Who's To Blame For World War I?

The treaty of Versailles was the peace settlement signed after World War One. The treaty was signed in Versailles Palace near Paris-hence its name-between Germany and its Allies. The three most important politicians were David Lloyd George (Britain), Georges Clemenceau (France) and Woodrow Wilson (USA) also known as ‘The Big Three’.

Some of the main ideas in the Treaty of Versailles are that Germany had to take the blame for starting the war. That was a big part because people got justice out of that. Germany also had to pay a lot of money for the damage that were done during the war. Next Germany was not allowed to own submarines or have an Air Force. They were only allowed to have a navy of six battleships, and an Army of just 100,000 men. In addition, Germany was not allowed to place any soldiers next to France. And lastly Germany lost lots of land in Europe, their colonies were given to Britain and France. There are many examples of this treaty still today, in modern times. It had big effects in earlier times as well. But first here are a few examples of how much

In 1914, Germany and Austria-Hungary allied against France, Britain, USA and Italy in World War 1. The war resulted in resentment towards the Germans. Woodrow Wilson, president of the United States, established a treaty that would bring everlasting peace. For the Germans however, the treaty served as a punishment, as they were required to accept the responsibility for causing all of the damage. Germany was angered by the treaty as they would have to pay for reparations and take responsibility for everything. Territorial losses, militarism, economic reparations and blame were all causes of World War II.

Wilson's Fourteen Points were a decent attempt at peace and restitution after the Great War; however, there were many inherent problems with the Wilsonian agenda. These problems were caused by many things, including Allied bias, American ambition, and Western European dominance. While trying to fix many problems in Europe, the Fourteen Points mainly concentrated on the things that were important to the Allied powers: France was bent on revenge, Great Britain was looking to further its power over the seas, and America was keen on becoming an even more powerful trade nation.

Germany was believed to be the cause of World War one, which made other European countries want to severely hurt Germany’s military and economy so that Germany couldn’t achieve future aggressions. The peace treaty called the Treaty of Versailles did just that. On June 28, 1919, the major powers in Europe, other than Germany, negotiated Germany’s punishment for the war. Germany’s military was limited to 100,000 men, they lost many of their colonies, they were forced to disarm their troops from the Rhineland, and worst of all they were forced to pay for all of the destruction caused by the war, which totaled to about 40 billion dollars. The Treaty of Versailles crushed Germany; they were weak and desperate, until Nazi Germany came to power.

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.

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.

When Wilson asked Congress for a Declaration of War, he did so with the belief that the purpose of American involvement in World War I was not one of “revenge or the victorious assertion of the physical might of the nation, but only the vindication of right, human right, of which we are only a single champion” (Declaration of War, April 2, 1917); in other words, America was fighting in the war to defend human rights. At the Paris Peace Conference of 1918, Wilson proposed his Fourteen Points in an attempt to protect human interest by further preventing war in Europe. He believed that by procuring a “peace without victory”, peace without materialistic proof of victory, he would be able to put a stop to the cycle of wars that had been occurring in Europe; all the previous treaties essentially set up new wars by assigning a clear winner and placing blame on another country. Wilson included his idea of the League of Nations, an organization that he believed would help maintain peace by assuring that every member of the League would come to the aid of any member that was attacked (Article X), in his Fourteen Points; the League was the central idea of his Fourteen Points. Unlike Wilson, his European Allies wanted a peace with victory, one which involved assigning blame to Germany and forcing them to pay reparations. In order to get Wilson to agree to the Treaty of Versailles, the European

He supported women’s suffrage and social programs, and he had excellent ideas for America’s future. In this way, Wilson was a success. However, his skill with his own nation is an underscore to his failure with the nations of the world. Initially, for example, Wilson objected to American entrance into WWI; he pushed the proposal away until it was unsafe to continue to do ignore it. Only when the American people felt legitimately threatened did he ask Congress to enter the war. To his credit, however, once Wilson committed to interventionism, he did not shy back. Wilson’s Fourteen Points, which aimed to create global unity with the new League of Nations, were his children. He refused to compromise on any of the disputed sections, despite threats from the legislature to fail the bill. Perhaps Wilson’s initial lethargy was due to some vision of his future, as the grand ideas that were so successful stateside failed to translate into the global arena. His idealism and intellectualism, seemingly advantageous traits, contributed to his ultimate legacy as an unsuccessful president.

The principle behind the formation of his Fourteen points was to ensure that the conditions that gave rise to WWI and the conflict in Europe wouldn’t happen again. Thus, the Points included measures such as the elimination of secret alliances, reduction of armaments in various nations, clarification of the national borers based on self-determination and the formation of an international forum which could ensure solving conflicts in a peaceful, non-aggressive, just and transparent way. Wilson also made proposals that would ensure world peace in the future, such as freedom of seas, removal of economic barriers between nations and the promise of ‘self-determination’ for those oppresses minorities and a world organization that would provide a system of collective security for all nations. [Ap. 1]

President Wilson's Fourteen Points were a decent attempt at peace and repayment after World War I. Although it was cleat that there were many obvious problems with his plan. Many things, including Allied bias, American ambition, and Western European dominance, caused these problems. While trying to fix many problems in Europe, the Fourteen Points mainly concentrated on the things that were important to the Allied powers. France was bent on revenge, Great Britain was looking to further its power over the seas, and America was focused on becoming an even more powerful trade nation.

After the war ended, there wasn’t a real winner, however someone had to pay. When the war started Italy hoped to receive the German colonies in Africa, and Japan hoped to receive the German colonies in Asia, however they both ended up with nothing. Furthermore, Russia lost their land in order to form Poland, Lithuania, Estonia and Finland. However, the whip cracked down on the Germans the hardest. Germany had to take sole blame for World War 1, lost all their colonies, and lost their European territory which was used to form Czecholslovakia and Poland. Germany also couldn’t have an army over 100,000 men, and were forbidden from having tanks or heavy artillery. The Germans also couldn’t have an air force, a navy deploy troops in Rhineland.

The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty that ended World War 1. The Treaty of Versailles had Germany take blame or responsibility for the start of World War 1. Germany

These Wilson alleged included secret treaties, the infringement of freedom of the seas, the presence of tariffs and other exchange barriers, arms races, and challenge for settlements. Thus led him to want to end secret treaties, secure the right of freedom of the seas, eradicate all exchange barriers, begin universal demobilization, and make a fair modification of all settlement entitlements. Points six through thirteen would help conform national limits in Europe to permit all significant ethnic groups their very own nation free of outside law. So Germany would leave Belgium, Russia and Alsace-Lorraine. Every single significant ethic group in Europe would get their own nations and understand their long waited dreams for overseeing themselves. Point fourteen guides the form of the League of Nations. This general affiliation would keep the peace and ensure the freedom and domain of its individuals. Each part of its nations would promise to secure any individual from the League that went under violence. (Avalon Project - President Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points

The conclusion of the First World War left many countries in desire of long lasting peace. This shared fear of another war led to the Paris Peace Conference in January 1919, where the major powers of the world such as France, Britain, Italy, the U.S. and Japan, excluding the defeated Central Powers, signed major treaties including the Treaty of Versailles, Treaty of St. Germain, Treaty of Neuilly, and the Treaties of Sevres and Lausanne. These treaties, specifically the Treaty of Versailles, placed the blame for World War I (WWI) entirely on Germany and Austria-Hungary, which lead to Germany’s desire for revenge and consequently its role in World War II (WWII). Evidently, the treaties were not entirely just to all of the countries involved,