Lesson 7: Wilson and Isolationism

Question 1

Big Four Definition

Answer 1

the leaders of Britain, France, the United States, and Italy (David Lloyd George, Georges Clemenceau, Woodrow Wilson, and Vittorio Orlando) after World War I

Question 2

Fourteen Points Definition

Answer 2

President Wilson’s goals for peace after World War I

Question 3

Isolationist Definition

Answer 3

after World War I, any American who wanted the United States to stay out of world affairs

Question 4

League of Nations Definition

Answer 4

an association of nations formed after World War I under Wilson’s Fourteen Points plan

Question 5

Mandate Definition

Answer 5

an authorization granted to a member of the League of Nations to govern a former German or Turkish colony

Question 6

Reparation Definition

Answer 6

a cash payment made by a defeated nation to a victorious nation to pay for losses suffered during a war

Question 7

Self-Determination Definition

Answer 7

the right of national groups to have their own territory and forms of government

Question 8

Treaty of Versailles Definition

Answer 8

the treaty signed on June 28, 1919, by Germany and the Allies; formally placed the responsibility for World War I on Germany and its allies

Question 9

Remember: On board the American naval ship “George Washington” were President Woodrow Wilson and his advisers. They were sailing to France in late 1918 to help the Allies set the terms of peace following World War I. As the ship passed the Statue of Liberty, a hopeful Wilson waved his hat to the crowd. At last, he would have a chance to keep his promise of making the world “safe for democracy.”

Answer 9

On board the American naval ship George Washington were President Woodrow Wilson and his advisers. They were sailing to France in late 1918 to help the Allies set the terms of peace following World War I. As the ship passed the Statue of Liberty, a hopeful Wilson waved his hat to the crowd. At last, he would have a chance to keep his promise of making the world “safe for democracy.”

Question 10

President Woodrow Wilson was the first president to do what? Who disagreed with his ideas of establishing a lasting peace?

Answer 10

Woodrow Wilson was the first American President to meet international leaders on foreign soil. He was determined to do whatever was needed to achieve his vision of a just and lasting peace. In the end, however, Wilson failed. The other Allied leaders, it turned out, did not share his vision or his hopes. Even the American people were in disagreement about how to approach the postwar world.

Question 11

When Wilson arrived in Europe, he was under the perception that the cheering crowds shared his ideals of peace? What did they actually believe?

Answer 11

In Europe, Wilson visited Paris, London, Milan, and Rome. Everywhere, cheering crowds welcomed him. He thought that the crowds shared his goal of peace without victory. In fact, he was wrong. The Europeans who greeted Wilson so warmly scoffed at his high-minded proposals for peace. They and their leaders were determined to punish the Germans for the war.

Question 12

In January 1918, what was Wilson’s peace plan, known as the Fourteen Points? What were its points? What was the most important point to Wilson?

Answer 12

In January 1918, even before the war ended, Wilson outlined his peace plan. Known as the Fourteen Points, it was meant to prevent international problems from causing another war. The first point in Wilson’s plan called for an end to secret agreements. Secrecy, Wilson felt, had encouraged the web of rival alliances that had helped lead to war. Next, he called for freedom of the seas, free trade, and a limit on arms. He urged peaceful settlement of disputes over colonies. He also supported the principle of national self-determination, that is, the right of national groups to have their own territory and forms of government. For Wilson, however, the fourteenth point was the most important. It called for a “general association of nations,” or League of Nations. Its job would be to protect the independence of all countries—large or small. His goals were clear.

Question 13

What problems did President Wilson’s promotion of the Fourteen Points cause? What did Wilson discover about the interest of the other Allied Powers?

Answer 13

Wilson persuaded the Allies to accept the Fourteen Points as the basis for making peace. However, the plan soon ran into trouble. Some goals were too vague. Others conflicted with reality. In Paris, Wilson faced a constant battle to save his Fourteen Points. He discovered that the Allies were more concerned with protecting their own interests than with forging a lasting peace.

Question 14

How many peace treaties made up the Peace of Paris? Who were the Big Four?

Answer 14

Diplomats from more than 30 nations met in Paris and Versailles (vuhr SI) to negotiate five separate peace treaties known as the Peace of Paris. Key issues were decided by the leaders of the Allied nations known as the Big Four: Woodrow Wilson of the United States, David Lloyd George of Britain, Georges Clemenceau (kleh mahn SOH) of France, and Vittorio Orlando of Italy.

Question 15

How did Woodrow Wilson and the other members of the Big Four disagree? Why did the other members of the Big Four want Germany to pay reparations, add a “war guilt clause”, and prevent Germany from building up its military strength? What happened in the end?

Answer 15

Each leader had his own aims. Wilson had called for “peace without victory.” He opposed punishing the defeated powers. The other Allies, however, ached for revenge. Germany must pay, they said. They insisted on large reparations, or cash payments, for the losses they had suffered during the war. Further, they wanted to include a “war guilt clause” that would force Germany to accept responsibility for the war. The Allies were also determined to prevent Germany from rebuilding its military strength. In particular, Clemenceau wanted to weaken Germany so that it could never again threaten France. “Mr. Wilson bores me with his Fourteen Points,” he complained. “Why, God Almighty has only ten!” The haggling continued for months. In the end, Wilson had to compromise on his Fourteen Points in order to save his key goals, especially the League of Nations. However, he would not budge on the League. With the League in place, he believed, any mistakes made in Paris could later be corrected.

Question 16

Were any of the Allies satisfied with the Treaty of Versailles? Despite being shocked, why did Germany sign the treaty? What did Germany have to do under the treaty?

Answer 16

By June 1919, the Treaty of Versailles, the most important treaty of the Peace of Paris, was ready. None of the Allies was satisfied with it. Germany, which had not even been allowed to send delegates to the peace talks, was shocked by the terms of the treaty. Still its representatives had no choice but to sign. Under the treaty, Germany had to take full blame for the war. Germany also had to pay the Allies huge reparations, including the cost of pensions for Allied soldiers or their widows and children. The total cost of German reparations would come to over $300 billion. Other provisions of the Treaty of Versailles were aimed at weakening Germany. The treaty severely limited the size of the German military. It returned Alsace-Lorraine to France. In addition, the treaty stripped Germany of its overseas colonies, which were put under the control of Britain or France. The Germans, wrote one reporter, “suffered a horrible humiliation.”

Question 17

What mandates did the Treaty of Versailles give Britain and France in the Ottoman Empire?

Answer 17

Britain and France were also given mandates, or authorization, by the League of Nations to govern territory in what was the Ottoman Empire. The purpose of the mandates was to govern these territories until they could function as independent nations. The British would control the former Turkish provinces of Iraq and Palestine, while the French would control Syria and Lebanon.

Question 18

How did some of Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points make their way into the Treaty of Versailles? Why were some people dissatisfied with the new boundaries?

Answer 18

Despite opposition to many of his Fourteen Points, Wilson succeeded in keeping some of them. In Eastern Europe, the Allies provided for several new nations to be formed on the principle of self-determination, including Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia. They were created out of lands once ruled by Germany, Russia, and Austria-Hungary. In addition, Poland regained its independence as a nation. Some people were dissatisfied with the new boundaries. Many Germans, for example, had settled in Poland and Czechoslovakia. Before long, Germany would seek to regain control of German-speaking peoples in Eastern Europe.

Question 19

What was Wilson most proud of in the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 19

To Wilson, however, his greatest achievement was persuading the Allies to include the League of Nations in the treaty. Wilson was certain that the League would prevent future wars by allowing nations to talk over their problems. If talk failed, members would join together to fight aggressors. “A living thing is born,” he declared. The League “is definitely a guarantee of peace.”

Question 20

After Woodrow Wilson returned home from Europe, what battle did he have to fight with Congress?

Answer 20

When President Wilson returned home, he faced a new battle. He had to persuade the Senate to approve the Versailles Treaty and to approve American participation in the League of Nations.

Question 21

Although many Americans favored the Treaty of Versailles, what were the reasons why a minority of Americans opposed it?

Answer 21

Most Americans favored the treaty. A vocal minority opposed it, however. Some said that it was too soft on the defeated powers. Many German Americans felt that it was too harsh. Some Republicans hoped to embarrass President Wilson, a Democrat, by rewriting or defeating the treaty. Isolationists, people who wanted the United States to stay out of world affairs, opposed the League of Nations. They were convinced that the League would lead to an “entangling alliance.” Other people who were against the League felt that it did not have enough authority to solve any pressing economic problems. They thought that it could lead to another war.

Question 22

What changes did Henry Cabot Lodge want to make to the League of Nations?

Answer 22

Critics of the treaty found a leader in Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts. Lodge, a Republican, was chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Lodge accepted the idea of the League of Nations. However, he wanted changes in some provisions relating to the League. He believed that Americans were being asked to “subject our own will to the will of others.”Specifically, Lodge objected to Article 10 of the treaty. It called for the League to protect any member whose independence or territory was threatened. Lodge argued that Article 10 could involve the United States in future European wars. He wanted changes in the treaty that would ensure that the United States remained independent of the League. He also wanted Congress to have the power to decide on a case-by-case basis whether the United States would follow League policy.

Question 23

How did Woodrow Wilson responded to Henry Cabot Lodge’s wanted changes?

Answer 23

Wilson believed that Lodge’s changes would weaken the League. Advisers urged the President to compromise, to give up some of his demands in order to save the League. Wilson replied, “Let Lodge compromise.” He refused to make any changes.

Question 24

How did President Woodrow Wilson attempt to gain public support for the treaty?

Answer 24

As the battle grew hotter, the President took his case to the people. In early September 1919, Wilson set out across the country. He traveled nearly 8,000 miles and made 37 speeches in 29 cities. He urged Americans to let their senators know that they supported the treaty.

Question 25

How did President Woodrow Wilson’s health deteriorate?

Answer 25

Wilson kept up a relentless pace. On September 25, the exhausted President complained of a headache. His doctors canceled the rest of the trip. Wilson returned to Washington. A week later, his wife found him unconscious. He had suffered a stroke that left him bedridden for weeks.

Question 26

How did President Woodrow Wilson respond to the Senate rejecting the treaty in November 1919? When did America and Germany finally establish a peace treaty?

Answer 26

In November 1919, the Senate rejected the Versailles Treaty. “It is dead,” Wilson mourned, “[and] every morning I put flowers on its grave.” Gone, too, was Wilson’s cherished goal—American membership in the League of Nations. The United States did not sign a peace treaty with Germany until 1921. Many nations had already joined the League of Nations. Without the United States, though, the League failed to live up to its goal of protecting members against aggression. Wilson’s dream of a world “safe for democracy” would have to wait.