It was Wilson's hope that the final treaty, drafted by the
victors, would be even-handed, but the passion and material
sacrifice of more than four years of war caused the European
Allies to make severe demands. Persuaded that his greatest hope
for peace, a League of Nations, would never be realized unless
he made concessions, Wilson compromised somewhat on the issues
of self-determination, open diplomacy, and other specifics. He
successfully resisted French demands for the entire Rhineland,
and somewhat moderated that country's insistence upon charging
Germany the whole cost of the war. The final agreement (the
Treaty of Versailles), however, provided for French occupation
of the coal and iron rich Saar Basin, and a very heavy burden of
reparations upon Germany.
In the end, there was little left of Wilson's proposals for a
generous and lasting peace but the League of Nations itself,
which he had made an integral part of the treaty. Displaying
poor judgment, however, the president had failed to involve
leading Republicans in the treaty negotiations. Returning with a
partisan document, he then refused to make concessions necessary
to satisfy Republican concerns about protecting American
sovereignty.
With the treaty stalled in a Senate committee, Wilson began a
national tour to appeal for support. On September 25, 1919,
physically ravaged by the rigors of peacemaking and the
pressures of the wartime presidency, he suffered a crippling
stroke. Critically ill for weeks, he never fully recovered. In
two separate votes – November 1919 and March 1920 – the Senate
once again rejected the Versailles Treaty and with it the League
of Nations.
The League of Nations would never be capable of maintaining
world order. Wilson's defeat showed that the American people
were not yet ready to play a commanding role in world affairs.
His utopian vision had briefly inspired the nation, but its
collision with reality quickly led to widespread disillusion
with world affairs. America reverted to its instinctive
isolationism.
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