Bitter Senate Brawl Exposes Deep Divisions Over America’s Future

In a shocking display of Congressional discord, a fiery debate over the Shantung amendment erupted in the Senate on August 28, 1919. The amendment, a contentious aspect of the Treaty of Versailles, had been a focal point of contention since its presentation by President Wilson. Senator Albert Fall, a Republican from New Mexico, took center stage, defending the committee’s vote on the amendment and unleashing a scathing rebuke against those who would ram the treaty through without due consideration for the American people.