First, a “Council of Ten” (composed of two delegates from Britain, France, the United States, Italy and Japan) met officially to decide on the terms of peace. This Council was replaced by the “Council of Five”, which was composed of the foreign ministers of each country to discuss minor issues. French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau, Italian Prime Minister Vittorio Emanuele Orlando, British Prime Minister David Lloyd George and US President Woodrow Wilson formed the “Big Four” (which became the “Big Three” after the temporary withdrawal of Vittorio Emanuele Orlando). These four men met in 145 closed sessions to make all the important decisions that were then ratified by the entire assembly. The smaller powers participated in a weekly “plenary conference” that discussed the issues in a general forum, but made no decision. These members formed more than 50 commissions that made various recommendations, many of which were included in the final text of the Treaty. [30] [31] [32] In a speech to Congress in January 1918, Wilson set out his idealistic view of the post-war world. In addition to the specific territorial settlements based on a victory of the Entente, Wilson`s so-called Fourteen Points emphasized the need for national self-determination for the different ethnic populations of Europe. Wilson also proposed the creation of a “general union of nations” that would settle international disputes and foster cooperation between different nations, hoping to prevent such a large-scale war in the future. This organization eventually became known as the League of Nations. Different groups of people often come into conflict when a problem cannot be solved, when values collide, or when there is ambiguity about ownership of land and resources. Diplomacy, the art of maintaining peaceful relations without the use of force, can help turn conflicts into collaboration.
Share these resources with your students to investigate different conflicts around the world and cases where different communities are working together successfully. The Treaty of Versailles (French: Treaty of Versailles) is the most important of the peace treaties that ended world War I. The treaty ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied powers. It was signed at Versailles on June 28, 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, which had led directly to the war. The other central powers on the German side signed separate treaties. [i] Although the armistice signed on November 11, 1918 ended the actual fighting, it took six months of Allied negotiations at the Paris Peace Conference to conclude the peace treaty. The treaty was registered by the Secretariat of the League of Nations on October 21, 1919. In Article 231, Germany assumed responsibility for loss and damage caused by war “as a result of war”. Aggression by Germany and its allies. [No.
28] [iii] The treaty obliged Germany to compensate the Allied Powers, and it also established an Allied “Reparation Commission” to determine the exact amount that Germany would pay and the form that such payment would take. The Commission should “give the German government a fair chance to be heard” and its conclusions by 1. May 1921. Meanwhile, the treaty required Germany to pay the equivalent of 20 billion gold marks ($5 billion) in gold, commodities, ships, securities or other forms. The money would help pay for the Allied occupation costs and buy food and raw materials for Germany. [68] [No. 33] Many in China felt betrayed when German territory in China was handed over to Japan. Wellington Koo refused to sign the treaty, and the Chinese delegation to the Paris Peace Conference was the only nation not to sign the Treaty of Versailles at the signing ceremony. The sense of betrayal has led to large protests in China such as the May 4 movement. There was immense discontent with the government of Duan Qirui, which had secretly negotiated with the Japanese to obtain loans to finance their military campaigns against the South.
On the 12th. In June 1919, the Chinese cabinet was forced to resign and the government ordered its delegation at Versailles not to sign the treaty. [91] [92] As a result, relations with the West have deteriorated. [93] On January 8, 1918, President Woodrow Wilson released the nation`s postwar goals, the Fourteen Points. It outlined a policy of free trade, open agreements and democracy. Although the term was not used, self-determination was assumed. He called for the end of the war negotiations, international disarmament, the withdrawal of the Central Powers from the occupied territories, the creation of a Polish state, the redrawing of European borders along ethnic lines and the formation of a League of Nations to ensure the political independence and territorial integrity of all states. [9] [No. 3] It calls for a just and democratic peace, which will not be affected by territorial annexation. The fourteen points were based on research conducted by the survey, a team of about 150 advisers led by foreign policy adviser Edward M. House, on issues likely to emerge at the expected peace conference. [10] On April 6, 1917, the United States went to war against the Central Powers.
The motives were twofold: the German submarine war against merchant merchant ships trading with France and Britain, which led to the sinking of the RMS Lusitania and the loss of 128 American lives; and the interception of the German Zimmermann telegram calling on Mexico to declare war on the United States. [7] The American war objective was to resolve the war of nationalist differences and ambitions after the Bolshevik revelation of secret treaties between the Allies. Lord Robert Cecil said many in the Foreign Office were disappointed with the treaty. [71] The treaty received broad public support […].