Treaty Of Versailles Dbq Essay

World War I officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919.The treaty, negotiated between January and June 1919 in Paris, was written by the Allies without German participation. The negotiations of the treaty revealed a split between the French, who wanted to dismember Germany to make it impossible for it to renew war with France. The Americans did not want to create pretexts for a new war. The U.S. wanted justice, whereas France wanted revenge and punishment for the Germans. The U.S., along with Germany, believed that the Treaty of Versailles was a little too harsh, but France thought that it was too soft.

The U.S. felt that the Treaty of Versailles was unfair to Germany. The U.S. president, Woodrow Wilson,

The actual outcome of the Fourteen Points was that only four points

Germany initially wanted to knock France out immediately through the Schlieffen Plan and gain additional colonies, territory, and prestige. With the loss of the war the Germans had to accept the Treaty of Versailles. The Germans hated the treaty because it had a “War Guilt Clause” called article 231. In this article it states, “"The Allied and Associated Governments affirm and Germany accepts the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and damage to which the Allied and Associated Governments and their nationals have been subjected as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by the aggression of Germany and her allies." This clause stated Germany was to be blamed for the war. In addition to this, Article 232 stated that the Germans have to pay reparations for the damage done during the war. The Germans were demilitarized and lost most of their territory. The German people felt betrayed by the treaty because it imposed harsh war reparations upon the German nation and the treaty did not adhere to President Woodrow Wilson's 14 points from the League of Nations . Overall the Germans felt that the treaty was too