ABSTRACT
Strong American leadership was evident at the Paris Peace Conference. This was the third new factor in the post-League international order. American internationalism developed not so much as part of the pacifist movement as an assertion of American leadership. American internationalists argued strongly for US involvement in World War I, not only to attain peace, but also to lead the world. 1 Many thought that the old European powers had caused the disastrous war and were discredited. The United States, untainted and fresh, could claim a strong new leadership. American internationalists believed in ‘American’ ideals, exceptional quality, and a special mission to the world. As Wilson put it in 1912: ‘[E]ver since we were born as a nation we have undertaken to be the champions of humanity and the rights of men.’ Now the time had come: ‘America is now going to be called out into an international position such as she never has occupied before.’ 2
