The League of Nations

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What is the artist's view on the League of Nations in "Interrupting the Ceremony"?

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The artist's view in "Interrupting the Ceremony" is critical of the United States joining the League of Nations. The cartoon uses the term "foreign entanglements," echoing isolationist sentiments, to imply that such involvement would unnecessarily tie the U.S. to foreign affairs. The depiction of the U.S. Senate interrupting the "marriage" to the League symbolizes support for senators who opposed the Treaty of Versailles due to fears of entangling the U.S. in European conflicts.

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The key expression here is "foreign entanglements," a phrase famously used by George Washington in his farewell address. Precisely what Washington meant by the expression has been a subject of debate ever since, but successive generations of isolationists have interpreted his remarks as a warning against the United States getting deeply involved in foreign affairs. Certainly the term "foreign entanglements" is critically loaded, giving the impression that the cartoonist thinks it's wrong for the United States to sign up to the League of Nations. After all, the word "entanglement" implies getting tied up in knots, making it difficult to escape. And to isolationists like the cartoonist and the US Senate—represented as smashing through the church window—that's precisely what joining the League of Nations would have involved.

The cartoonist clearly thinks that the "marriage" between the United States and the League of Nations should not have gone ahead and that the Senate was right in voting not to join.

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This cartoon is a commentary on the debate in the United States over ratifying the Treaty of Versailles. This treaty ended World War I, but in the United States, the debate centered on the fact that the Treaty created the League of Nations. The fear was that membership in the League might involve the United States in foreign wars, and many US senators (the Senate was responsible for ratifying all treaties) objected to the Treaty on these grounds. As for the artist's point of view, it seems that he agrees with the senators (mostly Republican, led by Henry Cabot Lodge) who opposed the League of Nations. We can tell this because the bride who is about to marry Uncle Sam has the words "foreign entanglements" on her dress. This phrase dated back to the nation's founding, and connoted unnecessary involvement in foreign affairs, especially the affairs of Europe. Uncle Sam, in other words, is about to get permanently attached to foreign entanglements, and as the minister asks if there is anyone who can show cause that the marriage should not proceed, the US Senate is bursting through the door. So the use of the phrase "foreign entanglements" suggests that the artist sympathizes with the League's critics. 

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