Document A – Henry Cabot Lodge, 1919

1. (Close Reading) What are four reasons that Lodge gives for opposing the Treaty of
Versailles?
One reason he opposed is that the Treaty abandons the Washington policy, Farewell
Address, and abandons the policy of the Monroe Doctrine. A second reason is that
Washington’s policy and the Monroe Doctrine were previously declared against
permanent alliances, but now Lodge says that they are entering a permanent and
indissoluble alliance which would cause a major change in American foreign policy. A
third reason is that the US will be forced to support the decisions of the League with
force, but it would require a large standing military and could cost many lives of
Americans. The fourth reason is that the Treaty will give foreign powers which means to
give other nations including immigration to whoever comes to the US.
2. (Sourcing) To what extent is Lodge’s speech reliable evidence of the reasons why
Senators opposed the Treaty of Versailles in 1919?
Although it could be argued to it being reliable since the Senators opposed the Treaty of
Versailles because they did not want any foreign interference and a public statement by
the majority party in the Senate on a significant issue does provide evidence of their
party’s positions on the issues which could reflect opinion among their colleagues but, it
is also limited to an extent because it is a perspective of only one senator and how the
senator could not be truly honest in a public speech due to their true motivations of being
unpopular with voters.
Document B – Henry Cabot Lodge, 1915
1. (Close Reading) What is Lodge’s argument in Document B?
Lodge argued that the nations should unite for peace and protection or want the US into
being in an international organization.
2. (Contextualization) Why might Lodge’s argument be different in (Document A) than it
was in 1915 (Document B)?
His argument could have been different because he changed his position about the issue
and changed his Political Party after WW1. One reason is that he saw that issue
differently over the past four years. Another reason is that he still supported the league of
nations, but objected to his particular vision for it. Another reason is that he could have
changed his position for political purposes. Lastly, another reason is that many powerful
Republicans supported a league and that the Democrats could have not been unified
behind the idea but, in 1919, Pres. Wilson had embraced the idea and the Democrats
finally supported him.

Document C – John Milton Cooper

1. (Close Reading) What does the data in the table suggest about who supported the Treaty
of Versailles?

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 It suggests how the Senators from each party voted on issues that Wilson did support, but
the vides didn’t strictly follow the party lines. And some who supported the Treaty of
Versailles were Republicans, so they voted on issues that Wilson did support.
2. (Contextualization, Corroboration) What might Document C and Document D both
suggest about why some Senators opposed the Treaty of Versailles?
Document C and D suggest that the Democrats supported the treaty, while the
Republicans opposed it due to the fact party considerations could have been important in
the debate over the treaty which could have supported the idea that Lodge may have
changed his position for political purposes.

Document D – Senator Norris

1. (Close Reading) What reasons does Senator Norris give for opposing the Treaty of
Versailles?
Norris’s reasons were that the league of nations would interfere with the business of the
US and his concern for the American military being forced to support the British empire.
2. (Corroboration) To what extent does Senator Norris’s speech corroborate Lodge’s speech
in Document A?
That they are both similar in reasons to why they opposed the treaty especially of both
senators being in the Republican party and their concerns that Lodge had raised about
American forces being placed at the request of the League of Nations.

Document E – Senator Johnson

1. (Close Reading) What reasons does Senator Johnson give for opposing the Treaty of
Versailles?
Johnson opposed the treaty because he does not want any foreign countries interfering
with American affairs, his concerns about the League of Nations coming and barging in
to tell what the Americans should do, and he doesn’t want to submit any race issues that
they might have to the power to decide the Council of the League of Nations, nor to the
League itself.
2. (Contextualization, Close Reading) What race issues was Senator Johnson likely to in
California and in the South? Given who supported the Treaty (see Doc C), why might he
have made this argument?
The race issue that Johnson was referring to was immigration. He might have made this
argument because all the senators who supported the Treaty were Democrats which could
result in a change of immigration rules and decisions on who gets to work there which
could have caused a huge debate among the people of the South.
3. (Corroboration) To what extent does Senator Johnson’s speech corroborate Lodge’s
speech in Document A?

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 Johnson’s speech corroborates Lodge’s speech in Document A by how they were both
arguing about foreign interference and both had statements about a loss of national
autonomy in policy or loss of independence and lawmaking.

League of Nations Essay:

Why did Senators oppose joining the League of Nations in 1919?
The Senators oppose joining the League of Nations in 1919 because each of the senators
had the same complaint with being concerned about foreign interference, their party position, but
it would require a large standing military and could cost many lives of Americans, and worried
about a loss of national autonomy in policy or loss of independence, lawmaking, and
self-governing. One evidence of foreign interference is when Senator Hiram Johnson made a
public speech in California on June 2, 1919. Johnson was irreconcilable and he opposed the US
involvement in international conflicts and organizations, which he said, “As a Californian, I am
not willing to submit any race problems we may have to the jurisdiction of the Council of the
League of Nations, nor to the League itself… You, gentlemen from the South, would resent the
suggestion that a race problem of yours should be decided by nations bound to the race affected
by secret treaties” (Johnson). This supports my claim because of how all the senators who
supported the Treaty were Democrats which could result in a change of immigration rules and
decisions on who gets to work there which could have caused a huge debate among the people of
the South, which these Senators were Republican and did not support Wilson’s ideas on the
issues. Another evidence about their party position is that in 2001, the historian, John Milton
Cooper, made a table with the percentage of votes cast in the Senate that supported President
Wilson’s policies on the Treaty of Versailles and the percentage of senators in each region who
were Republican (Cooper). This proves my point because the Democrats supported the treaty,
while the Republicans opposed it due to the fact party considerations could have been important
in the debate over the treaty which could have supported the idea that Lodge may have changed
his position for political purposes which could result in a change of immigration rules and
decisions on who gets to work there. Lastly, another piece of evidence that provides for the loss
of national autonomy in policy is when Henry Cabot Lodge delivered an address on February 28,
1919, and he was known as a reservationist and was the leader of the Republicans in the Senate
during the time, which he said, “That includes immigration, a very live question, to take a single
example. Are we ready to give to the other nations the power to say who shall come into the
United States?. . If we accept this plan for a league, this is precisely what we promise to do”
(Lodge). This piece of evidence proves my claim because of how the immigrants mostly came
from the South who was once called laborers, and they were always discriminated against and
attacked from only their race. He thought if the immigrants were let in and had independence or
self-governing or were given power like the other nations, the US would lose their independence
or self-government.

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