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President Wilson, a Democrat, was engaged in a power struggle with a Republican controlled Senate. The conflict centered around a balance of power issue -- Wilson had negotiated the treaty without the customary presence of senators, and he neglected to discuss and negotiate the terms of the treaty with the Senate Foreign Relations committee before making it public. By cutting the senators out of the treaty making process, Wilson was attempting to do an end run around the Senate's authority over treaties and this angered many senators.
The Republicans also had major substantive and ideological issues with the proposed treaty. Some of these issues arose out the bitter, personal rivalry between the head of the Foreign Relations Committee, Henry Cabot Lodge and Wilson. These men had opposing views of international relations with Lodge being a realist and Wilson an idealist. Lodge and other Republican Senators believed the treaty should call for the unconditional surrender of Germany and it did not, they felt that many provisions as written were unenforceable, and they opposed the treaty provisions which authorized US participation in Wilson's pet project, the League of Nations. In particular, Lodge felt participation in the League would compromise US sovereignty by requiring the US to enter into international conflicts when it was not in the national interest of the US to do so. Lodge's committee sent the treaty to the floor of the Senate for a vote with 14 amendments, but recommended against its passage. On November 19, 1919, for the first time in US history, the Senate rejected a peace treaty.
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Who was the chief opponent to the treaty and the league of nations in congress?
Henry Cabot Lodge
What was among those who led the effort to reject the league of the nations in the US Senate?
henry cabot lodge
What was a goal of Henry Cabot Lodge's work as head of the U.S. Foreign Affairs Committee?
American products in foreign markets
How did Wilson try to get the Versailles Treaty passed through the Senate?
he went around the country premoting it but then he got a stroke. Senate didn't like it because they thought it would start another world war. The main person fighting against Wilson was Henry Cabot lodge. hope this helps!
Example of past presidential foreign policy?
At the beginning of the 20th century, the United States prided itself on neutrality. However, we were forced into World War I. The aftermath was the "Treaty of Versailles" in which President Woodrow Wilson played a major part in 1919. One point was to create "The League of Nations" (the forerunner o the United Nations). The Congress rejected the treaty entirely as they wanted to return to neutrality. Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, Henry Cabot Lodge, lead the fight to reject it as it would undermine U.S. sovereignty and force the nation into unwanted obligations. Article 10 of the League of Nations covenant was of special concern to Lodge for suggesting the United States would go to war in support of the territorial integrity of any member state of the League of Nations.
