June 27th Reading Notes - Paris Peace Conference 1919-The...

Paris Peace Conference 1919- The Paris Peace Conference of 1919 was a conference
organized by the victors of World War I to negotiate the peace treaties between the Allied
and Associated Powers and the defeated Central Powers. The 'Big Four' — Georges
Clemenceau, Prime Minister of France; David Lloyd George, Prime Minister of the
United Kingdom; Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States of America; and
Vittorio Orlando, Prime Minister of Italy — were the dominant diplomatic figures at the
conference. The conclusions of their talks were imposed on the defeated countries. After
Woodrow Wilson failed to convince Lloyd George and Georges Clemenceau to
support his Fourteen Points, the conference settled on discussing the possibility of a
League of Nations. After most points were agreed on, the written document detailing the
League was brought back to the U.S. to be approved by Congress. Congress objected
only to Article 10, which stated that an attack on any member of the League would be
considered an attack on all members, who would be expected to support, if not join in on
the attacked country's side. Wilson, disheartened, returned to Paris in March after all the
diplomats had reviewed the League outline with their respective governments. Without
the approval of Congress, Clemenceau noted Wilson's weak position and furthered the
interests of Britain and France, opposed by Wilson. Germany was forced to accept full
blame, which the new German government disliked, and so resigned. Germany was being
asked to accept all responsibility, lose all colonies and some homeland, and to pay the
Allies of World War I 33 billion dollars. Wilson would not sign these treaties, and so the
United States signed separate treaties with Germany, approved by Congress.
The Treaty of Versailles- (1919) was the peace treaty which officially ended World War
I between the Allied and Associated Powers and Germany. one of the most important and
controversial provisions required Germany and its allies to accept full responsibility for
causing the war and, under the terms of articles 231-248, disarm, make substantial
territorial concessions and pay reparations to certain countries that had formed the Allies.
France had wanted Germany to be punished, Britain wanted a relatively strong,
economically viable Germany as a counterweight to French dominance in Continental
Europe, and the United States wanted the creation of a permanent peace as quickly as
possible, with financial compensation for its military expenditures.