The Treaty of Versailles

​​The Paris Peace Conference assembled in January 1919 at Versailles, France. Its purpose was to create peace conditions and stipulations following World War I. England, France, the United States and Italy became known as the “Big Four.” They dominated the conference. Almost 30 other countries also participated in the negotiations. Two key countries did not participate––Russia, due to its early withdrawal from the war and its ongoing Bolshevik Revolution, and Germany.

The Versailles Treaty was signed June 28, 1919. It required Germany to acknowledge fault and that they were the aggressors of World War I.  In addition, Germany owed the following distributions of land and reparations (repayment):

• All territories and 10% of its prewar European land most of which had rich natural resources such as coal.
• An initial $5 billion payment.
• A final payment in 1921 of $32 billion.
• The size of German military force was also limited.

 
Germany’s harsh punishments created a growing resentment in the country. The treaty’s effects caused an unstable German economy, a factor many believe contributed to the start of World War II.

League of Nations

In September 1917, President Wilson created a committee of around 150 academics, called The Inquiry. They prepared materials for peace negotiations. On January 8, 1918, President Wilson addressed a joint session of Congress and presented the Fourteen Points Speech. The speech was based on the Inquiry’s reports. It set out war aims and peace terms.
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Thirteen points covered specific territorial issues among the combatant nations. The fourteenth point proposed what was to become the League of Nations to guarantee the ‘political independence and territorial integrity [of] great and small states alike.’

The American public seemed to support the League of Nations. Congress, however, voted against joining the organization. They opposed Article X of the charter which, “…committed the United States to defend any League member in the event of an attack.”