In his speech, Woodrow Wilson is arguing in favor of the creation of a League of Nations. This league would promote world peace by acting as the final say in whether or not two countries should go to war. The league would decide which country was in the wrong and that country would either have to back down or give advanced warning to the other country if they decided to go to war.
In his address to the citizens of Pueblo, Colorado, Wilson starts out by creating a sense of union in his audience; he states "[the people of the United States] come from many origins, but they are all shot through with the same principles, and desire the same righteous and honest things." He goes on to say he is "privilege[d]" to be in the United States at that time. Basically, he warms the audience up with compliments so they are more receptive of his plan.
Next, Wilson introduces the treaty of peace with Germany and the Covenant of the League of Nations, which is "at the front of this great treaty." He continues by explaining two of the articles in his Covenant of the League of Nations, Articles X and XI, and how they would work to ensure world peace. In Article X, the members of the league promise “to respect and preserve the territorial integrity and existing political independence of every other member of the league as against external aggression.” Article XI “makes it the right of any member of the League at any time to call attention to anything, anywhere, that is likely to disturb the peace of the world or the good understanding between nations upon which the peace of the world depends.” Wilson then gives an example of how an event in the past, Germany’s acquisition of Shantung in China, might have ended differently, and for the better, if these articles had been in effect during that event.
Wilson doesn’t just leave the interpretation of the articles up to his listeners, he makes sure they understand what the purpose of the articles, and the whole League of Nations, is. He uses examples that reflect well on his idea and make it seem like the only logical action in response to World War I.
Near the end of his speech, he talks about the lives of young men that were lost in World War I. He pleads with the people to make their sacrifice worth something; to prove that the mothers are right in their belief “that their sons saved the liberty of the world.” This mention of the lives lost would have resonated with the listeners because of how recent the war was. By telling his listeners that the mothers of the men lost did not blame him, and even “call[ed] down the blessings of God upon him”, he made the creation of the League of Nations seem even more like the right choice. If the women who should hate him most thanked him, then he must have a brilliant idea, right? He would have tried to raise this question in the minds of the American citizens, almost making it seem like his idea was the listeners’ idea. He wanted the creation of the league to seem like the commonsense thing to do.
Eventually, Wilson’s idea saw its creation. Many of the large, powerful nations realized the sense in having a League of Nations to help ensure world peace. Although, there was one country was conspicuously absent from among its members: the United States. Despite his impassioned speech, Wilson did not manage to convince his country to accept the league as he had planned it. However, his speech shows the beginnings of the idea still around today in the form of the United Nations: the existence of an association of countries that protects the rights of every country.
Personally, I found Wilson’s argument convincing. He managed to use both logic and emotion to present his idea, an idea which was planned with care. His proposal is unselfish but would still increase the international importance of the United States as a world power. This eloquent speech would have definitely convinced me of the importance of a League of Nations if I had been among the audience members.
By reading your summary I must admit I agree with every statement that you made. Wilson’s speech indeed sounded very convincing, and if I were there at that time I would also be convinced by the importance of the League of Nations. Wilson really was a peace maker and many people trusted him. After four years of the terrible war Europeans practically “worshiped Wilson” having faith in him and believing that he would, “create a safer and more decent world.” After he returned home in 1919, Wilson was frustrated but at the same time he was excited because “he gained what he most wanted- a League of Nations.” By making the League of Nations, Wilson hoped that the league would, “establish rules of international conduct and resolve conflicts between nations through rational and peaceful means.” I don’t agree with the group of Republicans who were afraid that if the U.S accepted the League of Nations then that would interfere with the nation’s ability to perform independently. I also don’t agree that it would threaten the nation’s freedom of choice in foreign relations. In my opinion the senator Henry Cabot Lodge was jealous of Wilson’s success; therefore, he refused to support him in the treaty and went against him. Woodrow Wilson shows us a great example of president who truly cared for his nation.
ReplyDeleteWilson's argument was very convincing, a lot of emotion was behind what he was saying and you can tell he felt strongly about what he was saying. Near the end when he mentioned he was the one who advised congress to send young American oversea to a place where many of them were sure to be killed. I think that’s the reason he felt so strongly about trying to create a world organization to try and make peace around the world. Wilson put everything on the line to try and get the League of Nations started including his own health. Wilson "against the objections of his doctors Wilson set out by train on the most ambitions speaking tour ever undertaken by a president". Wilson had to leave his tour midway through and return to Washington where he suffered a massive stroke and became partially paralyzed but still only cared about his treaty being passed through congress without reservations. ultimately the treaty was six votes short of being passed and the United States did not join the League of Nations which the book suggests "the United States failure to join certainly weakened the league from the start".
ReplyDeleteWilson's speech to the citizens of Pueblo, and basically to the nation was very convincing, and emotional. For some, his speech may have been a very endearing thing he did. I agree with what you said that he basically was pleading to the nation that it is a good idea to join the League of Nations. I think that in some sense Wilson is trying to justify going into the First World War when he was hesitant for years before joining. With the European nations basically "worshipping" Wilson about making essentially a "utopian world" with his ideals and beliefs, that he can make the world truly a better to live in. When Wilson was summarizing what the League's rules would be like, I agree about talking about not interfering with each country's "political independence" but did not agree that there should be a hearing in some sense about why both countries would go into war. In reality, it would not take six months for a country to go into war with each other, but again, the rules coincided with trying to make the world a more peaceful place. With The United States eventually not joining the Leauge of Nations, I believe that because of this was they the League was not successful.
ReplyDeleteWoodrow Wilson was a very convincing man. It is no surprise to me that his speech in defense of the League of Nations was as convincing as it was. With a proven track record, he was a well respected man by this point, so it was no doubt that when he went to give this speech that people would listen. It also meant that people would be listening very carefully to his words. so, he knew that he had to be clear and concise in his speech and find a way that would directly speak to the people of the United States. None the less, Wilson went up there and well, did his job and convinced America that the League of Nations was a just idea and that it was a crucial step in helping prevent future wars such as WWI. He was not only confident but he chose his words carefully, he was detailed in his examples and and he drew into the emotional appeal of the people with some of his examples.
ReplyDeleteAll of this to say, I agree with you Janelle. Very convincing, and very well thought out speech.