Question

President Woodrow Wilson's actions during the debate in the U.S. Senate over the ratification of the Treaty of Versailles demonstrated his

• A. desire to compromise with Congress.
• B. all-or-nothing attitude in regard to acceptance of the League of Nations.
• C. dislike for the actions of the Allied nations.
• D. desire to implement an isolationist policy.
• E. unwillingness to accept loss of control over military actions.

Answer 1

The correct option is B all-or-nothing attitude in regard to acceptance of the League of Nations.

Woodrow Wilson was inflexible when it came to the debate over the Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations. Wilson himself proposed a League of Nations in his Fourteen Points. He was unwilling to compromise (A). Although Wilson had encountered difficulty with the Allies when negotiating the peace at Versailles (C), the debate over ratification was with Congress, not the Allies. Wilson wanted the United States to participate in the League of Nations, an international body, not to isolate itself from the world (D). The League of Nations covenant, which Wilson supported, pledged each member nation to preserve the independence and territorial integrity of all the other member nations. Many isolationist Senators opposed this pledge, outlined in Article X of the covenant, on the grounds that it would limit the freedom of the United States in world affairs and affect U.S. military actions (E).