To what extent were President Wilson’s peace ideals responsible for the failure of the US to ratify the Treaty of Versailles?

The question requires that candidates consider the merits or otherwise of the suggestion that President Wilson’s peace ideals were responsible for the failure of the US to ratify the Treaty of Versailles. Causes/reasons may predate the timeframe but they must be clearly linked to the issue raised in the question. Candidates may offer equal coverage of arguments that peace ideals were responsible for the failure of ratification and alternative theories as to the failure, or they may prioritize their assessment of either argument. However, both aspects will be a feature of the response. Candidates may apply “peace ideals” by reference to Wilson’s idealistic pronouncements, his plans for peace (as expressed in the Fourteen Points), and the post-war disillusionment regarding many of Wilson’s war aims not being reflected in the Treaty of Versailles. Other relevant factors, for example Wilson’s physical incapacity, long-standing US isolationist sentiment, and concerns over sovereignty, (associated with Article X), may be referred to, but with a focus on the issue in the question.

The question required candidates to consider the merits or otherwise of the suggestion that President Wilson’s peace ideals were responsible for the failure of the US to ratify the Treaty of Versailles. While the question was not particularly popular, many candidates were able to clearly identify some elements of Wilson’s peace ideals and discuss various causes for their rejection by the US. Discussion was usually centered on the League of Nations and collective security as unacceptable to the Senate of the US. However, there was also a tendency to focus too often on European events and issues, rather than the cause for US rejection of the Treaty of Versailles.