Lodge, Henry Cabot

Henry Cabot Lodge (1850–1924) played an important role in the conduct of U.S. foreign policy from the Spanish-American War through World War I. An influential member of the Senate (1893–1924), Lodge was an intimate of Theodore Roosevelt and an enthusiastic imperialist. He believed that military strength, not law or moral suasion, was the determining factor in the conduct of international affairs. As chair of the Foreign Relations Committee and as Senate majority leader (1919–1924), he mobilized opposition to the post–World War I Treaty of Versailles, which contained the Covenant of the League of Nations.

Lodge received the first Ph.D. in political science granted by Harvard University. He then wrote several historical works and taught. Turning from theory to practice, he entered state politics and was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1887. He served as a Republican representative from Massachusetts until 1893, when he entered the Senate.

As a representative, Lodge played an important role in support of the so-called “Force Bill” in 1890–1891. The bill would have promoted black suffrage by authorizing the presence of federal officers at polling places from which blacks might be excluded during national elections.

Lodge supported Roosevelt's domestic reforms, although without much enthusiasm. His real interest was in the conduct of foreign affairs. His support of the [Page p302]Spanish-American War in 1898 led him to advocate the annexation of all of Spain's colonial holdings.

I Senate Historical Office

In 1919 Lodge gained international notoriety as the most powerful congressional opponent of the League of Nations. As chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Lodge wrote the majority report on the committee's consideration of the Treaty of Versailles. In it he endorsed ratification, but only with the addition of four reservations and forty-five amendments. The changes Lodge proposed strongly rejected any infringement on the sovereignty of the United States. Under his leadership the Senate rejected the treaty and membership in the League of Nations in 1919 and 1920.

Lodge's grandson and namesake, Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., served in the Senate in the World War II era (1937–1944, 1947–1953). He was an unsuccessful Republican vice-presidential candidate in 1960.