Covenant of the League of Nations

Audience

In general, there was one huge audience for the Covenant, and that was the entire world, which had just gone through four years of war. There were other, specialized groups for which it was intended, however. Among them were the defeated nations that had allied themselves with Germany. While there is a conciliatory tone in the Covenant, its provisions that focus on the importance of international law and honoring obligations were a reminder that those nations had disregarded international law when they began the conflict in 1914. It was a signal that actions of that sort would not be tolerated by the League. The retribution contained in the Treaty of Versailles drove home the point. Another audience was the minor and especially the newer nations of Europe that had come into being as a result of the collapse of the Russian, German, and Austro-Hungarian empires. Their rights in their conflicts against one another and potential threats from larger nations were to be guaranteed by the League as described in the Covenant.

Yet another audience, one that was not receptive, was the U.S. Senate and the people of the United States. Wilson sought to convince them of the value of the League. That value was to be made clear by the antiwar provisions of the League's activities. At the same time, the Covenant guaranteed the validity of the Monroe Doctrine, which Americans felt to be essential to their security. Wilson was not successful; the Senate had to ratify the treaty for it to go into effect. It did not, and neither the Covenant nor the Treaty of Versailles was adopted. The Senate's opposition was based largely on the strengthening mood of isolationism in the United States. Isolationism did not mean that the United States cut itself off from the rest of the world, especially in the area of international trade. What it meant was that many Americans did not want to be drawn into political arrangements that would cause them to become involved in another war. Further, despite assurances that the Monroe Doctrine would be unaffected, membership in an international organization was seen as a sure means of limiting American sovereignty and independence of action. The United States would eventually conclude a separate peace with Germany and would not participate in the League of Nations.