"The United States is the world's best hope, but if you fetter her in the interests and quarrels of other nations, if you tangle her in the intrigues of Europe, you will destroy her power for good, and endanger her very existence... We would have our country's sovereignty undiminished, her peace preserved, and her presence in the world always a force for justice and humanity."
— Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, speech to the United States Senate, 1919
Based on the passage, which of the following best explains the primary reason why many United States senators opposed ratification of the Treaty of Versailles?
- AThey argued that the League of Nations would prevent the United States from expanding its own territorial empire under the Monroe Doctrine.
- They feared that joining the League of Nations would compromise United States sovereignty and entangle the nation in foreign conflicts.Answer
- CThey advocated for absolute economic isolationism, believing the treaty should have completely prohibited all international trade.
- DThey argued that the treaty was invalid because it failed to address the sinking of the USS Maine, which they believed was the primary cause of U.S. involvement.
Answer
Opponents of the Treaty of Versailles feared that joining the League of Nations would compromise United States sovereignty and entangle the nation in foreign conflicts.
The correct answer is correct because Senator Henry Cabot Lodge and other opponents of the treaty argued that the collective security provisions of the League of Nations, particularly Article X, would drag the United States into foreign conflicts without the consent of Congress, thereby compromising national sovereignty.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
The Senate debate over the League of Nations and the Treaty of Versailles focused on concerns over national sovereignty and foreign entanglements.