Pros And Cons Of The Treaty Of Versailles

The Armistice of 1918, which put an end to the fighting of World War I, was appreciated by the millions of remaining soldiers; it however, did not truly put an end to the war. It was the Treaty of Versailles, signed a year after the Armistice of 1918, put a true end to the war. A crucial aspect of the Treaty was that it would ensure peaceful existences between countries, and to help Europe recover from the war, and to finally, prevent another war. Ultimately though, the Treaty of Versailles only broadened the amount of tension between both allied and opposing nations. The Treaty itself places full blame for the war and all of the deaths on Germany and makes them, singlehandedly, responsible for paying the $55 billion in reparations. In the …show more content…
The lack of any sort of peace treaty between the countries involved in WWI, made it so countries, such as ‘The Big Three’ had to figure out the most effective way to maintain peace. When trying to accomplish this though, national biases and desires often got in the way. Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States during and after WWI, wanted peace between all countries. As stated in his ‘Fourteen Points’, “ Open covenants of peace, openly arrived at, after which there shall be no private international understandings of any kind but diplomacy shall proceed always frankly and in the public view (1)”. Later on The League of Nations was formed and was established to meet Wilson’s desire for diplomacy, however great in its intent; the means of ensuring peace was ruined by the U.S. Congress’ refusal to join the league. As a result of the United States not being a part of the league, it failed to be successful. David Lloyd George, Prime Minister of Great Britain wanted peace, but also made it clear that he wanted Germany to pay for what they had done. Lloyd George revealed while speaking to Parliament in 1919, “We want peace which will be just, but not vindictive… Above all, we want to protect the future against a repetition of the horrors of this war (4C)”. George’s main goal seemed to be the rebuilding of peace in Europe, which agreed with President Wilson’s ideas to bring peace. However the year prior to this George says, “We propose to demand the whole cost of the war from Germany (4D)”. The two of these things are very contradictory, especially considering that many of the German people grew, understandably, very upset with their government for accepting the terms of the Treaty. If George’s plans had always involved peace, than one