La Follette voted for Wilson’s progressive measures but resisted U.S. involvement in World War I. He voted against the declaration of war in 1917. He voted against bills creating a military draft and authorizing the use of borrowed money to meet war costs. Senators attacked him for disloyalty, and he was in danger of receiving censure. But the war ended and Republicans needed his vote to control the Senate. As a result, the censure move died. After the war he opposed the Treaty of Versailles and League of Nations. He felt the treaty would lead only to “an unjust peace which could only lead to future wars.”
