essentially ignored the Senate and the House in making his decisions. He also only took Democrats with him to Paris to work out the Treaty of Versailles. These actions did not sit well with Republicans. Wilson's chief goal for the treaty was for there to be a League of Nations. To him, creating such an alliance would help in preventing future wars by allowing nations to sit down and talk things out. The League of Nations did end up being created, but the United States never joined, and was technically still at war with Germany. This failure upset Wilson tremendously. Indeed, the Treaty of Versailles was not as good as people had thought it would be. Though Rhineland was made into a demilitarized zone, France was given back Alsace-Lorraigne, and Belgium was restored anew, there were several parts of the treaty that ominously foreshadowed coming horror attractions.

For one, Germany was to be unarmed, with just enough left for self-defense. Hitler would later re-arm Germany, breaking the Versailles treaty. In addition, the Saar coal mines in Germany were taken over, and 15 years later, the Germans could vote whether they wanted to stay under someone else's rule or not. Of course, Germany would vote for the latter and would remain angry about having been under someone's rule or not. One major part of the treaty was that Germany had to pay $33 billion in reparations. Germany was poor! There was simply no way such a payment could be made. Germany would later reach staggering heights of inflation. Lastly, and perhaps most unluckily for Europe, the League of Nations was created. Since the United States did not join, the League was merely a disjointed grouping of weak nations, easily taken over by Hitler little over a decade later.

So why didn't the United States join the League of Nations? There are several reasons. Most importantly, Wilson was one of the most obstinate people known to man. Under no circumstances was he willing to compromise. If he could not have the League of Nations done his way, he did not want it at all. Another reason is that the United States still wanted to somewhat adhere to tradition and remain in isolation and neutrality. To these people, the League of Nations was a dangerous prospect that the U.S. need not involve themselves in. Other critics simply did not like the fact that the United States would be the major power and would most likely end up mediating every single conflict that came into play. Some people were okay with the treaty, but wanted to clarify its provisions. One such person was Henry Cabot Lodge, reservationist and sworn enemy of the President. Like many others, he did not want the U.S. to end up using military force once they got dragged into wars as a result of being a member of the League of Nations. He also did not like the fact that the League of Nations took power away from Congress in declaring war. Many other Republicans shared this view.

Above all else, Wilson's inflexibility prevented the United States from ever joining the League of Nations. His unwillingness to compromise would prove fatal for the rest of the world. Who can say what the world would be like if the United States had joined the League of Nations? We can only observe the horrific effects of this terrible political mistake and vow to ourselves that something as tragic as the Holocaust never happens again.

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