Treaty of Versailles

Examples of Treaty of Versailles in the following topics:

• The Fight for the Treaty

  • The Senate did not ratify the Treaty of Versailles; despite Wilson's efforts, Republicans and Democrats were unable to reach a compromise.
  • The key point of disagreement was whether the League of Nations, one of the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles, would diminish the power of Congress to declare war.
  • One block of Democrats strongly supported the Treaty of Versailles.
  • The Treaty of Versailles was never ratified by the U.S.
  • Discuss Wilson's attempts to rally the nation in support of the Treaty of Versailles.

• Territory and Reparations

  • The Treaty of Versailles resulted in territorial changes around the world and required Germany to pay reparations for war damage.
  • A number of territorial changes were made under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles .
  • Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles (the war-guilt clause) assigned blame for the war to Germany; much of the rest of the Treaty set out the reparations that Germany would pay to the Allies.
  • The Treaty of Versailles declared that Germany was responsible for the destruction of coal mines in Northern France, parts of Belgium, and parts of Italy.
  • Summarize the territorial changes and reparations laid out in the Treaty of Versailles.

• Wilson's Loss at Home

  • Despite Wilson's efforts, the Treaty of Versailles (and membership in the League of Nations) was never ratified by Congress.
  • Senate after the election of 1918, but the Senators were divided into multiple positions on the Versailles question .
  • One block of Democrats strongly supported the Versailles Treaty, even with reservations added by Lodge.
  • Senator Henry Cabot Lodge led the Irreconcilables, who blocked approval of the Treaty of Versailles in America.
  • Identify why the United States Senate was reluctant to sign the Treaty of Versailles.

• The League of Nations

  • The League of Nations, created by the Treaty of Versailles following World War I, was an organization formed to promote diplomacy and preserve world peace.
  • The Paris Peace Conference approved the proposal to create the League of Nations in January 1919, and the league was established by Part I of the Treaty of Versailles.
  • Senate after the election of 1918, but its members were divided into multiple positions on the Treaty of Versailles and, subsequently, the League of Nations.
  • One bloc of Democrats strongly supported the Versailles Treaty, even with reservations added by Lodge.
  • Senator Henry Cabot Lodge led the Irreconcilables, a group of legislators who blocked approval of the Treaty of Versailles in the U.S.

• Wilson's Fourteen Points

  • The decree led to the March 3, 1918, signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, under which Russia immediately withdrew from the war.
  • President Wilson became sick at the onset of the Paris Peace Conference, which began on January 18, 1919 at the Palace of Versailles approximately 12 miles from Paris.
  • The difference between President Wilson's comparably honorable peace offer toward the German Empire, which was far less harsh than the demanded break up the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the terms laid out in the final version of the Treaty of Versailles led to great anger in Germany.
  • The Treaty of Versailles had little to do with the Fourteen Points and was never ratified by the U.S.
  • Georges Clemenceau (28 September 1841 – 24 November 1929) served as the Prime Minister of France and was one of the principal architects of the Treaty of Versailles.

• Attempts at Disarmament

  • Additionally, all the major powers, except the U.S., committed to disarmament in both the Treaty of Versailles and the Covenant of the League of Nations.
  • Germany formally recognized its new western borders acted by the Treaty of Versailles.
  • In general, the agreement aimed to outlaw war and show the United States commitment to international peace (the U.S. did not ratify the Treaty of Versailles or became a member of the League of Nations).
  • The Allied powers were also under obligation by the Treaty of Versailles to attempt to disarm, and the armament restrictions imposed on the defeated countries had been described as the first step toward worldwide disarmament.
  • It was mostly silent in the face of major events leading to the second World War, such as Hitler's re-militarization of the Rhineland and occupation of the Sudetenland and Anschluss of Austria, which had been forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles.

• The Paris Peace Conference

  • Congress refused to accept the terms of the conference’s cornerstone work, the Treaty of Versailles.
  • The most contentious outcome of the Paris Peace Conference was a punitive peace accord, the Treaty of Versailles, which included a “war-guilt clause” laying blame for the outbreak of war on Germany and, as punishment, weakening its military and required it to pay all war costs of the victorious nations.
  • One bloc of Democrats strongly supported the Versailles Treaty, even with reservations added by Lodge.
  • The Treaty of Versailles included a number of territorial changes including Germany’s forced return of territories in Europe and yield of control over its colonies.
  • Senator Henry Cabot Lodge led the Irreconcilables, who blocked approval of the Treaty of Versailles in the U.S.

• Postwar Politics and the Election of 1920

  • The US presidential election of 1920 was dominated by the aftermath of World War I, hostility towards certain policies of Democratic president Woodrow Wilson, and opposition to the reformist zeal of the Progressive Era.
  • Internationally, politicians were arguing over peace treaties and the question of America's entry into the League of Nations, which produced an isolationist reaction.
  • Additionally, World War I and the Treaty of Versailles proved deeply unpopular, causing a reaction against Wilson, who had pushed especially hard for the latter.
  • Irish- and German-American voters who had backed Wilson and peace in 1916 now voted against Wilson and Versailles.
  • The Irish Americans, bitterly angry at Wilson's refusal to help Ireland at Versailles, sat out the election.

• The Treaty of Fort Stanwix

  • The Treaty of Fort Stanwix was one of several treaties signed between Native Americans and the United States after the American Revolution.
  • The treaty served as a peace treaty between the Iroquois and the Americans, since the Natives had been ignored in the Treaty of Paris.
  • In this treaty, the Iroquois Confederacy ceded all claims to the Ohio territory, a strip of land along the Niagara river, and all land west of the mouth of Buffalo creek.
  • 1786 Treaty of Fort Finney with Shawnee leaders for portions of Ohio
  • 1797 Treaty of Big Tree with the Iroquois for lands in New York State west of the Genesee River

• France and Spain in the Revolutionary War

  • Following the 1778 Treaty of Alliance, France openly provided arms and funding to the Americans and engaged in full-scale war with Britain.
  • France formally recognized the United States on February 6, 1778, with the Treaty of Alliance.
  • The treaty provided open support from the French army, navy, and Treasury.
  • On April 12, 1779, France and Spain signed the Treaty of Aranjuez.
  • Under the terms of the treaty, France agreed to aid in the capture of Gibraltar, the Floridas, and the island of Minorca in return for Spain’s agreement to join in France’s war against Great Britain.