The colonial-mandate question at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919

Abstract

Abstract taken from Dissertation Abstracts International, vol 43, no 06, December 1982, p. 2065-A:

Considering the fact that the Allies occupied the territories in question and had treaty commitments guaranteeing their claims, President Wilson's efforts can be judged a qualified success. Extended debate over ratification of the Versailles Treaty and escalating American support for withdrawing from overseas responsibilities precluded serious consideration of the United States accepting a mandate. Yet, outright annexation of the German colonies was prevented, and the Mandate System provided the inhabitants of the mandated territories with hope for eventual independence

Research efforts centered on the National Archives, which houses Inquiry materials and the complete microfilmed records of the American Commission to Negotiate Peace. The author also investigated the Robert Lansing, Tasker Bliss, and Henry White manuscript collections at the Library of Congress. Yale University provided the researcher with numerous primary sources including Inquiry reports and the papers of Colonel House, William Wiseman, Sidney Mezes, and Gordon Auchincloss. Thanks are extended also to Columbia University which lent the extensive Diary of George Louis Beer to the writer

By approving the Smuts-amended Mandate System, the Supreme Council defused the first major crisis of the peace conference. The mandate classification system permitted the British Dominions almost total control over their mandates yet satisfied Wilson's desire to prevent Japanese militarization of the Pacific islands