The chief people responsible for the Treaty of Versailles were U.S. Pres. Woodrow Wilson, French Premier Georges Clemenceau, and British Prime Minister David Lloyd George. Italian Prime Minister Vittorio Orlando was a delegate but was shut out from the decision making. Wilson sought to create an egalitarian system that would prevent a conflagration similar to World War I from ever occurring again. Clemenceau wanted to make sure that Germany would not be a threat to France in the future, and he was not persuaded by Wilson’s idealism. Lloyd George favoured creating a balance of powers but was adamant that Germany pay reparations.
Who were the key people involved in drafting the Treaty of Versailles?
What was the Treaty of Versailles?
The Treaty of Versailles was the primary treaty produced by the Paris Peace Conference at the end of World War I. It was signed on June 28, 1919, by the Allied and associated powers and by Germany in the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles and went into effect on January 10, 1920. The treaty gave some German territories to neighbouring countries and placed other German territories under international supervision. In addition, Germany was stripped of its overseas colonies, its military capabilities were severely restricted, and it was required to pay war reparations to the Allied countries. The treaty also created the League of Nations.