What Is The Treaty Of Versailles

The treaty of Versailles was a treaty signed at the end of World War I by Germany and the Allies. United States, Great Britain, France, and Italy negotiated the treaty at the peace conference held in Versailles beginning January 18, 1919. The treaty reduced Germany’s armed forces to very low levels and prohibited Germany from possessing certain kinds of weapons, it also established Germany’s liability for reparations. The treaty was supposed to ensure peace and help Europe recover from the war. In my opinion the treaty did not help with any of those two subjects.

The treaty of the Versailles was an agreement between France, England and the United states. Its intentions were to prevent a second world war however, it was a total fail. An obvious reason for not being effective could be because not everyone was included in the conference such as Russia, and Central Powers. Instead, Prime minister George Clemenceau had thought he would speak for all of europe and wanted to be the strongest of europe. Clemenceau seeked revenge towards Germany, in fact he desired most dismantle the best of Germany 's military and their nationalist pride. As for the United States, Wilson implemented the fourteen points which focused on self determination of people. Only few of his points were included in the treaty but these points had been the reason for conflicts happening in europe. Participation from everyone is important and not allowing everyone 's input could lead to negative outcomes such as, The league of nations which most likely failed because the United States wasn’t allowed to participate.

Thesis: The peace treaty that resulted from World War 1 was not too harsh of a punishment for the offenses committed.

On January 22, 1917, Woodrow Wilson addressed the United States Senate appealing for a settlement of conflict for ‘peace without victors’. Unfortunately the Treaty of Versailles was signed by participating nations and could not end the hostilities that terrorized to destroy European Civilization. The Treaty of Versailles is one of the most important social and physical agreement or disagreements that help shape the European 20th century. The treaty was very important because it violated Wilson’s ideals. The Treaty of Versailles was the official end of the World War I and was ultimately the main reason that led to World War II.

After the fighting of World War I stopped, the nations of the Allied powers gathered in Paris, France to negotiate and write the treaty that would end the war. What would become known as the Treaty of Versailles was signed by Germany and most of the Allied powers. However, the United States did not do so. Both liberal and conservative opposition as well as the behavior and actions of President Wilson significantly contributed to the defeat of the Treaty of Versailles in the United States. Liberal groups saw components of the treaty as being insufficient and failing to ensure the interests of the United States and this belief spread to many. Conservative groups viewed aspects of the treaty as being unnecessary and too harsh on Germany and many came to agree. In addition, President Wilson’s refusal to compromise on ratification of the treaty made it very difficult to allow it to receive the support it needed.

“The Allies continued to regard the treaty as an international contract” (Doc D) Laurence V. Moyer, Victory Must be Ours: Germany in the Great War 1914-1915, 1995 since Germany accepted the fact that the war was caused because of Germany’s aggression and her allies, and caused all the loss and damage to the allies. After continuous years of the treaty, Germans saw the Versailles treaty as an “evil thing which must be destroyed,” and as an act of humiliation because they were made to be seen as a disgrace and cast off from other nations. When Adolf Hitler came to power, Germans admired him because he made them feel a sense of pride, reawakened a sense of self-respect and forced the world to look at Germany from a new perspective. (Doc D) Leading to a huge impact on why it helped cause World War II since Germany now saw how betrayed they were by the treaty, and felt the need to put their trust on a new leader such as Hitler, who could restore Germany into a powerful nation again, in their

World War 1, fought from 1914 to 1918, ended with Germany on the losing side, and Britain, France, the U.S., and Russia on the winning side. Many countries were unhappy due to the fact they had lost so much money and resources from the war, and vowed never to go through the terribleness of a world war again. Little did they know around 20 years later the second world war would begin. So France, England, and the U.S. Presidents met in Versailles, France to figure out how to gain peace. France was angry they had suffered so much from the war, and proposed Germany pay big sums of gold, land, resources, and reduce their military. This was agreed upon, and became known as the Treaty of Versailles. The treaty was a factor that helped cause WW2 due to crestfallen Germany’s loss of money, land and military.

He felt the issues would most likely resolve themselves or the opposing sides would work it out . Since the United States entered the war, the events following the conclusion of World War I provided anything but peace for Germany. The armistice, Paris Peace Talks and The Treaty of Versailles did not fulfill Wilson’s promises of “a peace without victory” for Germany and instead provided harsh, punishing and humiliating terms . Pines indicated that Britain and France refused to let the United States negotiate more peaceful terms for Germany. These countries argued that the United States had not earned the right on the battlefield to be able to participate in these negotiations

The first World War had devastated the balance of the 20th century with effects still felt today. The war had obliterated once powerful imperial dynasties, birthed new states from the fallen imperial powers, supported the idea of independence in European colonies, and led to the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Yet, it brought hope to the newly independent territories and minority groups, while plunging a heavy recession to countries that were once world powers. The war ended with the defeat of the Central Powers (German Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, Ottoman Empire, and the Russian Empire) and the signage of the Versailles Treaty. This treaty along with the League of Nations was created to prevent another global crusade from happening again, but failed and led to World War II, which started only twenty years after the Treaty of Versailles was endorsed. And even with end of the Great War, it was evident that the world would never return to how it once was, four years earlier, in 1914. The destructive warfare brought out several unnerving and irreversible social and economic consequences that shook modern society for decades to come.

The Treaty of Versailles is a treaty made to decide, “how Germany was to be made to pay for the damage world war one had caused (World War Two).” This lead to World War Two because Germany was forced to give up many things, which made them vulnerable. This caused Germany to vote for Hitler because he was a very good persuasive speaker. In his speech, “Hitler offered the Germans what they needed most, encouragement (The History Place - Rise of Hitler: Germans Elect Nazis).” It also does not help that, “Germany was in the grip of the Great Depression (The History Place - Rise of Hitler: Germans Elect Nazis).” They needed the encouragement at the time, which caused the vote for

The United States, sought a peace treaty that would address how World War I began. The United States also wanted a treaty that would not punish Germany for fear of instigating resentment with the German people, for example, resentment was one of the factors in the rise of the Nazi regime. The final version of the treaty did not sit well with President Wilson, even more, only eight of his Fourteen Points were actually merged into the Treaty. Some of Wilson’s points were not respected by either side, for instance, point five urged countries to work towards disarmament and reduction of munitions. President Wilson, initially regarded the Treaty as a means of a temporary fix to an unbalanced world. This regard was based on the fact that the President knew very little about Europe. Furthermore, President Wilson became extremely embittered as the corrections to the Treaty became more punitive towards Germany. Even though the United States successfully avoided a high casualty and damage rate from the war, likewise, President Wilson and the American people shared the same disappointment that he felt towards the Treaty of Versailles. Therefore, the treaty was greeted with disappointment in the United States and due to the ‘fourteenth point- The League of Nations, Congress refused to ratify it.

The Treaty of Versailles was created at the Paris Peace Conference as “the treaty to end all wars”, and the treaty that ended World War I. However, unfortunately for Europe and the rest of the world, it only led to the Second World War. The Treaty of Versailles went horribly wrong for the European countries because it did not satisfy the European countries at all, especially Germany, the United States, France, and Britain. The United States was not happy because the U.S. Congress felt that the Treaty took away their constitutional power to declare war, and they disliked the League of Nations. Germany was not happy for a number of reasons, which includes that they were not allowed to participate in the creation of the Treaty, and most of all, the “War Guilt Clause” embarrassed Germans to extensive levels. France was not happy because the French wanted the Treaty to be more harsh on the German people, and they wanted to enforce the treaty even harsher. The British also were not happy because they were not in agreement with the French that the Treaty should be harsh on the Germans. Because so many powerful countries in Europe were dissatisfied with the Treaty of Versailles, they all tried in their own ways to fix it in their countries, which led to the Second World War.

In 1919 at the Paris Peace Conference The Treaty of Versailles was formally drafted and World War I was finally brought to an end. The treaty was drafted by the Allied Powers, which consisted of Great Britain, France and the United States. This treaty blamed the war solely on Germany, and it required them to pay an amount of “$33 billion dollars in reparations, cede all of colonies, dismantle their air force, and greatly reduce their other military operations”(German Delegation, 291).

World War One was a devastating war that killed millions of innocent lives and destroyed the hopes and dreams of countless citizens of the world. The Treaty of Versailles was meant to be a beacon of light in a crushed world, and put an end to future wars forever. The Treaty of Versailles was a negotiation of peace that was signed at the end of World War One. The Treaty took place in Paris at the Palace of Versailles where both Allies and Germany signed. The three most important politicians/leaders were David Lloyd George from Britain, Clemenceau from France, and Woodrow Wilson from America. The Treaty of Versailles punished Germany by taking away territory, reducing the size of the their military, and pressuring the German economy to almost

The Versailles treaty was the peace settlement between Germany and the Allied powers that eventually ended world war one. Even Though it ended this war the treaty of Versailles was hated by many American and Germany. Germany made many threats to the Allied powers. The passing of the Treaty of Versailles resulted in unpopular backlash from both Germany and America.