The Treaty Of Versailles And Wilson's Fourteen Points Plan

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The Treaty of Versailles was the official treaty that put an end to the First World War. When the armistice was called and the Peace conference began, the Allied nations were looking to gain land and be compensated by Germany for the war. President Woodrow Wilson went in with fourteen points plan that called for more forgiveness of the Germans and laws to be enacted that would help maintain World Peace. This would not come to fruition due to lack of support from the allied Nations of Britain and France. The Treaty of Versailles was very different than the fourteen points plan, Wilson had some limited success with some ideas, but in the end the treaty was not ratified in the United States due to party separation.
President Wilsons goals …show more content…

Wilson’s fourth point was the reduction of armaments to the lowest point before safety was affected. The Treaty of Versailles used this in a modified version to restrict the German military. The Treaty stated that Germany could maintain a standing army of no more than one hundred thousand men. The German government could no longer draft citizens into the military and was no longer able to have an Air Force. The German navy could no longer operate with any submarines and could only use mid-size ships for defense. Lastly the Rhineland became a demilitarized zone where the French were able to station troops to prevent Germany from attacking France. Wilsons success in lowering armament only extended to Germany and not any other nation. The lowering of armaments in Germany was a minor success in relation his original point. Chief among Wilsons successes with the Treaty of Versailles was the creation of the League of Nations. The League of Nations was tasked with maintaining peace among nations and preventing the outbreak of another war. The way that the League of Nations would prevent war was through arbitration. Two conflicting Nations were required to submit to an investigation and then arbitration before any military action could occur. I would attribute Wilson’s success to Britain and France having similar thoughts about post war …show more content…

When the President first arrived back in the United States the American public supported the treaty. However when the President submitted the treaty to the Senate in July 1919, there was mounting criticism against the treaty. Most of the criticism towards the treaty was from the senate which at the time the republicans held the majority of seats. At the center of the Senates opposition was Republican Senator Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts. Lodge was not only fueled by his dislike for the treaty but he also had a personal rivalry with President Wilson. Lodge is quoted of saying “I never thought I could hate a man as much as I hate Wilson” (p.734). Lodge insisted that if the United States were to be a member of the League of Nations, we would be forced into providing military assistance on foreign soil. He lobbied that being a member of the Leagues of Nations would be a threat to the nations policy of independence in foreign relations. Lodge was also able to use his position as the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to preach his concerns of ratification. He was able to place “reservations” and amendments to the treaty that would require House and Senate approval before engaging in any league activity. It became clear that the treaty would be unable to pass without the addition of the Republicans

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