In his War Message to Congress, Wilson declared that the United States' objective was “to vindicate the principles of peace and justice in the life of the world.” In several speeches earlier in the year, Wilson sketched out his vision of an end to the war that would bring a “just and secure peace,” not merely
Wilson's solution was to take the treaty and the League to the American people. Wilson believed that if he convinced enough Americans that only the Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations could prevent all other future catastrophic wars, then the Senate would have no choice but to ratify the treaty.