More handpicked essays just for you.
The impact of the Treaty of Versailles
The impact of the Treaty of Versailles
The impact of the Treaty of Versailles
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
A Violation
The Treaty of Versailles was a violation of Wilson’s ideals. The Treaty is one of the most important agreements (or disagreements) that shaped 20th century Europe socially and physically. Woodrow Wilson on January 22, 1917 in an address to the United States Senate called for a peace without victors, but the Treaty signed by the participating nations was everything but that. The blame for the war was placed on Germany and justified the reparations that were outlined by the treaty for the war. The terms of the treaty were very harsh to the Germans and they took on great resentment. It was a fragile peace agreement that would be used as fuel to keep hostilities going 20 years later.
When the details of the treaty were published in June 1919 most Germans were horrified. Germany had not been allowed to the Peace Conference and was told to accept the terms or else. Most Germans however, had believed that the Treaty would be lenient because of Wilson's Fourteen Points.
Many people in other lands thought that the treaty was a way of making legal the punishment on the Germans and this was in violation of Wilsonian idealism. The peacemakers should have been able to set aside hatred that was built up from the past in order to come up with a more proper and fair settlement. Instead of doing this, they placed the blame on the Germans by forcing them to pay for reparations they couldn't afford, insulting them with the accusation of guilt from the war and taking away their territory. The treaty would only intensify the hatred felt by all the parties involved in the treaty and heighten German nationalism. This was a poor beginning for democracy in Germany and for Wilson's New World.
President Woodrow Wilson had hopes for a New World. For Wilson, the war had been fought against autocracy. A peace settlement based on liberal-democratic ideals, he hoped, would get rid of the foundations of war. None of Wilson's hopes seemed better than the idea of self-determination -- the right of a people to have its own state, free of any foreign domination. In particular, this goal meant the return of Alsace and Lorraine to France which had been lost to Germany in the Franco-Prussian war, the creation of an independent Poland, the changing of the frontiers of Italy to include Austrian lands where Italians lived, and an opportunity for Slavs of the Austro- Hungarian Empire to form their own states.
National leaders from Britain, France the United States and Italy didn’t allow the defeated nations any say in the drafting of the treaty. The terms were severe, unjust and unfair. Germany’s territory and population was reduced. There was a war guilt clause that named Germany the aggressive nation in the war and responsible to make reparations to the Allied nations. This meant that losses and damage had to be paid for by them. The four nations wanted to keep Germany from becoming a threat again. The military was restricted. The Germans felt they were being dictated by the treaty. In 1936, Hitler remilitarized Germany in a violation of the treaty and the Allies did nothing to stop
“The British Prime Minister, David Lloyd George, recognized the feelings of the British people when he said ‘the Germans are going to pay every penny: they are going to be squeezed … until the pips squeak” (. This was the general conscious the British and the French people had because they felt they were owed for all of the wartime damages that occurred, the civilian and Soldiers lives that were lost, and because of the recourses the allies used to fight central powers. Ultimately the British and the French wanted revenge on Germany and for the first time they were in the power to do it. “Germany was not invited; as the defeated party, it was only required to sign the treaty once the cost of defeat had been established”2. The German s had no say at the negotiating table at the treaty of Versailles and because of this the “Big Four” ultimately and the power to punish Germany however they sought fit. This was a long shot from “Wilson’s proposed, “peace among equals,”2 and created much resentment from the German people. “Acceptance of blame appeared in Clause 231 of the treaty, later known as the ‘War Guilt clause’. Once Germany was made to acknowledge that it was responsible for the
middle of paper ... ... The Treaty of Versailles, initially created to keep peace in Europe and ensure that another war like World War I wouldn’t happen again, had in fact, backfired and spiraled the world down into a deeper, bloodier battle. The treaty discriminated strongly against Germany, with the loss of territories, military restrictions, economic reparations, and the War Guilt Clause. It caused humiliation and anger within Germany, and led to Hitler and the Nazi Party coming to power.
Wilson desired to improve the global order before the United States’ entry into the Great War. In fact, U.S. entry was in part delayed because Wilson “believed that remaining above the battle was the only way that he, Wilson, could exert the moral authority needed to end the war on terms that would make for a lasting peace.” (McDougall, 132). In 1916, Wilson articulated a doctrine of international relations that set aside the policy of non-intervention established by Washington. Wilson called the United States “participants, whether we would or not, in the life of the world.” He claimed that the fate of the United States was intertwined with the fate of other nations: “The interests of all nations are our own also. We are partners with the rest…must henceforth depend upon a new and more wholesome diplomacy…” In this 1916 speech he already laid out the idea of an “association of nations” and said that “the United States is willing to become a partner in any feasible association of nations formed in order to realize these objects and make them safe against violation….God grant that the dawn of that day of frank dealing and of settled peace, concord, and cooperation may be near at hand!” (McDougall, 123). When it came time to make the peace agreement at Versailles, Wilson insisted on the idea of a League of Nations along with the British ambassador and the representative for South Africa.
Though the Wilsonian moment encompasses all of Wilson’s rhetoric between 1918 and the 1919 Paris Peace conference , his most important and precise declaration against colonization was in his fourteen points speech. Given on January 8th, 1918, the fourteen points speech was meant by Wilson to set out his goals for the post-war period and sustainable peace. In the fourteen points, Wilson outlined what he felt were the main causes for World War 1 and, therefore, what he felt needed to be fixed to protect enduring peace. Among other issues, namely secret treaties and an excess of armaments, Wilson directly took aim at the legitimacy of colonial claims. Wilson effectively suggested that these claims were being made in the name of colonists, not in the interests of the native peoples and the freedom of the seas . In response to the issue of colonization, Wilson proposed the “removal of economic barriers between nations, the promise of ‘self-determination’ for those oppressed minorities, and a world organization that would provide a system of collective security for all nations.” . Within America, Wilson surprisingly found some opposition to his ideas. Robert Lansing, the Secretary of State at the time, believed that there was a danger in putting the idea of “self-determination” in the minds of certain races. While Wilson obviously stood by his vision for peace in the fourteen points, some of his counterparts in other allied nations were slightly less enthused. When all the allied powers met in Versailles in 1919 to discuss the terms of peace and end World War 1, Wilson quickly realized that not everyone agreed with his opinion. Wilson felt that England, France, and Italy were mostly interested in retrieving property they had lost in the war, and then expanding upon those holdings as a way to punish the
The first step in identifying whether or not the peace settlement after World War I (WWI), would be the effectiveness of communication to the Germans. In order to properly communicate, one must simply tell the people involved what the conditions are and the consequences for not following them. In addition, the demands must be moderate and the opponent needs to be made clear that it will not favor them in the long run if they do not comply to the terms. While Germany was effectively given the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, one could argue that it was done in an unfair manner. Germany was not even present at the negotiations of the Treaty of Versailles and the Germans expected something along the lines of Wilson’s 14 point plan. At the end of the discussions,
“On June 28, 1919, the German delegates reluctantly signed the Treaty of Versailles” (Bulliet et al. 763). The Peace Treaty of Versailles obliged the Germans to accept “responsibility for causing all the loss and damage” of the war (Bulliet et al. 763). The hostile Germany was humiliated and forced to pay for a large deal of war reparations. The open hostility and simmering feelings of revenge in German soldiers after the treaty foreshadowed the start of World War II.
The Versailles treaty had an amazing affect on the future of all the countries in Europe that were a part of World War One. However, the treaty had the most devastating affect on the future of Germany. The treaty of Versailles essentially made the German people entirely responsible for the First World War. This blame that was put on Germany was one of the main factors responsible for Germany's economic and political future, leading up to World War Two.
The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, marks the day that WWI descended into armistice. However, the involved countries reached an agreement as to the events following the war on the 28th of June, 1919. The famous Treaty of Versailles was known for its role in ending war. But it was not known for being a double-edged sword, as the ending of war came with the consequence of causing future war. The Treaty consisted of uncontested biases due to Germany's unconditional surrender. The Allies held a gun to Germany's head, with their trigger finger tense. Each article of the Versailles Treaty only made Germany more restless, until 1933 when Hitler produced his own gun and pointed it at the Allies. The Treaty had a series of unproportional effects upon Germany and its people. It caused a rift between the two sides because of the alliances that it formed, brewing tension. The punishments enforced upon Germany were unrealistically huge and it increased the wish among the Germans for the nullification of the Treaty. Finally, the accumulated hatred amongst the people gave birth to potential for a revolution. The Treaty of Versailles is, therefore, an indirect cause to World War II, because of the alliances it caused, the punishments it enforced, and the hatred it developed.
Wilson's fourth point in his plan was the reduction of national armaments. He stated that there should be "adequate guarantees given and taken that national armaments [would] be reduced to the lowest point consistent with domestic safety." In the Treaty of Versailles, it was stated that the German army was to be limited to 100,000 and that Germany was not allowed to draft its citizens or to have an air force. Also, Germany was no longer allowed to operate submarines because of the unrestricted submarine warfare that they had displayed during the war, and their naval ships were limited in size and in the amount that they were permitted to own. Furthermore, the Rhineland was to be permanently disarmed and occupied by the Allies for fifteen years to ensure that there would be no attacks against France that might start another war. In addition to this, it was stated that Germany would never be allowed to unite with Austria because they would form an incredibly strong fighting force. This resulted in much complaining by the Germans on the account that they believed they were being left without a military force significant enough to protect themselves. Also, the treaty did not require any of the other countries to perform even the slightest demilitarization.
France, who pushed for harsher German punishment and reparation levels more than any other Allied Power, wanted the reparations to cripple the German state. Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles laid the blame for World War I solely on Germany. The ‘war-guilt’ clause caused lasting resentment in Germany. The Treaty presented to the German delegates at Versailles was a harsh break from the promise of a treaty based on Wilson’s Fourteen Points. Because of this seemingly harsh treatment, Germany condemned the Versailles Treaty as unjust and unacceptable. The war-guilt clause led to growing German resentment and nationalism. Unable to effectively enforce this treaty, a harsher one would not have been able to lead Europe any closer to
He went to the people of America, traveling 8,000 miles and making over 30 major speeches in three weeks. Wilson collapsed in Colorado and that cause him to return to the white house. He then had a stroke and determined not to comprise with the senate. The United States did not join the league. Another problem the world faced with the League of Nations and the Treaty of Versailles was that many countries were harmed or affected in a negative way. Germany had to pay reparations, lost land, and had to take blame for the war. France didn’t get any money, and they were afraid Germany would re-build. Italy and Japan felt denied just rewards. Russia lost more land than Germany. German colonies in Africa and Pacific Middle East Countries didn’t get independence they were promised. And the United States did not sign the treaty of join the League of Nations, and then they proceeded to go into isolationism. Because the US went into isolationism there were new laws that came out for immigration. Such as Quota Act of 1921, limiting immigration from each country to 3% of total number who had immigrated in 1910 and set a yearly limit of 350,000. Another example of isolationism was setting Tariffs on imports.
The process of drafting the Treaty of Versailles had questionable methods which aid in explaining some of the problems it caused. On November 11, 1918, Matthias Erzberger, the Secretary of State for Germany, agreed to an armistice with the Allied Powers to bring an end to World War I (Buchanan 70). Germany signed the cease-fire under the belief that the terms of the peace they agreed to would look similar to then-US President Wilson’s proposed fourteen points (Buchanan 107). Wilson’s plan for the treaty encouraged Europe to abandon the grievances the war brought and did not harshly punish Germany as the defeated nation (Stevenson 194). This agreeable answer on how to handle Europe did not last long; in fact, the Allie...
This study will seek to answer the question “How did the Treaty of Versailles during WW1 contribute to further conflict in the middle east?” I chose this topic because since my dad is in the air force he deals with the Middle East on multiple occasions. I thought it would be interesting to study this to see what could have been the cause of the crisis we see today. We could learn ways to handle the Middle East better by basing plans off what we know from WW1.
In October 1918 the German government came forward to the U.S. president Woodrow Wilson to make a general armistice (Encyclopedia Britannica). Germany accepted Woodrow Wilson’s treaty but the other allies demanded that German pay for the damage they have caused all over Europe. After all negotiations were over the Treaty of Versailles was signed 28th of June 1919, but America never signed the treaty because the USA Germany had little to no say of what was put into the treaty and the allies knew that the German government would adhere to any conditions. German knew they had been beaten and needed to stop the war at all cost which gave the allied powers free range on whatever they thought the German people should pay. The treaty cut a mass chunk out of the land that German had owned, depleted their allowed