The first United Nations: "a tragedy of disappointment": after World War I, President Wilson helped create the League of Nations to avoid future wars. Then the U.S. all but doomed it. (times past).

The USS George Washington neared the French coast by mid-December 1918. World War I was over--at least the shooting part. Now U.S. President Woodrow Wilson was sailing to the peace conference with dreams of how to avoid future worldwide conflicts.

At the heart of his hopes was the idea for a new international organization, which would become the League of Nations. Wilson and others pictured a diplomatic body that could defuse wars before they erupted. But Wilson's idealism would have to overcome his allies' intense desires to make Germany pay clearly for its aggression--and the wish of many Americans to withdraw from foreign obligations after the country's wartime sacrifices.

While walking the ship's deck, Wilson shared his doubts with a confidant. "What I seem to see--with all my heart I hope that I am wrong--is a tragedy of disappointment."

MISSED OPPORTUNITIES

Wilson's fight for the League of Nations indeed turned out to be a tragedy of missed opportunities. In the eyes of many, this forerunner of the United Nations was a hold attempt to slow humanity's slide toward evermore-destructive wars.

But to many Americans, U.S. participation in the League raised other concerns. They feared that such an organization could dictate U.S. foreign policy and military action. This struggle between internationalism and isolationism pervades U.S. history.

For World War I's first three years, President Wilson had promoted American neutrality. But on April 6, 1917, growing U.S. support for the Allied fight against Germany--plus Germany's submarine attacks on U.S. shipping--brought a U.S. declaration of war. Nearly a million American troops sailed for Europe's shell-pocked battlefields. They would play a vital role in the war's final year.

In January 1918, with the war still raging, Wilson presented a peace plan to the U.S. Senate. The plan's now famous Fourteen Points included suggestions for settling territorial disputes. The last one was Wilson's fondest wish:

A general association of nations must be formed ... for the purpose of affording mutual guarantees of political independence and territorial integrity to great and small states alike.

It was the seed for the League of Nations. The idea for such a body had floated around for decades. But the deaths of some 9 million soldiers and countless civilians in the war gave the concept new urgency. The Wilson administration printed 60 million copies of the Fourteen Points plan and distributed them around the world. At 11 a.m. on November 11, 1918, the guns fell silent in Europe. Beaten and retreating, Germany had agreed to peace negotiations. Wilson's plan became the starting point for discussions.

SEEDS OF REVENGE

But the war had spread seeds of nationalism and revenge. These raw feelings were exposed as the "Big Four" victors--Great Britain, France, Italy, and the United States--met to shape the postwar world.

Aside from Wilson, Allied leaders wanted defeated Germany to pay a huge price for the conflict. French Premier Georges Clemenceau pushed for bankrupting Germany, greatly reducing its territory, and crippling it militarily. British Prime Minster David Lloyd George was in no mood to be generous either. "They must pay to the uttermost farthing, and we shall search their pockets for it," he said.

At first, Wilson viewed such vindictiveness as shortsighted. Heavy reparations--payments for the Allies' wartime losses--would only fuel Germany's own resentments, he argued. But as negotiations dragged on, Wilson's position shifted toward that of his allies.

He was willing to compromise on most points--except the League of Nations. He himself had headed the committee that drafted the League's "Covenant," or bylaws. He believed that once the League was operating it could referee any injustices that might have crept into the peace treaty. But politics back home would thwart him.

Wilson sailed back to the U.S. in February 1919. He expected Congress and the public to hail his work and swallow it whole. But the Senate had to approve the Treaty of Versailles--including the Covenant for the League of Nations--by a two-thirds vote. Wilson miscalculated his support.

Despite Republican loyalty during the war, Wilson, a Democrat, had encouraged voters to elect only Democrats to Congress in the 1918 elections; Republicans won majorities in both the House and Senate. Henry Cabot Lodge, who despised Wilson politically and personally, led Republican efforts to derail Wilson's League. He added amendments to correct problems as he saw them. Lodge's revision of Wilson's plan infuriated the prideful President.

At the heart of the disapproval by Lodge and other critics was Article 10 of the League Covenant. Article 10 outlined how League members would supply troops in the event of an international crisis. But did that mean the League could drag the U.S. into war? That was Lodge's major concern.

Wilson argued that this was not the case. The U.S. would still control its own military. But Lodge had planted doubts in the minds of the public.

SEEKING SUPPORT

Nearing a vote on the League, Wilson took his case to the American people. Although he was weary and unwell, Wilson planned a September whistle-stop campaign across the U.S. The President delivered speech after speech in cities and small towns. He asked audiences to pressure their representatives to support the League.

As the train sped west, public support for the League seemed to swell. But the intensity and the long hours were taking their toll. Headaches and other health problems had been plaguing Wilson for months. After a speech in Colorado, he collapsed from exhaustion. He was forced to return to Washington. Soon after, he suffered a stroke that left him partly paralyzed.

The Senate brought the League up for a vote that November, and again the following March. Both votes pitted the competing versions: Wilson's, as he had negotiated it in Europe; and Lodge's, loaded with amendments.

To most observers, it was clear that Wilson's version could not win the necessary two-thirds vote. Nor could Lodge's--unless Wilson gave permission for his Democrats to jump ship.

"No compromise" the stricken President whispered from his sick bed. If he could not have the League he had envisioned, Wilson preferred to have no League at all. U.S. membership died on the Senate floor.

Nevertheless, the League of Nations did open its doors in 1920, meeting first in London, then at its permanent headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. Forty-two countries joined initially, including Britain, France, Italy, China, and Japan. But the lack of U.S. involvement crippled it. The body had some successes in ending armed conflicts among small countries. But with members sharply disagreeing about its role, it was unable to deal with the crises of the next two decades, especially the rise of Nazi Germany in the 1930s.

Wilson, who died in 1924, proved himself a prophet. During his cross-country campaign for the League he had predicted:

If this guarantee [of a League of Nations] is not lived up to, I want to say that in another generation or two we must have another and far more disastrous war.

On September 1, 1939, Nazi armies invaded Poland, beginning the Second World War. The League ceased to function and eventually disbanded. The war ended in 1945, and that same year the League's successor, the United Nations, was born. This time, the U.S. was on board.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

* Why do you think President Wilson so misjudged congressional opposition to joining the League of Nations?

* Should Americans have feared that the League could drag the U.S. into war?

* How would you rate the political cartoons of the era? How might today's cartoons address the League dispute?

TEACHING OF OBJECTIVES

To help students understand the role of President Wilson in forming the League of Nations and the reasons why the League failed to carry out its mission.

CLASSROOM STRATEGIES

CRITICAL THINGKING/DISCUSSION: Address some of the key issues in the article:

* REPARATIONS: Ask: Who was correct on the reparations issue, those who wanted Germany to pay for the destruction it had caused or Wilson, who feared reparations would fuel German resentment? After students discuss the question, tell them that Adolf Hitler used the reparations issue to stir resentment and to boost support for the fledgling Nazi Party in the early 1930s.

* SENATE APPROVAL: Tell students that leaders of many countries have the authority to approve treaties with other countries. Ask whether they believe requiring the Senate to approve treaties cripples the authority of an elected President or is part of the system of checks and balances. In the League case, did the system work or did it fail?

* WILSON'S SPEAKING TOUR: Tell students to imagine that President Wilson is speaking in their community. Half the class opposes the League, half favors the League. Each side must write succinct messages of support or opposition suitable for inscription on a placard. Messages should address a moral or security concern that explains their support for or opposition to joining the League.

RESEARCH: Students can do encyclopedia or online research on the League's ineffectual response to Italy's 1935-36 invasion and occupation of Ethiopia. Or simply inform students that in 1936 Emperor Haile Salassie made a failed plea to the League to help defend his nation. "God and history will remember your judgment," he said. Salassie predicted that the League's failure to act against Italy would hasten the spread of war. He said this three years before the start of World War II.

WEB WATCH: For a chronology of Wilson's speaking tour, including photos, political cartoons, and a map, go to http://history.acusd.edu/gen/WW2Timeline/1919League2.html.