Edited by Gerald Boerner
Commentary:
During the first vote on the ratification of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles that included the League of Nations, a coalition of Republicans lead by Sen. Henry Cabot Lodge and Democrats almost gathered the two-thirds vote to successfully ratify the treaty. This ratification would have been with the modification to Article X which related to the deployment of League of Nations peacekeeping forces without Senate confirmation. The failure to ratify left the end of World War I “hanging”.
President Wilson’s campaign for popular support for the League of Nations was cut short by a stroke. When Harding won the presidency in 1920, his isolationist stand bode poorly for another chance for ratification; the previous coalition was no longer intact. The Knox-Porter Resolution was passed the accept the terms of the armistice to formerly end our involvement in World War I. We had reentered our national cocoon!
The Treaty of Versailles was ratified by the other allies. And almost more important than the treaty was the creation of the League of Nations. Even though the latter was limited by the absence of the United States, the mandates included the protection of the French and British empires an the division of the German colonies between the two victors.
The hard lesson to learn from this experience still haunts us. We are a world power, but are somewhat capricious our exercise of that power. We have been involved in regional undeclared wars that drain our resources but don’t necessarily enhance our standing in the international community. Someday we will perhaps learn our lesson.
So, let’s start our exploration of the role of Sen. Henry Cabot Lodge in the ratification of the Treaty of Versailles… GLB
These Introductory Comments are copyrighted:
Copyright©2011 — Gerald Boerner — All Rights Reserved[ 3109 Words ]
Quotations Related to HENRY CABOT LODGE:
“I would rather see the United States respected than loved by other nations.”
— Henry Cabot Lodge
“Recognition of belligerency as an expression of sympathy is all very well.”
— Henry Cabot Lodge
“We should never suffer Cuba to pass from the hands of Spain to any other European power.”
— Henry Cabot Lodge