1. THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES, 1919
WORLD WAR I
THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES, 1919

2. Wilson’s Plan for Peace
US President Woodrow Wilson developed his Fourteen Points, which outlined a plan for achieving a just & lasting peace
Wilson wanted “a peace without victory”
He thought it would be the basis for the coming peace settlement at Versailles

3. Wilson’s Fourteen Points the highlights
Self-Determination (allowing people to decide for themselves what government they wished to live under)
An international peace-keeping organization to settle disputes between countries in the future

4. Paris Peace Conference & Treaty of Versailles
Peace conference lasted one year
Delegates representing 32 countries
Major decisions made by
U.S.A.’s President Woodrow Wilson
France’s Georges Clemenceau
Great Britain’s David Lloyd George
Germany was not represented
Treaty of Versailles signed June 28, 1919

5. A Harsh Peace
Britain & France did not agree with Wilson’s plans for peace
They were concerned with national security
Wanted to strip Germany of its war-making power
The French were determined to punish Germany for the war & make them pay for the damages

6. The League of Nations
Was to be an international association whose goal would be to keep peace among nations
The 5 Allied powers – U.S., Britain, France, Italy, & Japan – were to become permanent members of the league’s Executive Council
The General Assembly would include 32 Allied & neutral nations
Germany was deliberately excluded
Russia was considered an outcast because of its communist revolution

7. New Nations Created
Austria-Hungary  Now: Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, & Yugoslavia
Ottoman Empire  Now: Ottoman’s only have today’s Turkey, & all other areas (Palestine, Iraq, Transjordan, Syria & Lebanon) become mandates controlled by either Britain or France
Russia loses land
Romania gain territory
Poland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, & Lithuania created as independent nations

9. No Peace Treaty of Versailles did not ensure lasting peace
Problems with the Treaty:
U.S. rejects it & does not sign it (many Americans did not like Wilson’s League of Nations & thought it best to stay out of European affairs)
League of Nations was weak & did not have authority to take action (one reason is because it lacked U.S. support)

10. Resentment
Germans’ bitterness & hatred for being blamed & punished for the entire war
Colonies in Africa & Asia expected freedom (as per Wilson’s Fourteen Points), but received new rulers instead
Japan & Italy gained less territories then they wanted (the reason why they joined the war in the first place)

11. Ultimately this leads to WWII many of the long term causes of the war still remained