League of Nations
World War I was to be the war to end all wars. To help secure the peace President Wilson supported the initiative to create a League of Nations where countries could discuss their grievances before going to war.
While Theodore Roosevelt felt it was the obligation of all countries to work together to achieve and maintain peace and avoid war, TR was concerned joining the league would threaten U.S. Sovereignty. Roosevelt feared the League would force the U.S. to act against its national interests having to submit to decisions made by other countries that would effect American domestic issues.
TR warned we shouldn’t put ourselves in a position to be bound by international mandates. It was a sentiment shared by his good friend Republican Henry Cabot Lodge who helped keep the country out of the League of Nations.
Interestingly during TR’s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech in 1910 he advocated what he called a "League of Peace" predating the League of Nations.
In his speech Roosevelt indicated he agreed there was a possibility an international body could control "offending nations," by a type of collective security he called a "League to Enforce Peace"
While it’s apparent Roosevelt initially approved the concept, he strongly opposed Woodrow Wilson's version pointing to its potential negative impact on American independence.
In his final days at Sagamore Hill TR dictated an editorial criticizing Wilson's League.
