I became convinced the isolationist mood of the country after World War I, not the harsh terms of the Treaty of Versailles, had made World War II inevitable. If we had maintained our military superiority throughout the twenties and thirties, President Roosevelt could have warned Hitler not to invade any neutral countries, and that warning would have been heeded.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Goldwater argues that isolationism rather than the Treaty of Versailles caused WWII.
- In plain terms
- He says not the treaty but the mood made war inevitable.
- What can you take from it?
- Internal attitudes can drive foreign policy outcomes more than treaties.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Does internal mood drive war?
- Can treaties prevent war?
Another view
Counterfactual history like this is impossible to prove definitively.
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