Why did the United States fail to sign the Treaty of Versailles Research Paper

Why did the United States fail to sign the Treaty of Versailles - Research Paper Example In fact, he worked a lot for that to happen but the end result did not turn out as he had wished. The United States did not sign the treaty because Wilson did not have the vote of all the Senate members. Wilson required constitutionally mandated two-thirds vote for ratification which he did not get. Henry Cabot Lodge and Alfred Beveridge were highly against the treaty. Lodge was a Republican and the Senate majority leader and Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, thus holding a lot of power and responsibility. The failure of the United States to ratify the Treaty of Versailles and, eventually, join the League of Nations is a story of conflict. However, no matter where the focus is on – personalities, political parties and branches of government, or ideas and institutions, Wilson certainly did lie at the crux. It was his overweening confidence in the view that he held of the world that he dealt with which formed the basis of the defeat of the very tool that he had devise d in order to secure the world of future wars. Clemenceau once said bitterly: â€Å"Talk with Wilson! How can I talk to a fellow who thinks himself the first man in two thousand years to know anything about peace on earth?† and â€Å"I get on with you. You are practical.... Wilson was a visionary reared with a strong moral background. While others wanted to punish Germany, Wilson wished to get rid of the old system and come up with a new world order which would not treat Germany like a defeated enemy; instead he wanted to her to be like others, a partner of the new system he had envisioned. On the other hand, Clemenceau did not wish to end the old system but rather to make it stronger to build peace, and this meant that the conquerors would divide the spoils to come up with a reimbursement as satisfactory as possible to their respective nation’s requirements. History has paid substantial attention on the personal enmity that existed between Wilson and Lodge, and, from the consequences that we have seen it is clear that there was, in fact, a lot of political animosity between them4. It should also be considered, however, that they had opposite views regarding the issues of the day and thus their political behavior showed varied opinions. From the way Lodge was repudiating the President it seemed that it was his behavior rather than genuine ideological opposition. Instead of coming up with actual and meaningful debate that would list the reasons why the treaty should not be signed, Lodge kept delaying action by reading – word-for-word – the language of the Treaty5 6. Therefore, what it resulted in was just endless criticism that took about six weeks of public hearing. For the Senate Foreign Relation Committee he chose those senators whom he thought would go against the treaty. After the committee had reported the Treaty to the full Senate they did so after burdening it with corrections which Lodge had said were necessary to adopt and