Question

Why did the United States decide not to participate in the League of Nations established by the Treaty of Versailles at the end of World War I?

Answer 1

The League of Nations was established by the Treaty of Versailles, which was signed at the end of the First World War. To become binding on the United States, it had to be approved the United States Senate.

Many Senators were concerned that joining the League of Nations would compromise the sovereignty of the United States. For example, Article X of the League Covenant obligated member nations to defend the territorial integrity of league members. So, if one league member attacked another, in some dispute that had nothing to do with the Untied States or its interests, could the League Council order the United States to participate in the conflict, even if Congress did not approve?

To protect the United States from getting involved in useless wars like that, many Senators (led by Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts) proposed "reservations," or amendments, to the treaty, that would make clear that the United States was not obligated to get involved in any war unless the war was approved by the Congress of the United States. Other reservations were proposed that would preserve the sovereignty of the United States.

Unfortunately, Woodrow Wilson was a colossal egotist, who thought that he was in possession of divine wisdom, and he would not compromise with his opponents. He embarked on a public tour of the United States, taking the matter "to the people," in an effort to have the people persuade their Senators to approve the treaty. It did not work. In addition, near Pueblo, Colorado, Wilson suffered a massive stroke, had to be returned to Washington, and was an invalid for the rest of his presidency.

Under the Constitution, the treaty had to be approved by a two-thirds vote. There were three voting groups: (1) those who favored the treaty without change, (2) those who favored the treaty with the Lodge reservations, and (3) those who opposed the treaty under any circumstances (the so-called "irreconcilables").

The Senators who favored the treaty without change joined those who opposed the treaty under any circumstances to defeat the Lodge reservations.

The Senators who favored the reservations then joined with the irreconcilables to defeat the unamended treaty.

Thus, the treaty was not approved, and the United States did not join the League of Nations. In 1921, after Wilson left office, and when Warren Harding was President, the United States and Germany signed a separate treaty, formally ending the state of war. Under that treaty, the United States obtained all the rights and benefits it would have had under the Treaty of Versailles, but none of the obligations (such as having to join or be subject to the League of Nations).

I think the United States made the right decision. In my view, it had no business getting involved in the First World War (it was a European conflict that did not impact any substantial, significant, or legitimate interest of the United States), and we had no business or reason getting involved in the war councils of Europe.

I also think that joining the United Nations was a mistake, but that is a different discussion.