Appendix to Speech of Hon. Robert M. La Follette [Anti-League of Nations]

Maps used to oppose American entry into the League of Nations.

This carto-centric circular, issued by the Congressional Record, presents an appendix to a 1919 speech by Progressive Republican Senator La Follette. Simple black and white maps of Africa, Asia, and the world emphasize the territorial extent of the British Empire. Control of the Baghdad Railway, land from Cairo to the Cape Horn, the tenuous Kingdom of Hejaz, and global island acquisitions are various elements explored by the accompanying text.

The pamphlet was published as an appendix to Follette’s speech in which he argues against United States participation in the League of Nations – presumably to avoid limiting foreign policy options while Britain had supremacy of the oceans and its empire was near its height.