Article X

The Treaty of Versailles and U.S. membership in the League of Nations were central issues in the 1920 Presidential campaign. Article X of the Covenant of the League of Nations, which required members to assist any other member nation in the event of an invasion or attack, was a lightning rod for opposition in America. President Woodrow Wilson had submitted the Treaty of Versailles for Senate ratification in August 1919, but it was rejected due to opposition led by Henry Cabot Lodge and other Senators opposed to foreign entanglements on Wilson’s terms. In particular, concerns over Article X failed to produce a Senate compromise needed for treaty approval.

After the Treaty’s rejection, public opinion divided over U.S. participation in international peacekeeping treaties. In the 1920 Presidential campaign, Democratic candidate James Cox supported the spirit of Article X in American foreign policy, while Republican candidate Warren G. Harding opposed the policy. This cartoon captures the bitterness of the debate and the campaign. Rejected by the Senate and unpopular with many voters, Article X was an outcast on the run. “No ginger” was a sporting term for a team that showed no pep. It is used here in an ironic sense, illustrating the strong feelings about Article X expressed by its opponents during the campaign.

This cartoon was drawn by Clifford Berryman, one of Washington, DC's best-known cartoonists in the early to mid-1900s. Berryman drew for the Washington Post and Evening Star newspapers. His cartoons touched on a variety of subjects including politics, elections, and both World Wars.

This cartoon is featured in America and the World: Foreign Affairs in Political Cartoons, 1898–1940, a free PDF book from the Center for Legislative Archives at the National Archives.