Compare And Contrast George And Woodrow Wilson

World War I and Peace War. That age old tradition that surpasses language and culture. The art of killing each other effectively and in great numbers has been practiced for years untold, and is considered “wrong” or “terrible” in almost every society in the world. Yet still people fight. When fighting comes to an end for the time being, peace reigns, if only for a short time, because everyone has wearied of killing and hardship. This peace is a treasured thing, and prolonging the peace has been the goal of many an influential person. Woodrow Wilson and Lloyd George are two such people, trying to forge a lasting peace after the destruction and loss of the Great War. Both Woodrow Wilson and Lloyd George seem certain that the only way to prevent

Both thought that if Germany was treated poorly then it would fight back, and rise at a later date, destroying the fairly fragile peace. Lloyd George said of Germany “...if she feels that she has been unjustly treated, she will find the means of punishing her conquerors.” Woodrow Wilson included fair peace in his Fourteen Points in an effort to avoid having Germany seek vengeance for poor treatment by the Allies. The custom was to make the losing party or parties in war pay crippling reparations to those who had triumphed, and using economic means keep the conquered parties unable to rise. Since all of the involved European countries, including Germany, had already suffered much, Wilson was for generous treatment, allowing the countries to mend their damaged relationships and rebuild after the Great War. Lloyd George agreed, saying that this generation was not likely to wage war, but that once they left power, a new war would break out. Both Wilson and George wished to avoid this

Lloyd George argues for peace as a general rule, but a part of peace is having neither the will nor the means to wage war. If the means are there, eventually war will break out, but if the means aren’t there, it places yet another failsafe on the peace that has been created. George says, “You may strip Germany of her colonies and reduce her armaments and her navy; all the same, in the end...she will find the means of punishing her conquerors.” This implies that he believes even without the means it is possible to wage effective war. With the means, the destruction could be multiplied manyfold. Both Woodrow Wilson and Lloyd George recognize this, and wish to make war less