League of Nations
America's rejection of the League of Nations was a diplomatic blunder. The selfish decision was made primarily because of political jealousy and future party interests/ambitions, rather than in the best interests of the country and the world. The rejection was a poor decision for many reasons. First of all, both the pro-leaguers and the anti-leaguers wanted many of the same things, but because of political differences, neither side was able to realize this fact. Also, many of the proposed reforms for the league were unnecessary, and therefore, the huge fuss and eventual rejection was, too, unnecessary. By the end of war, the US "had emerged as the moral arbiter of the world and the hope of all peoples for a better tomorrow," (Oates 143) and what would the League to end all wars be without its arbiter and hope? The US was primarily responsible for the creation of the League, so it only made sense for them to be a part of it. Finally, the rejection of the League of Nations directly contradicted the principle reason for entering into the war - world peace. Had both the Democrats and Republicans not been so stubborn, the US may have become part of the original League of Nations, and may not have made the mistake of rejection.
The major world power, America, played a large part in both the end of the war and the creation of the League of Nations. The League of Nations' main purpose was to secure world peace, and there is no way this could be accomplished without the US, a country that had "emerged from the First World War an even greater world power and had become the world's leading economic power." (Norton, 446) The US was gaining an impressive reputation throughout the world, and by rejecting the League of Nations; they threw away a chance for this reputation to increase further, bringing about betterment of American society. Also, it was "at Wilson's insistence" (timeline 5) that a League of Nations be discussed and created. The diplomatic blunder can be seen here as well, as America's people in power fought long and hard for the adaptation of the league to the treaty of Versailles, and promptly walked away from it once it had passed. This act gave off the impression that America was selfish, foolish, and volatile; three things that don't quite help beef up foreign public opinion. The contradiction America made also helped to bring down foreign opinion, and respect. America made it abundantly clear that its main reason for entering into WW1 was to secure world peace and keep the earth safe for democracy. The theme of Wilson's wartime speech dictates this previous statement, directly stating that they shall fight "by such a concert of free peoples as shall bring peace an
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Approximate Word count = 986
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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