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29. The correct answer is (B). On January 8, 1918, President Wilson announced his plan for a “peace
without victory” that would avoid the humiliations and bitterness of peace forced upon the losing
party. The fourteenth reservation provided:
“A general association of nations must be formed under specific covenants for the purpose of afford-
ing mutual guarantees of political independence and territorial integrity to great and small states alike.”
The treaty that was finally negotiated in many respects did not reflect Wilson’s concept of “peace
without victory,” but it did provide for a League of Nations. And this was of prime importance for
Wilson, for he believed that the League could eventually correct any imbalances in the rest of the treaty.
The treaty, however, was never ratified by the Senate, and the person generally credited with its
defeat is Senator Henry Cabot Lodge. At one point, Lodge himself had favored some sort of world
organization, but he was absolutely opposed to Wilson’s League of Nations. His opposition was
based on his personal distaste for Wilson, his desire to embarrass the Democrats, his insistence that
any peace treaty should severely weaken Germany, and his fear that the proposed League would
result in United States military involvement around the world.

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Lesson 6
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ARCO
■ SAT II Subject Tests
As head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Lodge was in an excellent position to defeat
the League. The committee held lengthy hearings on the treaty; and when it finally emerged from
committee, it included fourteen reservations or amendments. Wilson refused to compromise and
ordered Democratic senators to vote against it. On the third and final vote, 49 senators voted for the
treaty and 35 voted against it. The treaty failed ratification because it lacked the two-thirds majority
required by the Constitution.
Ironically, only 14 senators were absolutely opposed to the League. Of the 35 who voted against
the amended treaty, 23 were Wilson Democrats. They could have given the president the votes needed
to ratify the treaty.