1. Fourteen Points & Versailles Treaty

2. Paris Peace Conference
Began January Palace of Versailles
Representatives from 32 countries
Germany & its allies not represented
Russia also excluded – civil war

3. The Big Four Conference dominated by leaders from 4 major powers:
Great Britain: David Lloyd George
France: Georges Clemenceau
United States: Woodrow Wilson
Italy: Vittorio Orlando

4. The Fourteen Points
Woodrow Wilson had developed a peace plan during the war
Goal - a plan for lasting peace
Concept of self-determination (the process by which a group of people, usually possessing a certain degree of national consciousness, form their own state and choose their own government.)
14th point called for creation of a “general association of nations”

5. League of Nations Based on #14 of The Fourteen Points
Established an international association of nations
Main goal: keep peace
Prevent wars by helping to settle disputes between countries.
Precursor to the United Nations

6. Treaty of Versailles
Considerable debate between the Big 4 regarding terms of treaty
Britain & France much more concerned about national security and punishing Germany
Most of Wilson’s 14 Points regarding trade and diplomacy NOT used or were modified– only #14 (League of Nations) used
United States ended up not even joining (isolationism)

7. Germany and the Treaty - Problems
Germany never believed they had lost the war
War had been fought almost entirely on foreign soil
Germans believed the treaty would reflect Wilson’s Fourteen Points – i.e. a peace agreement
Punished Germany & Austria Hungary
Lost territory
Forced reduction of military
“War Guilt” clause blamed Germany for the war, forced it to pay reparations to the Allies ($33 billion)
What did this lead to?
Germany lost all its imperial territories – divided among allies
Austria-Hungary divided into four independent countries

9. Wilson’s 14 Points Treaty of Versailles
The League of Nations
Freedom of the seas
Freedom of trade
Limit of arms and military build up (disarmament)
End secret alliances/treaties
Grant all colonies and nations independence
Right to self-determination for all nations in Europe
Return Alsace-Lorraine to France
Limit Military for Germany
Allied Troops occupy the Rhineland for 15 years
Creation of new countries for nations in Eastern Europe
Germany pays reparations for war
Force Germany to sign a “Guilt Clause”