Treaty of versailles why

Different groups of people often come into conflict when a problem cannot be solved, when values clash, or when there is ambiguity over ownership of land and resources.

Diplomacy, the art of maintaining peaceful relationships without the use of violence, can help turn conflict into cooperation. Share these resources with your students to examine various conflicts around the world and instances of different communities working together successfully.

Treaties are agreements among and between nations. Treaties have been used to end wars, settle land disputes, and even estabilish new countries.

On June 7, , the governments of Spain and Portugal agreed to the Treaty of Tordesillas, which divided their spheres of influence in the "New World" of the Americas. Join our community of educators and receive the latest information on National Geographic's resources for you and your students.

Skip to content. Twitter Facebook Pinterest Google Classroom. Background Info Vocabulary. Central Powers. World War I. More Dates in History January. Media Credits The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit.

Media If a media asset is downloadable, a download button appears in the corner of the media viewer. Senate strongly opposed it. Senate opposition cited Article 10 of the Treaty, which dealt with collective security and the League of Nations. This article, opponents argued, ceded the war powers of the U. In a final vote on March 19, , the Treaty of Versailles fell short of ratification by seven votes. Consequently, the U. Government signed the Treaty of Berlin on August 25, Menu Menu.

Milestones: — For more information, please see the full notice. Treaty of Versailles. During mid, Europe was hit by Spanish flu and an estimated 25 million people died. This added to the feeling of bitterness that ran through Europe and this anger was primarily directed at Germany.

His public image was simple. He was a politician and politicians needed the support of the public to succeed in elections. If he had come across as being soft on Germany, he would have been speedily voted out of office. However, in private Lloyd George was also very concerned with the rise of communism in Russia and he feared that it might spread to western Europe. After the war had finished, Lloyd George believed that the spread of communism posed a far greater threat to the world than a defeated Germany.

Privately, he felt that Germany should be treated in such a way that left her as a barrier to resist the expected spread of communism. He did not want the people of Germany to become so disillusioned with their government that they turned to communism. Lloyd George did not want Germany treated with lenience but he knew that Germany would be the only country in central Europe that could stop the spread of communism if it burst over the frontiers of Russia.

Germany had to be punished but not to the extent that it left her destitute. However, it would have been political suicide to have gone public with these views. Georges Clemenceau of France had one very simple belief — Germany should be brought to its knees so that she could never start a war again.

This reflected the views of the French public but it was also what Clemenceau himself believed in. He had seen the north-east corner of France destroyed and he determined that Germany should never be allowed to do this again. Woodrow Wilson of America had been genuinely stunned by the savagery of the Great War.

He could not understand how an advanced civilisation could have reduced itself so that it had created so much devastation. In America , there was a growing desire for the government to adopt a policy of isolation and leave Europe to its own devices. In failing health, Wilson wanted America to concentrate on itself and, despite developing the idea of a League of Nations , he wanted an American input into Europe to be kept to a minimum.

He believed that Germany should be punished but in a way that would lead to European reconciliation as opposed to revenge. The main points in this document were:. He was frequently left on the sidelines when the important negotiations took place despite Italy fighting on the side of the Allies. Why was Italy treated in this manner? Also Italy had not played an overwhelming part in the war. Her army had been beaten at the battles of Caporetto.

Her strategic importance to central Europe was minimal whilst Britain dominated the Mediterranean with naval bases in Malta and Gibraltar. Therefore, the three main nations in the lead up to the treaty were far from united on how Germany should be treated.

The eventual treaty seemed to satisfy everyone on the sides of the Allies. The treaty can be divided into a number of sections; territorial, military, financial and general. The Saar, Danzig and Memel were put under the control of the League of Nations and the people of these regions would be allowed to vote to stay in Germany or not in a future referendum. Germany had to return to Russia land taken in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.

Some of this land was made into new states : Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia. An enlarged Poland also received some of this land. She was not allowed an airforce. She was allowed only 6 capital naval ships and no submarines. No German soldier or weapon was allowed into this zone. The Allies were to keep an army of occupation on the west bank of the Rhine for 15 years. The loss of vital industrial territory would be a severe blow to any attempts by Germany to rebuild her economy.