Humans created the federation. The Vulcans had been around for hundreds of years just wondering around the quadrant not really doing anything other than antagonising the Andorians. Who, Humans managed to form an alliance with by not antagonising them, and claiming to be superior.
But why did the Vulcan join when their old antagonists are part of it? A pretty good answer is that they need to make sure humans don't ruin everything.
This isn't quite as cynical as it looks at first glance. They saw that humans could go either way. Keep them from turning too many stars into touruses, and they'll be capable of greatness.
"The Federation is functionally the Human empire" has always been a far less interesting view than "The Federation is functionally the Vulcan empire"
Humans created the federation. The Vulcans had been around for hundreds of years just wondering around the quadrant not really doing anything other than antagonising the Andorians. Who, Humans managed to form an alliance with by not antagonising them, and claiming to be superior.
But why did the Vulcan join when their old antagonists are part of it? A pretty good answer is that they need to make sure humans don't ruin everything.
This isn't quite as cynical as it looks at first glance. They saw that humans could go either way. Keep them from turning too many stars into touruses, and they'll be capable of greatness.