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Courtesy of the Australian War Memorial
This is the beginning of the specific documents on display in the two glass cases associated with the topic of World War I, a World Transformed
Glass Case #1

The Senate Considers the Treaty of Versailles


The Treaty of Versailles’s fate was uncertain in the Senate. Some senators, known as “Irreconcilables,” opposed the treaty in any form. “Reservationists,” led by Senator Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts, wanted reservations (amendments) added to the treaty before approving it. Lodge added 14 reservations to reinforce U.S. policy and protect congressional war powers. The Senate voted on the treaty with and without reservations, but both votes fell short of the required two-thirds majority. After more debate, the Senate rejected the treaty 49 to 35 during a final vote on March 19, 1920.

[Selected Quote associated with the introduction to this stop]
I hope and pray that peace . . . may reign everywhere on earth. But . . . the American people are first in my heart now and always. I can never assent to any scheme, . . . which is not for the welfare and for the highest and best interest of my own beloved people of whom I am one—the American people—the people of the United States.
Senator Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts, Speech to the U.S. Senate, February 28, 1919


[First Document]

Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Vote Tally on the Lodge Amendment (Treaty of Versailles), August 23, 1919

When the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations began adding Senator Henry Cabot Lodge’s amendments to the Treaty of Versailles, President Woodrow Wilson embarked on a nationwide speaking tour in an attempt to galvanize public support for a treaty without reservations (amendments) to avoid potentially needing to renegotiate the treaty. The tour ended abruptly when Wilson’s health failed in September 1919.
Records of the U.S. Senate, National Archives and Records Administration.


[Second Document]

“The Lamb from the Slaughter,” drawing by Clifford Berryman, The Evening Star, September 5, 1919


Senator Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, led the effort to revise the Treaty of Versailles by including reservations (amendments). In this political cartoon, Lodge escorts the battered “Peace Treaty” on crutches out of a room labeled "Operating Room, Senate Committee on Foreign Relations."
Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress


[Third Document]

Treaty of Peace with Germany, Reservations, February 10, 1920


Some senators who opposed the Treaty of Versailles believed the proposed League of Nations would infringe upon U.S. sovereignty and Congress’s power to declare war. Following the Senate’s defeat of the treaty, Congress formally declared the end of World War I by joint resolution in 1921.
Records of the U.S. Senate, National Archives and Records Administration
[Glass Case # 2]

Setting the Terms of Peace


The armistice of November 11, 1918, ended the fighting in World War I with Germany. In 1919 delegates drafted the Treaty of Versailles that set the terms of peace at the Paris Peace Conference. President Woodrow Wilson’s “Fourteen Points,” his plan for a “just peace,” laid the framework for the conference. European leaders, however, preferred retribution against Germany. The resulting treaty required Germany to pay reparations, but it largely retained Wilson’s plan. It included provisions for a League of Nations and the creation of new nations in Eastern Europe.

[First Document]

Treaty of Peace with Germany: Address of the President of the United States . . . , July 10, 1919
The Senate has the constitutional power to approve or reject treaties with foreign countries. President Woodrow Wilson urged the Senate to swiftly approve the Treaty of Versailles. Instead, the Senate debated the treaty’s terms for months, with many senators expressing concerns that participation in a League of Nations might undermine U.S. sovereignty. Efforts to amend the treaty failed, however, and the Senate ultimately rejected it.
Records of the U.S. Senate, National Archives and Records Administration

[Second Document]

At Last! drawing by Clifford Berryman, July 10, 1919

Clifford Berryman created this cartoon when President Woodrow Wilson delivered the Treaty of Versailles to the Senate. It shows a senator gazing with puzzlement at a scroll labeled “Peace Treaty,” while Wilson walks back to the White House. President Wilson was deeply involved in negotiating the terms of the treaty in Paris, but he did so without congressional participation.


Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

[Third Document]

The Ogden Standard, Ogden City, Utah, front page, November 11, 1918
Serial and Government Publications Division, Library of Congress
 

(male narrator)  Stop Number 200:  Perimeter Wall.

 

The exhibits for Stop 200, the final stop on this tour, can be found along the slanted table next to the South wing's perimeter wall.  The exhibits here are displayed in a similar fashion to those described earlier along the North wing's perimeter wall. 

 

 

(female narrator)  Along the perimeter wall, a 50-foot-long table contains interactive touchscreens and touchable artifacts, similar to the set-up in the North wing.  It is important to note that at this time the touchscreens do not have audio or Braille labels.



 

In the 1980s, some of the deteriorated sandstone rosettes on the Capitol's west front were replaced with more durable limestone.  At the end of the long table farthest from Capitol Dome model and Exhibition Hall entryway is a reproduction of a

slightly worn rosette carved into a square frame.  The rosette's thick, grainy petals curl up at the edges. 

 

In the center of the table is a replica of a sculptural relief created by artist Louis Amateis in 1910 for a set of bronze doors intended for the west front entrance to the Capitol.  Entitled "Jurisprudence," the rectangular relief shows a half-dozen justices clustered around a table, representing the nation's Supreme Court.

 

A replica of a door-handle shaped like a snake for the House chamber can be found at the other end of the table, nearest the entrance to Exhibition Hall. Cast in bronze from an actual snake in the 1850s by sculptor Federico Casili, the handle depicts a scaly snake coiled around leafy foliage, surrounded by an ornate round frame. The snake motif originated with Montgomery Meigs, who supervised the Capitol construction project starting in 1853.  Meigs was notorious for keeping snakes in his office.

 

Above the long table is a row of illuminated display-boxes and video-screens showing scenes of the Capitol. Several long wooden benches can also be found along this wall, where visitors are invited to sit and reflect.

 

 

(male narrator)  This concludes the audio-described tour of the Capitol Visitor Center's Exhibition Hall.  Please return your player to the Information Desk, located in Emancipation Hall.  



 

To leave Exhibition Hall, walk East, away from the Capitol Dome Model.  You will pass through the foyer into Emancipation Hall, where you will make your way around the Statue of Freedom.  From this point, continue walking East about 50 feet, heading toward the Hall's central staircase and the infinity pool.  Turn left and walk about 100 feet to the Information Desk, moving past the roped aisles.  Return the player to a staff member at the Information Desk.

 

 



Comments regarding this audio tour should be directed to the Office of Congressional Accessibility Services. Contact information is available from the Information Desk staff.  Thank you.

 

 

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