Attitude and Main Aims

• Woodrow Wilson's Attitude

  • Believed they shouldn’t treat Germany harshly but still punished
  • Thinks Germany might recover and take revenge if they act too harshly
• Woodrow Wilson's Main Aims

  • Wanted to strengthen democracy in countries
  • Wanted self deterination to small countries
  • Wanted all nations to cooperate for world peace
• George Lloyd's Attitude

  • Also believed Germany shouldn’t be punished too harshly because they might want revenge
• George Lloyd's Main Aims

  • Wanted Germany & Britain to resume trade
  • Trading with Germany they have higher employment rate
  • Wanted to take Germany’s navies and colonies because Britain wanted colonies
• George Clemencau's Attitude

  • Wanted to cripple Germany with the treaty so that there would be no chance Germany could attack France again
• George Clemencau's Main Aims

  • Wanted to weaken and punish Germany as much as possible
  • Wants Germany to split up into smaller countries
• • Clemenceau saw the Paris Peace Conference as an opportunity to gain territory back
  • France and Germany had fought twice during the 19th century
  • Germany had taken key areas from France including the region of Alsace-Lorraine
• France feared future invasion from Germany

  • Germany and France shared a border
  • Clemenceau wanted to limit Germany’s military strength
• Clemenceau was angry and uncompromising

  • The majority of the Western Front was in France
  • The fighting had destroyed many roads, hospitals and factories
  • Clemenceau wanted Germany to pay to repair these damages and take responsibility for starting the war
• Wilson was an idealist. He wanted to create a lasting peace after the First World War

  • The Versailles Settlement should embody what he called the ‘14 Points’
• The Versailles Settlement should embody what Wilson called the ‘14 Points’. Some of his 14 Points were that:

  • All national groups should have their own country. This is called self-determination
  • All countries should follow a policy of disarmament to avoid war in the future
  • All countries should discuss their issues openly and not sign secret treaties
  • All countries should remove trade tariffs and cooperate economically
• Wilson pictured a new organisation called the League of Nations

  • This League encouraged countries to communicate their problems rather than use violence and war
  • Wilson wanted all countries to join the League of Nations
  • It would support the implementation of Wilson’s 14 Points
• Wilson wanted to trade with Germany

  • Large reparations would make Germany weak and could lead to its collapse as a country
  • A strong, economically secure Germany would help rebuild Europe after the First World
• Lloyd George was realistic and agreed with aspects of France’s and the USA’s motives

  • Britain had experienced high casualties like France
  • The British public hated Germany and wanted revenge
• Lloyd George understood some of Clemenceau’s personal anger towards Germany

  • Before the start of the First World War, Germany had challenged Britain’s naval power
  • From 1884 onwards, Germany had expanded its empire. Britain wanted to have the strongest and biggest empire in the world
• Britain also supported Wilson’s point that a strong Germany was better for European economies

  • A prosperous Germany would want to trade with Britain and buy its imperial goods
• Georges Clemenceau wanted a harsh treaty that included:

  • High reparations
  • The protection of France’s borders
  • The splitting of Germany into states
  • Germany disbanding its armed forces to prevent another invasion
  • The return of Alsace-Lorraine to France
  • Giving France the rich industrial area in Germany known as the Saar Basin to rebuild its economy
  • Germany giving its overseas colonies to France
• Woodrow Wilson wanted a soft treaty that included:

  • The creation of independent states like Poland that had access to the sea
  • The return of Alsace-Lorraine to France
  • The end of Germany’s empire and the weakening of all empires
  • Avoiding blaming Germany for the start of the First World War. This included not making Germany pay high reparations.
  • The inclusion of all nations, including Germany, in the League of Nations
  • Freedom of the seas. Wilson believed that trading ships should have access to any waters without fear of attack
• David Lloyd George wanted a fair treaty, somewhere between Wilson's and Clemenceau’s vision:

  • Retaining a strong trading relationship with Germany
  • Taking Germany’s overseas colonies
  • Harsh enough terms to satisfy the British desire for revenge. Lloyd George had just won an election on the promise that he would 'make Germany pay’
  • Germany keeping its military strength to prevent communism from Russia spreading into Europe
  • A reduction in Germany’s navy to reinforce Britain’s naval supremacy