Treaty Of Versailles Dbq Essay

Following the Great War, President Woodrow Wilson of the United States presented fourteen points of post-war action to the congress held at Versailles. The peace treaty that was conceived from said points, along with the European alterations made to it, were a stem of great controversy among the American public and government. To say that the Senate defeat of the treaty was due to the strength of opposing socio-political forces not the ineptitude and stubbornness of President Wilson, however, is a drastic oversimplification. While Wilson’s inability to please either side of the political spectrum is partially to blame, it was the cumulation of division, not necessarily united opposition, within the parties, populace, and global perspective …show more content…
As mentioned above, the American populace was heavily divided between isolationism and internationalism, ideologies which hinged loosely upon socio-economic standing and geographic location. However, there were other viewpoints that also shaped the future of international diplomacy. First off, there was a general fear of foreign entanglement on both sides of the political spectrum. Many believed that marrying the United States off to international powers would result in the moral embezzlement of constitutional rights, such as that to declare war (Doc E). British economist John Maynard Keynes saw the Treaty of Versailles as just a way to “save the scruples or the face of the President” and instead rather detrimental to European economies, especially that of Germany (Doc F). This belief, along with the fear of future war, wormed its way into the public’s mind and rallied opposition to the Treaty. Woodrow Wilson, however, uses the shared religious background of the majority of Americans as a call to arms. He cites the United States as “the light of the world as created to lead the world in the assertion or the rights of peoples and the rights of free nations” and the Treaty of Versailles, its vessel (Doc G). Everyone was asking what America’s place in the international playing field actually

Show More

Related Documents: Treaty Of Versailles Dbq Essay

United States and Essential Questions Essay